ARIA POV
I dodged Silas’s claws by inches as blue light burst from my belly. The light ford a shield between us, pushing the charging Alpha backward. He crashed into the stone table where the other pack leaders sat watching in shock.
"What is this?" Silas roared, his eyes wild with rage and fear.
My hands moved protectively to my stomach. The blue light was coming from my pregnant triplets. Sohow, they were saving .
"The next generation doesn’t approve of your thods," I said, my voice stronger than I felt.
Elder Malin stepped forward, his old eyes wide. "The cubs... they’re already showing powers. This has never happened before."
Silas got to his feet, brushing off his clothes. "This changes nothing. The challenge has been made and must be answered." He looked around at the other Alphas. "By our oldest laws, I challenge this oga for leadership of all packs!"
"She’s pregnant," argued a female Alpha I didn’t know.
"And she claims to be our equal," Silas hissed. "Let her prove it."
Through our mate ties, I could feel Kael, Lucien, and Jaxon’s panic. The silver mist bombs had failed—my shield had protected everyone—but now they sensed my new danger.
We’re coming! Lucien’s voice echoed in my mind.
No ti, I answered. If I refuse the dare, we lose everything.
"I accept," I said aloud, and all the Alphas gasped.
Silas smiled bitterly. "Excellent. The battle circle. Now."
Elder Malin gripped my arm as we walked outside to a flat area ringed with torches. "Aria, you don’t have to do this. No one would bla you for refusing while carrying cubs."
"And that’s exactly why I have to fight," I whispered. "I’m fighting for a world where my children won’t be judged by old rules that don’t make sense anymore."
The circle was fifteen feet across, marked with white stones that glowed in the moonlight. All seven Alphas stood around it as witnesses.
"The rules are simple," Elder Malin announced. "The fight continues until one submits or can no longer continue. No outside help is allowed."
Silas stepped into the circle, instantly shifting into his wolf form. He was massive—easily twice my size, with jet black fur and yellow eyes that glowed with hate.
I took a deep breath and stepped into the circle too. The blue light still shimred around my belly, but I could feel it fading. The babies had protected from Silas’s initial attack, but they were too small to keep such power.
Listen to , little ones, I thought to them. Save your strength. Let mom handle this.
The blue light faded, and I let my golden healing power flow through instead. But I didn’t shift into my wolf form.
"Afraid to show your true self?" Silas teased, his wolf’s mouth forming the words unnaturally.
"I’m not afraid," I said quietly. "I just don’t need teeth and claws to defeat you."
He laughed—a terrible sound coming from a wolf—and began circling . I turned slowly, keeping my eyes on him.
"Your kind has ruled through fear for too long," I said, letting everyone hear . "Alphas, Betas, Ogas... these aren’t jail sentences. They’re just different ways of being strong."
"Weakness!" Silas spat. "You’ve corrupted the natural order!"
He lunged at , jaws snapping. I sidestepped, just barely dodging his teeth. He was fast for his size. He whirled and struck again, this ti catching my arm with his claws.
Pain lanced through as blood welled from three deep cuts. I gasped but didn’t cry out.
My golden healing light instantly closed the wounds. Silas’s eyes widened in surprise.
"Is that all you’ve got?" I asked, my voice steady despite my pounding heart.
With a roar of rage, he charged again. This ti I didn’t try to dodge. Instead, I reached deep inside myself, to the place where my mate links lived. Three golden threads linked to Kael, Lucien, and Jaxon.
I couldn’t draw on their real strength—that would break the rules of the challenge—but our bonds themselves were part of now. And those bonds were ford in love, trust, and respect—everything Silas fought against.
As his huge body slamd into mine, I should have gone flying. Instead, I stood steady, my feet barely sliding in the dirt. My hands ca up and caught his front legs.
"Impossible," he growled, fighting against my grip.
I could feel the links inside glowing brighter. Through them, I felt my mates getting closer, racing toward with every warrior in our pack behind them.
"This is what you fear," I said, looking Silas in the eyes. "Not that I’m weak, but that I’m strong in a way you don’t understand."
With a strength that shocked even , I twisted and flipped Silas onto his back. He yelped in shock as I pinned him to the ground, one hand on his throat.
For a mont, we both froze in surprise. Then, with a snarl, he changed back to human form, trying to throw off. I held strong.
"Submit," I ordered.
"Never," he spat, fighting against my hold.
I leaned closer. "This is your last chance, Silas. Submit and live to see the new world we’re building."
"I’d rather die than live in a world ruled by ogas and half-breeds," he hissed.
Sadness washed over . I didn’t want to kill him, even after everything he’d done.
"So be it," I whispered.
I let my golden light flow into him—not to heal, but to show. Every pack mber watching gasped as Silas’s body glowed from within, revealing a network of black veins spreading through his body.
"What are you doing to ?" he cried, terrified.
"Nothing," I said. "I’m showing everyone what you’ve done to yourself. You took sothing from the people, didn’t you? Sothing to make yourself stronger?"
Elder Malin stepped closer, his face pale. "Shadow Division trials. You let them modify you."
Silas’s struggles weakened as the truth was uncovered. "The old ways weren’t working," he whispered. "Humans were getting too powerful. We needed to grow... to beco stronger..."
"By becoming less werewolf?" I asked. "By betraying everything we stand for?"
The other Alphas murmured in fear as they saw the extent of Silas’s modifications. He had beco sothing unnatural—not fully werewolf anymore.
"I did what was necessary," Silas insisted, but his voice lacked confidence now.
I stood up, releasing him. "The challenge is over. Everyone can see you’ve already submitted—to people."
Silas looked around at the faces of the other Alphas and saw only disgust. With a howl of rage, he changed back to wolf form and lunged at one last ti.
I was ready. As his jaws ca for my throat, I directed every ounce of energy from my triple bond into my hands. Golden light blazed between us, stopping him mid-air.
"Enough," I said, and pushed the light forward.
The golden energy wrapped around Silas like bands, binding him in place. He struggled, but couldn’t break free.
"By the power of the Moon Goddess and as Luna of the united packs, I strip you of your Alpha status," I announced. "You are banished from all pack territories for your cris against werewolf kind."
A combined gasp went up from the watching Alphas. No one had ever stripped an Alpha of their title before. It wasn’t ant to be possible.
But as I spoke the words, Silas’s yellow Alpha eyes faded to regular brown. He howled in agony as sothing basic changed within him.
"What have you done to ?" he cried, shifting back to human form and falling to his knees.
"I’ve given you what you fear most," I said softly. "A chance to learn what it’s like to live without power over others."
At that mont, my mates burst into the clearing with our fighters behind them. They took in the scene— standing over a defeated Silas, the group of watching Alphas—and rushed to my side.
"Are you hurt?" Lucien asked, checking for damage.
"The babies?" Jaxon worried.
"What happened here?" Kael ordered, glaring at Silas.
Before I could answer any of them, a deafening howl cut through the night. It wasn’t coming from anyone present. This howl seed to co from everywhere and nowhere at once.
All the werewolves froze, recognizing a sound from our oldest tales.
"The First Alpha," Elder Malin whispered, falling to his knees.
The moonlight around us increased, focusing into a beam that shone directly on . A voice that wasn’t quite sound but more like feeling washed over us all: THE TRUE ALPHA RISES. THE CYCLE BEGINS ANEW.
My skin began to tingle, then burn. My bones shifted without my control. My very DNA seed to be rewriting itself.
"Aria!" my friends called in unison, reaching for .
But a wall of silver light parted us. I could see the fear in their eyes as I began to float above the ground.
"What’s happening to her?" Jaxon shouted to Elder Malin.
The old wolf shook his head, his eyes wide with wonder and fear. "The prophecy... it wasn’t about breaking a curse... it was about becoming sothing new."
As the pain intensified, I caught a glimpse of my image in Lucien’s eyes. My own eyes weren’t golden anymore.
They were silver.
Like the Moon Goddess herself.
Reviews
All reviews (0)