Chapter 87
The blood moon cast everything in red light as Elara stood in the middle of Blackwood territory.
Her silver power pulsed around her like a heartbeat, trying to fix the land that was dying beneath their feet. “It’s not working,” she gasped, sweat dripping on her forehead.
“Something’s blocking me.” Kael’s hand found her shoulder. “The First Pack is poisoning everything they touch.
Your health can’t keep up.” Through their Quad Bond, she felt her friends’ exhaustion. They’d been fighting for three hours straight, and the enemy kept coming. Wave after wave of strange creatures that shouldn’t exist. “We need to retreat,” Darian said, his truth-sight flickering weakly.
“Fall back to the inner sanctuary.” “No.” Elara’s voice was steel. “If we give up this ground, they’ll slaughter everyone who can’t run fast enough.” A roar shook the earth. Something huge was moving through the trees toward them. Something that made the other First Pack hunts look like puppies.
“Alpha Prime,” Tobias breathed, his face white with fear. “The first werewolf ever made. I thought it was just a story.” The creature that came from the shadows was nightmare made flesh.
Twenty feet tall, with claws like swords and teeth that dripped liquid darkness. Its eyes weren’t red like the others – they were black holes that seemed to suck light from the world. “Bow to your true Alpha,” it spoke, its voice like grinding stone. “Or watch your pack burn p>
Every wolf in hearing distance dropped to their knees. Every wolf except four. The Quad Bond flared to life, guarding Elara and her mates from the creature’s domination power.
But she could feel it pushing against their minds, trying to crack their unity. “Impressive,” Alpha Prime growled. “But even your precious bond cannot save you from what comes next.” It raised one huge claw, and the air itself began to tear.
A portal opened, showing views of a world made of shadow and screaming. “Behold the Void Realm,” Alpha Prime announced. “Where your pack will serve me for eternity.” Pack members started sliding toward the portal, unable to resist its pull.
Children cried as they were torn from their parents’ arms. Elders stumbled forward, their eyes vacant with hopelessness. “Stop!” Elara screamed. Her silver light burst outward, but when it hit the portal, it was absorbed like water into sand. “Your power is useless here, little Luna,” Alpha Prime laughed.
“This realm devours light.” That’s when the helicopters arrived. Three black aircraft dropped from the blood-red sky, machine guns blazing. Silver bullets tore through the smaller First Pack hunts, but bounced harmlessly off Alpha Prime’s hide.
“Crimson Peak Pack, incoming!” Sage’s voice crackled over the radio. Ropes dropped from the planes. Wolves rappelled down, guns flashing. But Elara’s attention was caught by one figure in particular. Celeste.
The woman who had tried to destroy her was now fighting alongside the rescue team, her claws ripping through shadow-creatures with desperate rage. “Elara!” Celeste called out as she landed. “I know you have no reason to trust me, but I have information p>
“Now’s not the time!” Ronan snarled, flames dancing around his hands. “The blood moon!” Celeste shouted over the chaos. “It’s not natural! Someone’s controlling it!” Darian’s truth-sight suddenly blazed.
“She’s right. There’s a pattern to the moon eclipse. Someone’s using it to weaken the boundaries.” Alpha Prime’s laughter boomed across the battlefield. “Too late, little seers. The rite is nearly complete p>
The portal spread. More pack members were pulled toward it, their screams echoing into the void. “Who’s controlling the moon?” Elara asked. Celeste’s face was grim. “The Shadow Goddess. She’s not dead – she’s feeding the blood moon with her energy, turning it into a weapon.” “That’s impossible,” Kael said.
“We destroyed her.” “No,” Sage interrupted, landing beside them. “You destroyed her physical form. But gods don’t die – they transform.” The truth hit Elara like a physical blow. “She became the moon itself p>
Above them, the blood moon pulsed like a heartbeat. And with each pulse, the portal grew bigger. “We have to sever the connection,” Elara said. “Break the link between the Shadow Goddess and the lunar eclipse.” “How?” Darian asked. “By going up there,” Elara said quietly.
Her mates stared at her in horror. “Absolutely not,” Kael said. “It’s suicide.” “It’s the only way.” Elara looked at each of them. “The Quad Bond is our strength.
But up there, in the void between worlds, it might be strong enough to cut through her effect.” “Then we all go,” Ronan said strongly. “No.” Elara’s voice was final. “The pack needs you here. If I fail, you’ll be their last hope.” Alpha Prime’s roar stopped them. “Enough talk! Kneel or perish!” Its control power slammed into them again, stronger this time.
Pack members began walking into the portal willingly, their minds broken by the attack. “I have to go now,” Elara said. “Before there’s no one left to save.” She kissed each of her mates quickly, pouring all her love through their tie.
Then she stepped back and let her silver light carry her into the sky. “ELARA!” Kael’s pained cry followed her up. The trip to the blood moon was the longest journey of her life. As she rose higher, the air grew thin and cold.
Her lungs burned. Her power flickered. But she could feel her mates below, fighting with everything they had. Their strength flowed through the bond, keeping her going. The moon’s surface was not solid.
It was made of moving darkness that tried to pull her in. But her silver light cut through it like a blade. And there, at the middle of the lunar eclipse, she found her. The Shadow Goddess hung suspended in a web of dark energy, her form constantly changing between woman and void.
But her eyes were the same – ancient, cruel, and totally mad. “You came,” the goddess whispered. “How delicious.” “End this,” Elara ordered. “Release the link. Let my pack go.” “Never p>
The Shadow Goddess smiled. “Do you know what you’ve done, little Luna? By bonding with three Alphas, you’ve made something that shouldn’t exist. The Quad Bond is breaking the natural order p>
“You’re lying.” “Am I?” The goddess pointed to the chaos below. “Look at your world. The walls are breaking. Supernatural animals are going insane. Reality itself is coming apart.” Elara felt ice in her veins.
“No.” “Yes. Your link is beautiful, but it’s also poisonous. Every day you stay connected, the damage spreads. Soon, every supernatural being on Earth will be driven mad by the vibration.” Through the Quad Bond, Elara felt her mates’ shock and fear. They could hear every word.
“But I can fix it,” the Shadow Goddess continued. “All you have to do is let me take your bond. Give me that power, and I’ll fix the damage. Your pack will live. The world will be safe.” “At what cost p>
“Your life. Your friends’ lives. Your love.” The goddess’s smile was razor-sharp. “A small price for saving everyone else.” Elara’s mind raced.
Through the bond, she felt Kael’s desperate refusal, Ronan’s fury, Darian’s search for another answer. But she also felt something else. A truth that made her blood run cold.
The Shadow Goddess wasn’t lying. The Quad Bond was slowly ruining the supernatural world. She could feel it now – the cracks spreading outward from their link, reality warping around their love. “Decide quickly,” the goddess purred.
“Your pack is dying while you hesitate.” Below them, the portal was swallowing Blackwood land. Elara could see her people being pulled into the void, their screams echoing across worlds.
“Elara, don’t you dare!” Kael’s voice roared through the bond. But she was already moving forward, her hand reaching for the Shadow Goddess’s open palm. “I’m sorry,” she whispered to her mates. “I love you p>
The moment their hands touched, pain beyond description shot through every nerve in her body.
The Quad Bond began to unwind, thread by thread. But just as darkness closed over her view, she heard something impossible. Celeste’s voice, from somewhere far below: “The forecast was wrong! There’s another way!” And then everything went white.