The Lunar Crest Academy: Marked by The Lycans Chapter 159: Astrid’s Gambit

Kieran’s POV

The mont I stepped out of her room, the air felt different. Colder. Thinner.

Like so part of had died in there with her.

I forced the weight off my chest, every step stiff and chanical as I made my way down the corridor toward the other dical bay. I needed to clear my head, to focus. I didn’t have the luxury of falling apart. Not now.

The tallic door hissed as it slid open. Inside, Cyrin and Varya were hunched over vials, screens, and ancient tos scattered across the table. The Ghosthound Queen lay unconscious on a reinforced steel slab at the center of the room, her hair a wild halo, her body motionless, but not for long.

They looked up the mont I stepped in.

"How much ti do we have left?" I demanded.

Cyrin’s face was taut, drawn from sleepless hours and relentless pressure. "An hour. Maybe less. The wolfsbane is nearly out."

I ran a hand through my hair, pacing like a beast in a cage. "You still haven’t found anything? No way to keep her from tearing us all apart when she wakes up?"

"We’ve tried everything logical," Cyrin said, exasperated. "Sedatives. Blood binding. Mind barriers. Nothing holds for more than a few seconds. Her wolf tears through all of it."

I stopped in front of the table, my fists clenched. My mother, still and pale, was the image of tragedy and terror in one. "Then maybe we’re going about it wrong," I muttered.

Cyrin looked up.

I narrowed my eyes. "This bloodlust of hers... this madness... is it in her wolf, or her actual DNA?"

Cyrin blinked at . "Her wolf."

"You’re sure?"

"Positive. I’ve studied her for years under your father’s orders. The violence, the psychosis, it’s all rooted in the consciousness of her wolf, not the human mind. It’s not chemical. It’s instinctual. Ferality amplified a hundred tis."

I exhaled slowly. "Then don’t suppress her."

Cyrin tilted his head. "What do you an?"

I looked at the Queen, my jaw tightening. "Lock her wolf. Seal it away."

There was a silence that hung in the air like a dropped blade.

"You’re talking about a magical containnt ritual," Varya said softly.

"Yes," I replied. "One that seals the wolf inside, traps it behind the ntal gates."

"But Kieran," Cyrin said gravely, "you can’t keep a wolf locked forever. Not a powerful one like hers. The pressure builds. Eventually, it’ll tear the seal apart."

"Then let’s worry about that when it happens," I snapped. "Right now, I need her awake and sane, not ripping everyone to pieces."

Cyrin hesitated, exchanging a look with his daughter. "We can try. But there are no guarantees. If we lock the wolf and she starts rembering her trauma.... she might still be unstable. And if the seal cracks..."

"Then we deal with it," I said, my tone leaving no room for argunt. "I’m not asking for forever. I’m asking for now."

Varya nodded slowly. "We’ll need Astrid. She’s the only one here who knows the runes and blood-casting strong enough to bind a wolf like hers."

"Then get her," I ordered. "Now."

Varya rushed out imdiately.

I turned back to Cyrin, watching the gentle rise and fall of my mother’s chest. "Will this hurt her?"

"Not as much as it’ll hurt us if we don’t succeed," he muttered.

I stared at her for a long mont, then spoke low, more to myself than anyone else. "I hope you’ll forgive mother."

Because for the second ti tonight, I was choosing the lesser evil.

First Lorraine.

Now her.

My fingers curled into fists as I stared at the still body of the woman who once tucked in with lullabies and kisses on my forehead... the woman who now held the power to decimate everything in her path if we didn’t stop her.

But still, this plan felt reckless. Dangerous. Costly.

And worse.... it required Astrid Voss again.

I turned to Cyrin, my voice low. "She just perford one of the most draining rituals in existence. She gave up twenty years of her life to bring Lorraine back. Can she really do this again? Will she survive it?"

Before he could answer, the steel door creaked open.

Varya returned, panting slightly, followed by Magnus.... and Astrid.

My breath caught in my throat.

She looked... older. Not just tired, not rely weary, older. Lines etched deep into her skin. Silver streaks in her once, sleek hair now dulled to near white. Her movents were sluggish, her strength dimd. She’d barely had ti to recover.

And yet.... she was here.

Cyrin stepped forward, quickly briefing her on what we needed, a magical wolf-lock binding ritual, complex, rare, volatile.

Astrid listened quietly, her expression unreadable, her eyes locked on my mother.

Then I stepped toward her, lowering my voice. "Astrid.... be honest with . Can you do this?"

Before she could answer, Magnus moved in between us, shaking his head adamantly. "No. She can’t. Not again. She’s still recovering from the last ritual. Her body is barely holding together. She’ll bleed out or burn out before she completes even half of the runes. Kieran, this will kill her."

Astrid’s lips parted, her voice calm but resolute. "Magnus, stop."

He turned sharply. "No. I won’t. Not this ti. You’re always doing this. Sacrificing yourself like your life doesn’t an anything."

"If the Queen wakes up with no control, she’ll rip through this place in minutes," Astrid said evenly. "It won’t matter if I survive or not. We’ll all die."

"That doesn’t an you should be the one...."

"She’s my responsibility too, Magnus," she cut in, her voice shaking now with quiet steel. "I use to serve under her, she is my Queen too and it is my responsibility to at least try to save her"

Astrid’s eyes found mine.

"I’ll do it, Your Majesty," she said. "Regardless of the cost, I’ll do it"

I felt sothing in twist.

This woman, who had once been feared, loathed, respected in equal asure, was now offering her last breath for the sake of people who once hated her. I didn’t deserve this level of loyalty. But right now, I needed it.

I gave a short nod. "Prepare the room. Begin when you’re ready."