Chapter 72 Chapter Seventy two

Chapter 72 Chapter Seventy two
LILA’S POV

My feet pounded against the damp earth of the old tunnel, my breath coming in ragged sobs that burned my throat raw. The golden light had faded from my skin, but I could still feel it humming under my veins dangerously.

You’re burning him alive, Draven’s words echoed in my head, mixing with the shadow-Walter’s taunts and the look of agony on Walter’s face as my light washed over him. 
Every time you use that power, you’re killing the man you’re trying to protect.

I burst out of the tunnel into the woods, the silver moonlight cutting through the trees like knives. 
The forest was silent... too silent. No crickets, no owls, not even the rustle of wind in the leaves. It felt like the whole world was holding its breath and waiting for sunrise.

Waiting for me to make my choice.

You don’t have to do this, my wolf whispered, her voice soft but firm inside my mind. 
He’s lying. The light doesn’t hurt him, it’s purifying him. Burning out the silver poison that’s been killing him for two years. It hurts now, but it will make him strong again.

“Then why does he look like he’s dying?” I cried out into the empty woods, my voice cracking. 
“Why did his skin start to blister? Why did he fall to his knees like he couldn’t breathe?”

Because silver is deep in his bones, she replied. Poison that’s been feeding him for two years doesn’t leave easily. The pain is real, little star... but so is the healing. You just have to trust it. Trust him.

I stumbled to a stop at the edge of a small clearing, where a single oak tree stood tall against the moon. I’d come here as a child, before I even knew about the Fairmoons, before I’d met Walter or Caelum. It was my secret place, where I’d go when my father ignored me, when Seraphine mocked me, when the world felt like it was crushing me under its weight.

I sank to my knees under the oak, wrapping my arms around my legs and burying my face in my knees. Tears soaked through my dress, hot and bitter.

Two years ago, I’d saved Walter without even knowing it. I’d given him a piece of myself to keep him alive, and he’d spent every day since hating me for it. Now, when I finally remembered, when I finally understood what I was… my power was hurting him all over again.

Footsteps crunched on the leaves behind me, quiet but deliberate. I didn’t turn around, I didn’t need to. I’d know that scent anywhere, wild pine, rain-soaked earth, and something uniquely him.

Caelum.

He stopped a few feet away, not coming closer, not touching me. Just standing there in the moonlight, his shoulders slumped  with his golden-brown hair falling over his eyes.

“I followed you,” he said quietly. “Walter tried to come too, but… he couldn’t make it far. His leg gave out again. Mirabel’s with him now, she’s trying to ease the pain, but she says the silver is reacting more strongly than ever. Every pulse of your power makes it worse.”

I didn’t look up. “I’m going to Draven tomorrow. At sunrise. I’ll give myself up so he’ll leave them alone.”

Caelum was quiet for a long moment. Then I heard him sink to the ground beside me, leaning his back against the oak tree.

“When we were kids,” he said, his voice rough with emotion, “Walter and I used to come here to practice fighting. We’d climb that oak tree and pretend we were kings of the world."
"He always let me win, he said it was because I was younger, but I know now he just didn’t want to see me cry when I lost.”

He paused, pulling a small, crumpled piece of cloth from his pocket. It was a faded blue ribbon... my ribbon. The one I’d worn in my hair the day I’d met them at the engagement party.

“I stole this from you that night,” he admitted, holding it out to me. 
“I hated you then. Hated that you were human, hated that you were engaged to me, hated that Walter looked at you like you hung the moon and stars. I thought if I took something of yours, it would make you go away.”

I finally looked up, taking the ribbon from him. It was worn soft with age, but still the same shade of blue as my eyes.

“But you didn’t make me go away,” I said quietly.

“No,” he agreed, staring up at the moon. “Because the more I got to know you… the more I realized you weren’t what I thought. You were kind, even when I was cruel. You were strong, even when everyone told you you were weak.”

He turned to look at me, his brown eyes dark with regret.

“I was wrong about you, Lila. All of us were. Walter more than anyone. He didn’t hate you because he thought you betrayed him, he hated you because he thought he wasn’t good enough for you. Because when he saw you at the engagement party, he knew you were his mate… and he thought a broken Alpha couldn’t protect a Star Born.”

My breath caught in my throat. “He… he knew?”

“He’s known since the moment he saw you,” Caelum said softly. 
“The bond hit him like a lightning strike. But then the accident happened, and everyone told him you’d left him to die… and he convinced himself that you’d chosen me instead. That you’d rejected him for a whole wolf, not a crippled one who could barely walk.”

I stared at the blue ribbon in my hands, my mind reeling. All this time, I’d thought Walter hated me for what I’d done… but he’d been hurting because he thought I’d rejected him.

“The silver poison,” Caelum continued, his voice growing serious. 
“Mirabel found something in the old texts. The Star Born’s light doesn’t just burn away corruption, it can also forge a bond stronger than any natural mating. But it requires a choice. Your choice."
"You have to choose him willingly, with the full knowledge of what you are and what he is… or the bond will never be complete and without that bond, his body will never fully heal.”

“So all this time,” I whispered, “the pain he’s been feeling… it’s not just the silver. It’s the bond calling out to me, and me not answering.”

Caelum nodded. “Draven knows it too. That’s why he’s pushing you to choose him instead. If you mate with Draven willingly, even under duress, your power will be his forever and Walter… without the bond to heal him, the silver will eventually kill him.”

A twig snapped in the woods beyond the clearing, sharp and loud in the silence. We both froze, listening. Then another snap, closer this time.

Caelum stood up quickly, drawing his dagger. “We need to get back...”

A figure stepped out of the shadows at the edge of the clearing, tall and lean, with long blond hair falling over his scarred face. 
Draven Harlan smiled, his eyes gleaming with cold amusement.

“No need to rush back, Caelum,” he said, his voice smooth.
“I’ve come to collect what’s mine and I’ve brought a guest to help me convince her.”

He stepped aside, and two of his warriors dragged a young woman into the clearing, it's Elara. Her face was pale and bruised, her hands bound with silver rope, but her eyes were bright with defiance.

“Elara!” I cried out, jumping to my feet. “You’re alive!”

“For now,” Draven said, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
“She’s been very brave… but bravery only gets you so far. Tomorrow at sunrise, Lila. You come to me at the old stone circle, or she dies and this time… I won’t just take her. I’ll take Walter too. I’ll make him watch while I claim you, then I’ll kill him slowly, letting the silver poison consume him while he’s still conscious.”

He took a step forward, his eyes locking...locking with me. 
"Don’t think you can run. My trackers know every path through these woods, every cave, and every hidden hollow where you might try to hide her."
"And if you bring anyone else with you... well, let’s just say the bodies won’t be recognizable enough for a proper burial."

A low snarl rumbled from the shadows behind me, and I didn’t need to turn to know Walter was fighting every instinct to shift. I could feel the heat rolling off him, the tension in his muscles as he fought to stay human, to keep from giving Draven any excuse to act on his threats right then and there.

Draven’s lips curved into a cruel smile as he caught the sound. "Ah, there he is. Listening in like the coward he is. Tell me, wolf, how does it feel knowing you can’t protect the ones you love? How does it feel to be weak?"

He gave the hilt of his sword a sharp pat before stepping back into the deeper darkness of the forest edge. "Sunrise, Lila. Don’t be late. The moon will be setting, and silver works best when the light is shifting."

With one last lingering glare, he melted into the trees, his footsteps silent even on the crunch of fallen leaves. For a long moment after he was gone, no one moved , then Walter’s hand from nowhere settled gently on my shoulder, his touch warm despite the chill that had seeped into her bones.

"Lila, you can’t go," he said quietly, his voice rough with barely contained rage and fear. "He’ll kill us both. There has to be another way."