Chapter 80: Eighty

LILA’S POV

The darkness around my throat feels like cold hands were squeezing the air from my lungs, and I claw at it desperately even though I know it’s not real not in the way flesh and bone are real.

It’s Draven’s magic, twisted by the bond between Walter and me, and every second it holds me, I can feel my power being pulled away, drained into the shadow figure that looks exactly like the man I love.

Fight it, my wolf growls inside my mind, her voice sharp with pain. Don’t let it take what’s yours.

You are the Star Born and light always wins against darkness.

I close my eyes, ignoring the burning in my chest and the sound of Draven’s triumphant laughter.

I reach deep inside myself, searching for the warmth of Walter’s touch, the steady beat of his heart that I can feel even through the darkness. I think of the rainy night he saved me, of the way he held me as we fell down the embankment, of the moment our hands touched in the cavern and the world felt like it clicked into place.

I choose you, I whisper to him in my mind, even though I don’t know if he can hear me. I choose you, and I choose them. I won’t let anything tear us apart.

The golden light inside me flares bright enough to make my eyes water, and I feel the darkness around my throat begin to weaken. I push harder, drawing on every memory, every feeling and every ounce of strength I have left, and suddenly the shadow figure staggers backward with a howl of rage.

I gasp for breath, pushing myself up as the light pours from my hands in thick streams of gold. It wraps around Walter and I watch in awe as he stands tall, his eyes glowing with a mix of blue and gold as he faces the shadow figure head-on.

“You’re not me,” he says.

“You’re just fear, doubt and the part of me that wanted to give up when things got hard.”

The shadow figure roars and charges, its dark sword clashing against Walter’s golden shield with a sound like thunder. Sparks fly, and the impact sends shockwaves through the ground, shaking loose stones from the estate walls.

I turn my attention to Draven, who’s standing frozen as his own magic turns against him. His warriors are beginning to panic, dropping their weapons and running as the shadow’s darkness creeps toward them, consuming everything in its path.

“Draven,” I say, my voice steady even though my hands are still trembling.

“It’s not too late. You can still stop this, you can still choose to use your power for good.”

He looks at me, his face twisted with rage and fear at the same time.

“Good? What do you know about good? You think you’re so special just because the Moon Goddess touched you? You think you can fix everything with your pretty little light?”

“I don’t think I can fix everything,” I say, taking a step forward. The golden light around my hands glows warmer, and I can feel it reaching out to him, offering a way out of the darkness he’s trapped himself in.

“But I know we can try. Together.”

From behind me, I hear Mirabel shout. “Lila! The Moon Well, it’s breaking apart! If we don’t purify it now, the magic will spread beyond the estate and it will corrupt every pack in the region!”

I look toward the center of the grounds, where the violet light is now spiraling into the sky like a dark tornado.

The stone well at its base is cracking open and black smoke is pouring from the gaps as the earth begins to split apart.

I glance back at Walter, who’s still fighting the shadow figure, his movements are fluid and strong, but I can see the strain on his face, the way the golden light around him flickers with every blow. The shadow is growing stronger, feeding on the fear and panic that’s spreading through the grounds.

I have to choose.

I can stay here and help Walter fight the shadow and save him from the darkness that’s been haunting him since the accident. Or I can run to the Moon Well and purify it, save the pack, save the land, save every wolf and human who depends on the Fairmoon’s magic.

But I don’t want to choose. I refuse to choose.

I close my eyes again, reaching out with my power, searching for the connection between Walter, the pack, and the land itself. And then I feel it a single thread of light that runs through everything, connecting us all like a web.

The carvings were wrong. The old stories were wrong. I don’t have to choose between my mate and my pack because they’re not separate. They’re one and the same.

I raise both hands to the sky, and the golden light explodes from me in a wave so bright it turns the smoke black and the sky white.

It washes over Walter, and the shadow figure lets out a final howl before dissolving into sparkles of light. It wraps around the Moon Well, and the violet darkness begins to recede, replaced by soft silver moonlight that glows warmly.

It touches Draven, and I see the rage fade from his face, replaced by shock.

But as the light spreads, I feel a sharp pain in my chest, it feels like a tearing sensation that makes me cry out and stumble forward. I look down to see dark lines spreading across my skin, like cracks in glass, and I realize with horror that my power is too much for my human body to handle.

I’m breaking apart.

Walter rushes to my side, catching me before I fall. His hands are warm on my face, his eyes wide with terror as he sees the cracks spreading up my neck and across my cheeks.

“Lila,” he whispers, his voice breaking. “What have you done? You’ve pushed too hard, you’re going to kill yourself.”

I reach up and touch his face, smiling even though every breath feels hard.

“I didn’t push too hard,” I say softly. “I just finally understood. I’m not just a human or a wolf or even the Star Born. I’m all of it and so are you. So are we all.”

The cracks spread to my eyes, and the world begins to blur into golden light. I can hear voices shouting, Mirabel, Caelum and even Draven, but they sound far away, like they’re coming from the other side of a tunnel.

And then I hear it, a soft, familiar hum vibrating through my bones.

It’s the Moon Goddess, and she’s speaking directly to me, her voice as warm and gentle as a mother’s embrace.

You have done well, child, she says. You have shown that love is stronger than fear, that light can grow from darkness, and that choice doesn’t have to mean loss. But your journey is not over...not yet.

The light around me intensifies, and I feel my body beginning to dissolve into sparkles of gold and silver. Walter holds me tighter, crying out my name as I fade away in his arms.

“Wait!” he shouts, his voice echoing through the now-quiet grounds.

“Don’t leave me, please don’t leave me!”

I look at him one last time, sending him all the love and strength I have left. I’m not leaving, I whisper in his mind. I’m just becoming part of everything we’re fighting to protect.

The last thing I see before the light consumes me is the Moon Well, it's now glowing brightly and Walter's standing alone in the middle of the grounds, his face lifted to the sky as the golden sparkles begin to fall around him like rain.

And then I feel it, a pull that's stronger than anything I’ve ever known, drawing me back toward him, toward the pack and toward the land that’s now part of me.

But I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to come back as myself.