# Chapter 261:

# Chapter 261:
Michael's POV

The pressure that had been crushing me suddenly vanished. I struggled to my knees, my muscles screaming in protest after Luna's magical assault. My first instinct was to check on Melinda.

"Are you okay?" I whispered, searching her face.

Melinda's eyes met mine, and I froze. They were glowing—not with the golden color of a werewolf, but with something else entirely. An ethereal light shimmered within them, like emerald fire dancing behind glass. I wondered if this was her power manifesting. Whatever it was, I'd never seen anything like it before.

I turned toward the throne, watching as the Alpha King blinked several times, his expression transforming from vacant to alert. His eyes, previously clouded and unfocused, now sharpened with clarity.

As he rose from his seat, the air in the room seemed to thicken, making it difficult to breathe. My heart hammered against my ribs, a primal reaction to the presence of such powerful Alpha energy filling the chamber.

Luna's face changed. The smugness that had defined her features moments before slipped away, replaced by something I hadn't expected to see—fear. It was subtle, just a flicker across her perfect features, but it was there. That tiny glimpse of vulnerability ignited a spark of hope in my chest.

"What is happening here?" The Alpha King's voice resonated through the room, not just heard but felt. It vibrated in my chest like bass from massive speakers.

I kept my eyes fixed on Luna as I slowly helped Melinda to her feet. Together, we backed away a few steps. Selena remained on the floor, her human form still wracked with sobs.

The Alpha King's gaze swept the room methodically—from Melinda to me, then to Selena crumpled on the marble floor, and finally settling on Luna. His expression darkened as understanding dawned on him, his mouth forming a hard line of displeasure.

"How dare you control my mind?" he addressed Luna, his voice eerily calm. The quietness of it was more terrifying than if he'd shouted.

Luna straightened her spine, her white dress rustling as she moved. "My King, you misunderstand. I was merely protecting you and our kind from these... half-breeds." Her voice had lost its confidence, the words coming out slightly hurried.

With each word Luna spoke, I could see the Alpha King's jaw tighten. His eyes never left her face as she continued her desperate explanation.

"This girl and her mate are just like the ones who tried to destroy our pure bloodline. I was only executing our shared will..." Luna gestured toward Melinda, and I instinctively stepped closer to her, my hand finding hers.

Melinda's fingers trembled in my grasp. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze, my eyes never leaving the confrontation unfolding before us.

"Enough!" The Alpha King's voice cracked like thunder. "Your lies cannot deceive me. I was aware even while under your control. I saw everything you did during my imprisonment."

He raised his hand, and a brilliant golden light emanated from his palm. I'd never witnessed such a display of power, and I found myself staring in amazement.

"As Alpha King, I judge you unworthy to be a werewolf," he declared.

The golden beam struck Luna, and her scream pierced the air, forcing me to cover my ears. She collapsed to her knees, her body convulsing as the transformation took hold. I watched in stunned silence as her appearance began to change.

Luna's white hair darkened to gray, her red eyes faded to blue, and her pale skin gained a healthy human flush. I blinked several times, struggling to believe what I was witnessing. The Alpha King had stripped her of her werewolf nature, transforming her into the very thing she despised most—a human.

"No! You can't do this to me!" Luna shrieked, staring at her hands as if they belonged to someone else. Her voice had lost its otherworldly quality, now raw with very human panic. "This isn't possible!"

I took a step back, pulling Melinda with me. There was something deeply unsettling about watching the formerly powerful Luna reduced to the state she had shown such contempt for. I remembered all her insults toward humans, the disgust in her voice when she'd spoken of them, and now she had become one herself. The irony wasn't lost on me.

"This is your punishment for your betrayal," the Alpha King stated coldly. "You will live out your days in the form you most despise."

Luna's eyes darted wildly around the room, her expression contorting with rage and desperation. Then I saw it—a shift in her gaze, a calculation forming behind her eyes that sent a chill down my spine.

In one fluid motion, Luna pulled a dagger from her boot. The blade gleamed with an unnatural silver sheen that immediately set off alarm bells in my mind. Silver—deadly to werewolves, especially when coated with poison, which I suspected this was.

"If I must live as a human, then you won't live at all!" she screamed, lunging toward Melinda with frightening speed despite her transformation.

I didn't think—I just moved. Melinda had already been through so much, had fought so hard. There was no way in hell I was going to let her get hurt now. Not when we were so close to ending this.

"Michael!" Melinda's voice reached me just as I pushed her aside.

Then came the pain—sharp, cold, and absolute. Luna's dagger plunged into my abdomen, the silver immediately burning like acid against my flesh. I looked down to see her hand still gripping the knife's handle, her face twisted with malicious satisfaction inches from mine.

"You stupid girl," Luna spat, but she wasn't looking at me. Her eyes were fixed on Melinda over my shoulder. "This is all because of you! If it wasn't for you, our plan would have succeeded long ago!"

Guards rushed forward to restrain Luna as she continued to scream accusations. I barely registered them dragging her away, my focus narrowing to the spreading fire in my gut. The knife was still embedded there, and I knew better than to remove it. Silver poisoning was bad enough; I didn't need to add bleeding out to my problems.

I collapsed to my knees, the world tilting strangely around me. The floor felt cool against my hands as I braced myself, trying to stay upright.

Melinda's face appeared in my vision, her mouth moving. "Michael! Stay with me!" Her voice sounded distant, like it was coming through water.

I wanted to smile at her, to tell her not to worry, but my lips wouldn't cooperate. I tried to reach up to touch her face, but my arm felt impossibly heavy, refusing to respond to my commands.

The pain transformed into an odd numbness spreading outward from the wound. My vision began to blur, the edges darkening. The world around me became a smear of colors and shapes.

I felt Melinda's tears landing on my face, warm and real. From somewhere far away, I heard the Alpha King's voice: "Get him treatment immediately!"

Then darkness swallowed everything, and I drifted into silence.