Chapter 172 The Heir and the Beast

Chapter 172 The Heir and the Beast
Luna’s POV

The First Wolf smiled at me from the burning streets below. And suddenly….
Every wolf in Crescent Valley turned their heads upward simultaneously. Toward the rooftop and toward me. The realization hit like ice water.

It wasn’t hunting anymore. It was waiting for my answer.
The storm above the town darkened violently, with thunder shaking the shattered skyline while fires spread through Crescent Valley below us. Military sirens had almost completely stopped now. Because the military was losing badly.

Smoke curled from overturned tanks near the eastern barricade, as helicopters burned in the forest. And somewhere in the distance, I heard hundreds of people screaming…they were not dying. They were running.

The wolves were herding them. My stomach twisted violently.

“We’re out of time,” Kai said sharply.

His hand found mine instinctively and the bond reacted instantly.
Heat surged through my chest and i felt stability. But under that,.i felt pain.
Because the First Wolf hated it.

The creature’s silver eyes narrowed from below as if it could physically feel our connection. Then the voice hit my head again.

HEIR. COME HOME.

I gasped sharply as blood dripped from my nose instantly. Kai grabbed my shoulders. “Luna!”

The voice deepened violently inside my skull.
THEY FEAR WHAT YOU ARE.

Images exploded through my mind: ancient wolves ruling cities, humans kneeling, massive silver armies crossing nations and the moon turning red above the world
Then…
There was me. Standing beside the First Wolf. I was not fighting it, I was leading with it. “No!”

Power exploded outward from me instinctively and the rooftop cracked apart below our feet. Windows shattered across nearby buildings.
And below….Every wolf in Crescent Valley dropped low instantly in submission. The First Wolf watched silently. Almost proudly and Selene’s face paled.
“She’s syncing with the hierarchy too fast.”

“I’m not choosing it,” I snapped.

But even saying that felt unstable now. Because the wolf inside me reacted differently. It was not afraid. It was tempted. The hierarchy felt natural to it. Safe and mine.

God.
I could feel how easy it would be to command them. One thought. One instinct.
Thousands of wolves would obey and the terrifying part was that a small piece of me wanted to. Ethan saw it on my face immediately.
“That’s how it wins,” he said quietly.

Kai stepped closer protectively.
“She’s fighting it.”

“For now.”

Wrong answer.
Kai nearly attacked him instantly. The bond flared hard with aggression and territorial instinct burst through him so sharply I physically felt it too.
Ethan noticed.
“So that’s getting worse too.”

“Shut up, Ethan.”

“No, Kai, actually look at what’s happening!” Ethan pointed toward me desperately. “The mating bond is accelerating her transformation!”

Silence.
The words hit harder than expected and Kai froze. Selene looked sharply between us. And deep down, I knew Ethan wasn’t entirely wrong.
Every time Kai touched me, the wolf calmed. But it also grew stronger and more complete. Like the bond stabilized the transformation instead of stopping it.

The First Wolf suddenly roared below us and the sound shook the entire rooftop violently and then all at once, the wolves across Crescent Valley started moving again. Not wandering, they were marching toward the town borders, toward freedom and toward the rest of the world.

Kai looked down in horror.
“They’re breaching containment.”

Far below, military gunfire erupted desperately near the southern highway.
Too late.
Dozens of silver-eyed wolves tore through barricades at terrifying speed and humans scattered. Cars overturned and blood sprayed across the roads.
And then, one wolf crossed the border, but nothing stopped it.

A cold silence hit all of us. Because that single moment changed everything.
The outbreak was no longer contained. The world outside Crescent Valley was now in danger. Then Selene whispered softly…“It’s begun.”

Then suddenly….A massive explosion ripped through downtown Crescent Valley and fire erupted skyward and shockwaves slammed through nearby buildings. I turned instantly toward the source and to the hospital.
My blood ran cold.
Moon-sick patients flooded from the burning building screaming and partially transformed. Some attacked civilians immediately and others collapsed crying.

The infection was spreading uncontrollably now, the hierarchy was evolving beyond wolves alone and the first Wolf lifted its head toward the burning hospital slowly. Then every transformed creature nearby obeyed one silent command. Feed.

Chaos exploded instantly and people died everywhere.

Kai grabbed my arm hard. “We end this now.”

“How?”

Nobody answered. Because nobody had a real plan anymore.
Then…
Grandma Ashford’s voice echoed suddenly from behind us.
“There is one way.”

We turned instantly.
She stood at the rooftop entrance holding an ancient silver blade wrapped in dark cloth. Even Selene looked stunned.
“No…”

Grandma’s eyes locked onto me sadly. “The Heir can reseal the First Wolf.”

Hope flashed briefly through me. Then vanished immediately when I saw her expression.
“What’s the cost?”

Silence.
Kai already knew before she answered and his grip on my hand tightened painfully. “No.”

Grandma looked heartbroken.
“The seal requires blood from the original lineage.”

My pulse slowed. No. “It requires sacrifice.”

Kai stepped in front of me instantly.
“Absolutely not.”

“The world ends otherwise,” Selene said quietly.

Kai rounded on her with murderous fury. “You don’t get to decide that!”

“The wolves already crossed containment!” Selene shouted back.

“The hierarchy is spreading globally now!”

Below us, another military line collapsed and more wolves escaped into the forests beyond town. The world outside Crescent Valley would start seeing attacks by morning and then infections. Then transformations and the apocalypse had already started.

And suddenly, I understood the final truth. That this was never about surviving high school. Or love triangles, or even hidden secrets. It was about inheritance.
About whether power controls you…. or whether you choose what to become.
The First Wolf roared again under the blood-red sky, waiting for me.

The Heir.

Its future vessel, or its executioner.