Chapter 183

Chapter 183
Layla's POV

Damian collapsed to his knees, blood soaking through his expensive shirt. The guards around us stood frozen, unsure what to do now that their Alpha had been attacked.

Kael and I rushed forward, but Alex held up his hand. "One more step, and I'll have my men shoot you both."

The guards raised their weapons again, forcing us to stop.

"What do you want?" Kael demanded.

Alex smiled, the expression never reaching his eyes. "The same thing I've always wanted—power. Damian was useful in collecting hearts for me, but now I need that sword." He pointed at Soulrend. "And her," he added, nodding toward me.

"You'll never touch her," Kael growled, his eyes flashing gold.

Alex laughed. "So protective. But unnecessary. I don't want her body—I want her power."

On the ground, Damian struggled to reach for something around his neck. With trembling fingers, he pulled off a crystal pendant hanging from a silver chain.

"Layla," he gasped, holding it out to me. "Take it. Your mother's... pendant."

Alex noticed and lunged to intercept, but Kael blocked him, allowing me to grab the necklace from my father's outstretched hand.

"Moon crystal," Damian whispered, his voice fading. "With Soulrend... strongest power."

The pendant felt warm in my palm, pulsing with gentle energy. I quickly looped it around my neck, feeling an immediate connection as it touched my skin.

"You fool!" Alex snarled at Damian. "You've ruined everything!"

Damian coughed, blood staining his teeth. "I'm sorry, Layla," he said, his eyes finding mine. "Sorry I couldn't protect you and your mother. I was blind... so blind."

Alex kicked Damian hard in the ribs, causing him to collapse fully to the ground. "Enough of this sentiment. Your usefulness has ended."

"Why?" I asked Alex, fury building inside me. "Why all of this?"

Alex's face split into a manic grin. "Power, of course. The hearts of powerful wolves contain energy that can be harnessed through the right rituals. I've been consuming them for years, growing stronger with each one."

He reached down and ripped open Damian's pouch, pulling out the bloody chunk that was Conrad's heart. Without hesitation, he took a bite, blood running down his chin.

I gagged, nearly vomiting at the sight.

"You're insane," Kael said, disgust evident in his voice.

"No," Alex replied, taking another bite. "I'm visionary. Your pack systems, your werewolf politics—all meaningless structures holding back our true potential."

As he consumed more of the heart, I noticed changes happening to him. His skin seemed to glow from within, and his eyes took on an unnatural brightness.

"It was you," I realized suddenly. "You set the fire that killed my mother."

Alex wiped his bloody mouth with the back of his hand. "Of course it was me. I needed Damian broken, malleable. And it worked perfectly." He laughed. "My plan has been in motion for decades, and it's been absolutely flawless."

Damian made a gurgling sound from the ground. "Run," he managed to say, his eyes locked on mine. "Run, Layla."

"Yes, run," Alex mocked. "But I'll find you. I'll take that sword, and then I'll cut out your heart and eat it while it's still beating."

Something inside me snapped. Rage like I'd never felt before surged through my body. The pendant around my neck grew hot against my skin, and Soulrend began to glow with brilliant blue light.

"I'm not running," I said, my voice eerily calm even to my own ears. "I'm going to kill you, Alex."

The pendant and sword pulsed in unison, power building between them. Blue light erupted around me, forming a protective shield that pushed outward, knocking back the guards who had started to approach.

Alex's eyes widened. "The moon crystal and Soulrend," he whispered. "The legends were true."

Kael stood beside me, his expression fierce. "Whatever you're planning to do, Layla, I'm with you."

I nodded, feeling the power flowing through me, connecting me to both the sword and the pendant.

"You took my mother from me," I said to Alex, taking a step forward. The blue energy moved with me, pushing back anyone who tried to approach. "You manipulated my father into becoming a monster."

Alex backed away, suddenly looking less confident. "Guards! Kill them now!"

Gunshots rang out, but the bullets dissolved into ash when they hit my energy shield. Kael looked at me in amazement.

"How are you doing that?" he asked.

"I don't know," I admitted. "But I'm not stopping."

My father lay on the ground, his breathing shallow. Our eyes met one last time, and I saw regret there, but also pride.

"For Isabella," he whispered.

Then his eyes closed.

Something broke inside me. Tears streamed down my face as I turned back to Alex, who was now frantically ordering his men to attack us.

"You destroyed my family," I said, my voice cracking with emotion. "You'll never hurt anyone else again."

The blue light intensified, expanding outward from me in waves. Kael stayed by my side, somehow unaffected by the energy that was now pushing Alex's men back, disarming them.

Alex himself stood frozen, fear finally showing on his face. "This isn't possible," he muttered. "The power should be mine!"

"It was never meant for you," I told him, advancing slowly.

Alex suddenly reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun, aiming it directly at me. "Stay back!" he shouted, his voice higher than normal. "I'll shoot!"

"Go ahead," I challenged, continuing to walk toward him.

He fired. The bullet stopped inches from my face, suspended in the blue energy before dropping harmlessly to the ground.

Alex's face contorted with rage and fear. He turned and ran toward Isabella's crystal coffin, placing his hands on it.

"If I can't have the sword, I'll take her power instead!" he shouted, pulling out another knife.

"No!" I screamed, rushing forward.

But before either of us could reach the coffin, the ground beneath us began to shake. Cracks appeared in the stone circle, spreading outward from where my father's blood had soaked into the earth.

"What's happening?" Kael shouted over the rumbling.

The blood moon overhead seemed to pulse, its light intensifying. The pendant around my neck grew almost painfully hot.

Alex was chanting something now, his knife raised above Isabella's coffin. I had to stop him, but the quaking ground made it difficult to move quickly.

"Layla!" Kael called, pointing to the sky.

I looked up to see the blood moon glowing brighter than before, its light focusing into a beam that shot down directly onto us.

The world around me exploded into red and blue light.