Chapter 73 Untitled Chapter

Chapter 73 Untitled Chapter
WALTER’S POV

I can feel the coldness of the forest floor as it seeped through the thin fabric of my trousers, my bad leg was twisted at an awkward angle where I’d stumbled behind a thick cluster of ferns. 
Every breath is a battle against the fire that's burning through my veins with the silver poison flaring up at the mere proximity of Draven’s dark magic, and the strain of pushing my body past its limits to follow Lila.

When my hand settles on her shoulder, I feel her flinch, definitely not from fear of me, but from the sheer weight of everything that's pressing down on her. 
I want to pull her close, to shield her with my body even though I can barely stand, but I hold back. She needs only strength now and not pity.

“He’ll kill us both,” I repeat, my voice low enough that only she can hear it over the rustle of leaves in the faint breeze.
“But more than that, he’ll take your power and twist it into something dark and everything that the Moon Goddess intended for good, he’ll use to destroy every pack and every human family that stands in his way.”

I push myself up from the ground, leaning heavily against the rough bark of a nearby birch tree. 
My leg screams in protest, and I bite back a groan as I look at her, her golden hair catching the moonlight, her blue eyes filled with a kind of pain I know I’ve caused as much as Draven has.

“I know you think you’re saving us by going to him,” I say, my gaze locking with hers.
“But you’re giving him exactly what he wants. The Star Born’s power only reaches its full potential when it’s given freely out of love and not taken through fear or sacrifice.”

Caelum moves to stand beside me, his dagger still clenched in his hand, his eyes scanning the treeline for any sign of Draven’s men lingering in the shadows.
“Walter’s right, Lila. We’ve got hours until sunrise. Mirabel’s already digging deeper into the archives, there has to be something we’ve missed. Some way to break this without you having to surrender yourself.”

I shake my head, even as a wave of dizziness washes over me. The silver in my blood is burning hotter than ever, and I can feel my wolf pacing frantically inside my mind, clawing at the walls that have held him captive for two years. We can’t let her go, he snarls. We’ll find a way, we have to find a way.

“I’ve already looked through every text we have,” I say, my voice rough with exhaustion.
“The only way to fully awaken her power and purify the silver in my veins is for her to choose the bond willingly. But Draven’s leaving us no time to prepare, no time to help her understand what that choice means.”

Lila looks from me to Elara, who’s watching us with wide, terrified eyes, then back again.
“What choice do I have? If I don’t go, he’ll kill her. He’ll kill you and he’ll burn everything we care about to the ground.”

Before I can answer, a low hum vibrates through the earth beneath our feet, it was faint at first, then it started growing louder until it feels like the very trees are shaking. Caelum tenses, his hand flying to the hilt of his sword.
“What is that?”

I close my eyes, focusing on the vibration, letting my wolf’s senses reach out into the darkness.
It’s magic, it's a powerful old magic, and it’s coming from the direction of the old stone circle where Draven wants to meet her.

“He’s already preparing,” I whisper, my eyes snapping open. 
“He’s laying wards, setting up a binding circle. If you step foot there at sunrise, he’ll have already woven his magic into the  ground. You won’t just be giving him your power, you’ll also be bound to him for life.”

The hum grows louder, and I see the golden sparks dancing at the tips of Lila’s fingers, her power reacting to the old magic, waking up even though she’s not calling it. 
She stares at her hands, her face pale with confusion. “I don’t understand… I’m not doing this.”

“It’s the stone circle,” I explain, pushing off the tree and taking a shaky step toward her. 
“It’s a sacred site where the Moon Goddess first blessed the Star Born line. Your power recognizes it, even if you don’t.”

Then, from the direction of the stone circle, a voice rings out, it's Draven’s voice, it was amplified by dark magic so it echoes through the entire forest:

“ONE HOUR UNTIL SUNRISE, STAR BORN! THE CIRCLE WAITS. COME ALONE, OR WATCH YOUR ALPHA’S LIFE BLEED AWAY WITH THE MOONLIGHT!”

I feel a sharp jolt of pain in my chest, and I stumble forward, catching myself on a low branch.
Warm liquid trickles down my shirt front, and when I look down, I see blood seeping through the fabric, my own blood, it's dark and it's  tinged with silver, dripping onto the leaves below.

“The binding has already started,” Caelum breathes, his face white with horror. 
“He’s linking your life to his, Walter. Every minute we wait, you get weaker.”

Lila’s eyes fly to the blood on my shirt, then to my face, and I see something shift in her expression, her fear giving way to a fierce determination I’ve only glimpsed before. 
She reaches out, her hand trembling as she touches my chest, and the golden light from her fingers flares bright enough to make me wince.

But this time, the light doesn’t burn. It feels warm, like sunlight on my skin, and the searing pain in my veins eases just a little. She looks up at me, her eyes glowing with that familiar starlight gold, and speaks in a voice that’s quiet but unshakeable:

“I won’t let him take you and I won’t let him take anyone else.”

As she says it, the golden light spreads from her hand, wrapping around me like a blanket, and I feel my wolf stir inside me, he's stronger than he’s been in two years, his presence clear and powerful in my mind. 
She’s ready, he says. Not fully, but ready enough.

But then, from behind us, Elara cries out, it's a sharp, choked sound of terror. We spin around to see her staring past us, her eyes wide with horror, and when I follow her gaze, my blood runs cold.

Standing at the edge of the clearing, surrounded by half a dozen of his warriors, is Draven and in his hand, held up to catch the last of the moonlight, is a silver dagger with my own blood already coating its blade.

“YOU’RE TOO LATE, WALTER,” he shouts, his voice ringing with triumph. 
“THE BLOOD TIES ARE ALREADY SET. NOW SHE HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO COME TO ME… OR YOU DIE RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!”