Chapter 176 The Fall of Ethan Monroe

Chapter 176 The Fall of Ethan Monroe
Luna’s POV

I almost chose the First Wolf. That was the truth.
For one terrible second below the Blood Moon, the power felt too overwhelming to resist.

The wolves kneeling before me. The instinct and the control. It felt natural.
Like the hierarchy had been waiting for me my entire life. And worst of all, was that part of me wanted it.
The First Wolf saw that weakness immediately.
YES. NO MORE FEAR. NO MORE PAIN.

My body trembled violently and the wolf inside me pushed harder than ever before.
Take the throne, end the struggle, and become whole.
Then….
Kai growled my name. Not loudly, and not violently. It was just enough.
And instantly the bond between us surged alive again and warmth crashed through the chaos in my head.

Memory, emotion, and humanity.
Kai is standing beside me in the forest. Kai is teaching me control. Kai is bleeding for me. Kai refuses to leave me.
The hierarchy promised power and Kai reminded me who I was.
I staggered backward from the First Wolf breathing hard.
“No.”

The creature’s silver eyes darkened instantly and the wolves surrounding us reacted violently to my rejection. Several rose snarling.
The First Wolf roared.
KILL THE ALPHA.

Everything moved at once. Dozens of wolves lunged toward Kai simultaneously.
“KAI!”

He fought immediately, claws tearing through the first attackers while Selene shifted beside him with deadly speed. But there were too many.
The hierarchy itself was trying to erase him. Because as long as Kai lived…
I could still resist. I moved instinctively to protect him…
But sudden pain exploded below the gym floor.

The ritual symbols Ethan had been drawing ignited violently silver and the entire building shook. Everyone froze, even the First Wolf turned sharply.
Ethan stood at the center of the glowing symbols bleeding heavily from both arms now.

His voice cracked as he continued chanting the ancient language.
The ritual blade floated before him trembling violently.
“What are you doing?” Selene shouted.

Ethan looked at me. And I saw it immediately.
He’d made his decision, with tears mixed with blood on his face.
“I’m ending it.”

Cold terror hit my chest. “No.”

“The seal can still be restored,” Ethan said shakily.

The hooded figures appeared around him again instantly. Whispering and manipulating. But this time…
Ethan ignored them. The First Wolf finally looked alarmed and impossible fear flashed through its silver eyes.
STOP HIM.

The wolves moved instantly toward Ethan.
I reacted first, as power exploded outward from me violently enough to throw every attacking wolf backward across the gym. The hierarchy obeyed me automatically now. And suddenly…
The First Wolf understood the trap. Ethan wasn’t trying to control the hierarchy anymore. He was trying to destroy it.
The ritual symbols spread wider below the school and ancient silver light crawled across the broken floor.

The entire seal chamber below Crescent Valley began reopening and Kai realized it too.
“Ethan, you’ll die!”

Ethan laughed weakly. “Yeah.”

The honesty shattered me. Because below everything… the rituals, the betrayal, the darkness, and Ethan still loved me. Even after all this.
The First Wolf lunged toward him in fury. I intercepted it instantly.
This time the collision shook the entire town.
The creature slammed me through the gym wall and into the ruined courtyard outside and pain exploded through my spine. The Blood Moon burned directly overhead now.

Almost at its peak, the First Wolf landed before me slowly. Its silver fur was stained black with blood and its voice entered my mind more softly this time.
HE CANNOT SAVE YOU.

I rose shakily to my feet.
“Maybe not.”

The creature tilted its head slightly.
THEN WHY CHOOSE HIM?

I looked through the destroyed gym toward Kai fighting beside Selene and Ethan inside the collapsing ritual circle..Then back at the First Wolf.
And finally….
I understood the difference between us. “You rule through instinct,” I whispered.

The wind around us intensified violently. “But humans choose.”

The First Wolf roared and attacked and this time I didn’t retreat. I transformed further than ever before and silver-black fur erupted fully across my body as my senses exploded into terrifying clarity.

I met the First Wolf head-on below the Blood Moon as claws collided.
Power detonated outward and the ground below Crescent Valley split open again. And inside the gym…
Ethan drove the ritual blade into the center of the seal and suddenly everything stopped.
The moon. The wolves. The storm.

For one impossible second, Silence swallowed the world. Then Ethan screamed. Not in pain, but in sacrifice.
The ritual symbols erupted upward in blinding silver light consuming the entire school.

The hooded figures disintegrated instantly shrieking and the First Wolf staggered violently. For the first time, it looked afraid to die.
And deep inside the collapsing light….
I saw Ethan Monroe smiling at me one last time.