CHAPTER 152 The Alpha Lord Hesitates

CHAPTER 152 The Alpha Lord Hesitates
Maverick

Blood Moon Territory was burning.

Not in flame—but in magic, screams, and the copper-sharp stench of blood and spell residue that coated the back of my throat. The clearing that had once been sacred ground was now a battlefield torn open by witches and wolves alike. Bodies littered the earth. Some groaned. Some didn’t move at all.

Dark witches lay scattered across the ground, bound in glowing restraints—ropes of spellwork Evie and Agatha had brewed over three months of sleepless nights, whispered incantations, and ingredients that should never have touched mortal hands. The binding potion worked. Gods, it worked beautifully. Those witches weren’t getting up.

But victory never comes clean.

Wolves—my wolves—were down too. Stunned, not dead, thank the Moon. They lay where they’d fallen, fur singed by magic, sides heaving, eyes glassy from spell shock. I felt every one of them through the pack bond. Each pulse of pain slammed into my chest like a hammer.

And in the center of it all—

Morgana.

She hovered inches above the ground, robes billowing as if the air itself recoiled from her presence. Her laughter sliced through the chaos—high-pitched, shrill, unhinged. It raised the hair on my arms and made my wolf snarl beneath my skin.

She was enjoying this.

What filled me with dread wasn’t the chaos around us.

It was the sight of Evie on her knees.

Her palms were braced against the ground, fingers clawing into the dirt as if the earth itself were the only thing keeping her upright. Her swollen belly dragged her forward, heavy with life and magic both. Sweat slicked her hairline. Her face had gone deathly pale, lips trembling as breath tore in and out of her lungs in sharp, broken gasps.

I saw it happen in slow, horrifying clarity.

Morgana flicked Evie’s spell aside like she was shooing a fly.

I was already moving—but I was too late to reach her. Too late to shove her out of the way.

I had warned her. Gods, I had tried. She had no shield, no proper protection. Her hormones were raging, her magic volatile, and even as I sprinted toward her, panic roaring in my ears, I knew—

I wasn’t fast enough.

“Evie!” I roared. “Evie, wait—!”

She didn’t stop.

She rose with grim determination, fury etched into every line of her face, tranquilizer gun lifting with unwavering intent.

“That’s Morgana!” I shouted. “Evie—that’s her—!”

She didn’t listen.
She never did once she’d decided something had to be done.

She took another step forward, belly jutting defiantly, one hand pressing against it as the other snapped up. The dart flew—clean, precise, lethal—aimed straight for Morgana’s heart.

It missed.

Morgana laughed.

She tilted her head, watching the dart sail harmlessly past her shoulder like it amused her.

Evie swore and followed it with a spell, raw power erupting from her palms in a brilliant flare—

Morgana flicked her wand.

The bolt twisted in midair and slammed straight back into Evie’s chest.

The sound Evie made—
Moon Goddess, it tore something open inside me.

I felt it when she did. The bond screamed and I froze.

Pain ripped through my ribs like ice-tipped spears, stealing the breath from my lungs—but worse than the agony was the fear. The deep, paralyzing terror that rooted me to the ground as one thought eclipsed all others:

I was about to watch her die.

Because I hadn’t been fast enough.
Strong enough.
Alpha enough.

My legs wouldn’t move. Thank the Moon Goddess, Bear moved for me.

He was there in a blur, scooping Evie up as she sat on the ground, her scream breaking into a sob as another contraction tore through her. He cradled her like she weighed nothing, face set in grim determination.

“Maverick!” someone barked. "Who hurt her?"

That broke me.

I sucked in air like I’d been drowning and finally moved.

Power rippled across the clearing.

“Zuri—cover me.”

It was Draven.

He stepped out of shadow like he’d been carved from it. Blood Moon light caught in his eyes, turning them molten red. His presence hit the pack like a thunderclap.

And shame burned through me.

Because for one fatal second, I hadn’t been leading.

I forced myself forward, claws sliding free, spine straightening as the Alpha Lord took control again.

Wolves poured into the clearing from every direction now, drawn by the bond and the blood moon’s call. Marshall burst through first, blade already slick with blood. Cassandra was right behind him, eyes blazing. Tina followed with her fighters, expressions grim and lethal.

Agatha stepped forward, planting herself between Morgana and Bear.

Light erupted from her palms—a blinding, radiant shield that pushed the darkness back, forcing Morgana to hiss and recoil.

“Take her to the infirmary, Bear,” Agatha commanded.

She didn’t shout. She didn’t need to.

Bear turned without hesitation.

Agatha snapped her head toward Smith, who was providing cover alongside Aurora. “Smith—call Doctor Reeves. Now.”

Smith was already moving.

Morgana snarled and rose higher into the air.

Draven’s voice cut into my mind, sharp and focused. I’m circling her. Raven and Tío with me. Keep her busy.

I saw Lucian’s wolf streak along the perimeter, massive and pale, flanking the opposite side.

I reached out through the mind link. Marshall—follow Draven. Tina—take your best fighters and go with Lucian.

Acknowledgments rang back instantly.

Good.

I turned to Bear and Smith. “Go.”

They didn’t argue.

Leon, Zuri, Aurora, and Cassandra fell into formation around me as we advanced on Morgana, step by measured step.

She threw her head back and cackled again.

“Time’s up, Alpha Lord. I need your blood to break the treaty.”

I met her gaze, fury boiling so hot it burned away fear.

I bared my claws. “You’ll need to take it from my dead body.”

Her smile widened. “We can arrange that.”
She lifted her voice, power rippling outward. “My sisters—bind the wolf who calls himself the Alpha Lord and the witch who is in labor.”

The air tore open.

Portals erupted around us—dozens of them. Dark witches spilled through, eyes glowing, blades and spells ready.

Too many.

But Agatha lifted her hands—and the world exploded in light.

The witches screamed, clutching their eyes as brilliance scorched their vision. Zuri, Cassandra, and Leon surged forward, blades flashing, cutting them down with ruthless efficiency. Aurora didn’t stop firing, dart after dart streaking toward Morgana, forcing her to keep her shields raised.

I felt Evie’s pain spike again, the bond flaring so violently it stole the breath from my lungs and left my vision swimming. That surge was enough to tear away the last restraint I had left.

My wolf ripped free.

Bones cracked and reshaped with brutal force as muscle surged beneath my skin, fur swallowing flesh in a violent cascade while Coal burst into the world in a storm of black fury. I shifted mid-stride, the ground shuddering beneath my weight as massive paws slammed into the earth and carried me forward, devouring the distance between Bear and me in long, thunderous bounds.

I would not lose her.

Morgana noticed the instant I moved. She shrieked and shot toward them, robes snapping in the air as her wand snapped up in a fluid, lethal motion. Bear froze mid-step, his body locking as if invisible strings had been wrapped around his limbs, and then he was lifted from the ground like a puppet, drifting helplessly toward her with Evie cradled in his arms.

“I need your blood too, Daughter of Sybil,” Morgana crooned, her gaze fixed on Evie with feverish intensity. "I need your blood to break the treaty that makes us inferior.”

Aurora struck from behind her without hesitation. The dart slammed into Morgana’s shoulder with a sharp, meaty impact, and

Morgana screamed as her magic faltered, power stuttering and splintering as the toxin began to crawl through her system. It wasn’t enough to stop her, but it slowed her just long enough.

I lunged and clamped my jaws onto Bear’s jeans, teeth tearing through denim as I anchored him to the earth. My claws dug deep into the soil, muscles screaming as I fought against the pull of Morgana’s spell and dragged him back inch by inch.

Her retaliation came instantly. Morgana shrieked and lashed out, sending an orb of violet light toward me. I tried to avoid it, but it hit me on my side. Pain detonated inside my skull as the spell slammed into me, ripping my jaws open and hurling me aside like a discarded weapon. I hit the ground hard, vision flashing white, and Bear began to drift toward her again, struggling uselessly with Evie still locked in his arms.

A pale blur of fur exploded into the air from the side—Lucian’s wolf, jaws wide and teeth bared as he launched himself at Morgana with lethal intent. She barely spared him a glance before flicking her wand, sending his body flying across the clearing to crash into the earth in a broken heap.

While her attention shifted, the shadows themselves seemed to move.

Draven struck.

Night Shadow surged through the air and hit Morgana mid-levitation, jaws clamping around her head with bone-crushing force. There was a wet, final sound as her body collapsed, severed from its power, and her head tore free in his grasp.

Draven landed with lethal grace and tossed it aside without ceremony. The severed head rolled across the dirt and came to a stop at my paws, blood soaking into the ground like a dark offering.

For one suspended heartbeat, I considered it—considered calling him back, ending the exile, restoring what had been broken between us.

Then his voice slid into my mind, cold and unyielding.

Under tonight’s blood moon, Draven said, power coiling through the bond, I challenge you for the right to be named Alpha Lord.

I lifted my gaze to the sky as the moon burned overhead, heavy with promise and violence.

And I knew the war was far from over.