Chapter 82: Eighty Two

LILA’S POV

I am not in my body. I am everywhere and nowhere at the same time, I'm rooted in the oak trees at the edge of the woods, flowing in the streams that feed the Moon Well and floating in the smoke that still hangs over the estate.

I can feel every blade of grass, every broken stone and every heartbeat of the wolves and humans who call Fairmoon home.

And I can feel it.

It lives deep beneath the earth, coiled like a snake around the very heart of the land. It’s older than the stone circle and the pack itself, a darkness that was sealed away long ago by the first Star Born and her Alpha.

Draven didn’t just try to corrupt the Moon Well, he had made a deal with this darkness and traded his loyalty for power. When I gave everything to purify the land, I didn’t just wake it up, I have forced it to reveal itself.

Foolish child, it whispers in my mind, its voice serene. You thought you could stand against me with your little spark of light? I have fed on the weakness of this land for centuries. Every doubt, betrayal, and moment of fear has made me stronger. And now, through you, I will finally be free.

I try to push back, to send my light down into the depths where it hides, but it wraps around me like cold water, suffocating me.

It pulls at my memories of my father’s cruelty, of late Seraphine’s hatred, of Walter’s years of anger toward me and twisted them into weapons.

He hated you, the darkness hisses. He blamed you for his pain. Even now, part of him wishes you had never come back to his life.

I feel the truth of those words like a physical blow, and my light flickers.

I can feel myself fading and my consciousness fraying at the edges, dissolving into the very land I’m trying to protect.

But then I feel it, the steady beat of Walter’s heart, the warmth of our bond cutting through the cold.

Lila, he calls out in my mind, his strength wrapping around me like a shield. I’m here. I know what you’re fighting. Don’t let it lie to you.

Through him, I can see the stone wolves attacking the estate, their claws tearing through wood and stone like paper. I can see Mirabel and Caelum leading the wounded to safety. I can see Draven on his knees, screaming as the darkness he made a deal with turns on him, seeping into his skin and twisting his features.

And I can see Walter, limping but unyielding, his sword raised as he stands between the wolves and the last of his pack. His face is set in hard lines of determination, but I can feel his doubt, his guilt, his fear that he’s not strong enough to protect them. That he’s not strong enough to protect me.

You cannot win alone, the first Star Born’s voice echoes in my mind.  The Star Born’s power is not meant to be wielded alone. It requires balance. But balance does not mean making deals with darkness. It means facing your own weaknesses and choosing light anyway.

I understand then. Draven chose to embrace darkness because he thought it would make him strong. But true strength comes from facing the darkness within ourselves and refusing to let it control us.

I reach out with my power, not against Draven, but for Walter, for the man who hated me for years but still risked everything to protect me. For the Alpha who was broken but never stopped fighting. For the mate who finally chose to trust me, even when it cost him everything.

“Walter!” I call out, my voice carrying across the grounds, strong and clear despite being scattered through the land.

“Look at me!”

He turns toward the well, his blue eyes wide as he sees the silver light beginning to glow again beneath the black water. The stone wolves pause, their green eyes flickering as my light washes over them.

“I am not just Lila Varyn,” I say, and from every tree, stream, and every blade of grass, golden light begins to rise.

“I am not just the Star Born. I am part of this land, just as you are. But I will not let darkness consume what we have built.”

The golden light spreads across the ground, and the green darkness begins to recede. The stone wolves’ eyes soften from green to silver, and they lower their heads in submission. The black water in the Moon Well clears, returning to its warm silver glow.

But the darkness beneath us does not give up so easily. It roars, and the ground splits open wider, revealing a massive maw lined with teeth like jagged rock.

It reaches up with tentacles of shadow and grabs Walter by the ankle, dragging him toward the chasm despite his struggles.

YOU CANNOT SAVE HIM, it screams, and I feel it reaching into his mind, pulling at his anger, his guilt and his pain. I see his eyes cloud over, his sword falling from his grasp as he stops fighting.

“Walter!” I shout, but my voice is weak now, the darkness wrapping around me like chains.

“Don’t let it in! Remember who you are!”

He looks up at me, his eyes flickering between blue and green.

“I’m not strong enough,” he says, his voice hollow.

“I never was. That’s why I hated you, because you made me see my own weakness.”

The darkness coaxes him downward, promising that if he embraces it, he’ll never feel weak again. I try to reach him, but the chains around me grow tighter, and I feel my connection to the land beginning to fray.

“I know you think you’re weak,” I say, pushing through the pain, gathering every last spark of light I have left.

“But weakness is not the opposite of strength. It’s part of it. And you are stronger than you know.”

I concentrate all my power into a single point, a single golden star that bursts from the Moon Well and streaks toward him. It hits the shadow tentacles holding him, and they dissolve into smoke. But as he starts to pull himself free, the darkness rises up in his form with his eyes glowing bright green as he turns toward me, his hand reaching for my light.

“I’m sorry, Lila,” he says, his voice cold and empty.

“But strength requires sacrifice and you are the sacrifice I need to make.”