Chapter 141
Chapter 141
The stench of scorched earth still clung to my fur.
The cave behind us was no longer alive with Luca’s laughter that twisted, mocking echo that had burrowed into my bones—but I could still feel it, a phantom sound crawling in my ears.
My breathing was heavy, white plumes of frost curling into the cold air with every exhale. Francesco stood beside me, his massive Lycan form heaving with the same exhaustion I felt. The ground beneath us was scarred from claws, magic, and fire, the rock itself looked wounded.
The book lay on the cracked stone a few paces ahead, its surface glowing faintly, almost like it was breathing. It pulsed… once, twice, as if mocking us. As if telling me it was only sleeping, not dead.
Francesco’s claws were still out, black and glinting in the weak light. His golden eyes never left the book.
“It’s contained… for now,” he rumbled, voice low but rough, still wrapped in the power of his Lycan form.
I swallowed, my wolf’s instincts prickling at the word for now.
“I can feel him,” I said quietly. “He’s not gone, but we will stop this. I will ask Lira to do the destroy ritual.”
Then we both shifted back into our human forms. The cold bit into my skin instantly, but I barely noticed.
His gaze shifted to me then, and I caught a flicker of something he almost never let others see – not fear exactly, but the deep, gnawing longing of a man who had been waiting too long.
“You awake…”
I gave him a knowing smile, and at the same time, his hand cupped my cheek.
“I am… for you.”
He sighed and pulled me into him, his warmth wrapping around me even in the bitter air.
“I missed you, amore mio,” he whispered before our lips met in a soft, lingering kiss – the kind shared by those who know they could lose
each other again at any second.
We stood there together for a moment, absorbing this fragile peace.
But it was the kind of silence you only hear after a storm, where the wind holds its breath, waiting to see if the thunder will come back –
hoping it won’t, knowing it might.
Not long after we turned toward the exit, moving slowly.
My bare feet left faint imprints in the soot and ash as I walked beside him. Every step made my muscles scream, but Mika held me steady- not with magic, but with the unyielding strength of my wolf.
As we emerged into the open air, the sky was dark and bruised, streaked with restless clouds. The forest beyond the ridge smelled of blood,
fur, and smoke.
Warriors were already there, some limping, some tending to others, all of them turning as one when they saw us.
“Alpha! Luna!”
My white gown was torn and stained, my silver hair tangled in the wind. Francesco followed, towering over me even in his human skin, shirt
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Chapter 141
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ripped and spattered with black ichor that didn’t belong to him.
Marlow was the first to reach us, his expression caught between relief and wariness.
“Are you okay?”
Francesco’s jaw tightened. “Yes. But it’s not done.”
The head knight’s shoulders slumped just slightly- not enough to show weakness, but enough to betray that he’d hoped for better news.
“We need to get back to the kingdom,” I said, scanning the warriors. I spotted three of them on the ground, still twitching from the wounds inflicted earlier. My chest tightened. “The knights… how bad is it?”
Marlow hesitated. “Worse than we thought. Lira’s doing what she can, but… whatever Luca left in their wounds, it’s spreading. She can’t touch them without risking herself.”
My stomach dropped. That explained the grim faces, the slow movements, the exhaustion that hung on everyone’s shoulders.
Francesco’s hand found mine, grounding me.
“We move. Now.”
The ride back to the kingdom was grim. Wolves and Lycans cut through the forest like shadows, but the air felt heavier with every mile. I could hear the faint, pained whimpers of the injured warriors being carried sounds that gnawed at my chest.
By the time the towers of the kingdom broke through the treeline, my pulse was pounding.
From the moment we crossed the gates, I could feel it – the eyes. Hope, fear, desperation. They had heard my howl earlier. They had seen me on the balcony.
Now they saw me beside their Alpha, both of us marked by battle.
We didn’t stop at the courtyard. Francesco led us straight to the healer’s hall.
The smell hit me first – sharp herbs, copper, and that strange, acrid scent I recognized from the cave.
Lira looked up from her work, strands of hair stuck to her damp face. “My Luna,” she breathed, half in relief, half in surprise. “Alpha.”
I moved closer to the nearest bed before she could say more. The knight lying there was barely recognizable, skin pale with veins traced in black, like ink bleeding under the skin. His breaths were shallow, each exhale rattling.
“Don’t,” Lira warned sharply when I reached out. “Whatever it is, it passes on contact. Even a touch.”
I stopped, my fingers hovering inches above his arm.
Mika growled low inside me. She didn’t like standing here, useless, watching my people wither.
“How long?” I asked.
“Hours… maybe less,” Lira admitted. “The healing potions slow it, but they don’t cure it.”
Behind me, Francesco’s voice was steel. “Then we find a cure.”
Lira’s eyes flicked between us. “If there’s one to find, it’s tied to him – to Luca.”
The truth was heavy, settling into the room like another body.
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Chapter 141
If Luca is destroyed, this dies with him.
The thought was sharp and absolute in my mind.
I turned to Francesco. “Let’s collect all of the magic books. We need to do the destroy ritual now.”
He nodded once, no hesitation, and turned to order his Beta to begin gathering them immediately.
I turned to Lira fully, letting her see the steel in my eyes.
“We can’t wait for him to come to us,” I said. “Every second he exists, this poison spreads. If Luca is destroyed, this dies with him. That’s the
only way.”
Her brow furrowed, and I could see the calculation in her mind healer’s logic warring with the dread of what I was suggesting.
“I need you to understand something,” I went on, stepping closer until there was nothing between us but the faint warmth of the hearth fire. “What we faced in that cave wasn’t just Luca. It was what’s left of him- pure malice, bound to that book, feeding off the magic we’ve been too afraid to destroy. That… thing… it doesn’t just want to hurt us, Lira. It wants to unmake us. Erase everything.”
She swallowed hard. “Luna Ellaine… you don’t have-”
“I do.” My voice cut sharper than I meant, but I didn’t pull it back. “I have to. You saw what happened to me before, you saw what he did when I was weak. I have no magic now, but that’s exactly why I can stand against him – nothing for him to drain, nothing for him to twist. All have is Mika, my wolf, and that’s enough.”
Lira’s gaze flickered to Francesco, but he didn’t speak. He only stood there, jaw set, letting my words stand.
I took a breath, forcing my voice to steady, but not soften. “This isn’t going to be a healing session, Lira. It’s war, concentrated into a circle of stone. And once it starts, there’s no pulling me out. You need to know that before you help me.”
Her lips pressed together, and for a moment, I thought she might refuse.
Then her eyes dropped to the wounded knight between us
harden.
“What will you need from me?” she asked quietly.
to the black lines crawling like roots under his skin- and I saw her resolve
“Every protective charm you can muster, every herb that wards off possession. Nothing for healing – we won’t have time for that. And,” glanced at the other beds, at the warriors groaning softly under their breath, “you’ll need to keep these men alive until it’s over. If Luca’s influence senses what we’re doing, it may strike here first.”
Her head dipped in a small, solemn nod. “I’ll ward the hall myself.”
I leaned in slightly, lowering my voice so only she could hear. “All the dark magic has to go, Lira. Not just b
in this kingdom that has ever touched his hand. We burn it all.”
The book. The scrolls. Anything
Her eyes widened, but she didn’t argue. She knew as well as I did – if even a scrap of his magic survived, he’d find a way to crawl back.
Francesco stepped forward, his presence filling the room. “Beta Alfonso will start gathering the archives. You,” he pointed to one of the standing knights, “escort the Luna to the ritual site and guard her with your life until I arrive
The knight thumped his fist to his chest in silent agreement.
The pace of the room shifted Instantly. Healers moved faster, gathering supplies. Footsteps pounded down the corridor as waniors look? the library vaults. Lira was already sweeping jars of powdered root and moon–salt into her satchel, muttering under her breath th beginnings of a warding incantation.
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Chapter 141
I stood there, the ache in my muscles forgotten, feeling the air tighten with purpose.
There would be no waiting.
We were going to end this.
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