Kate’s POV
I hit the ground hard, the impact sending a shockwave of pain through my body.
I couldn’t feel my legs.
I blinked, trying to force myself to focus, the ground was cold beneath my knees and my eyes felt like I was dizzy . Blood dripped from the gashes on my arms, staining the earth as I clutched my side, trying to breathe through the pain.
Every inhale was a struggle, and every breath felt like fire in my lungs. The ancient wolf loomed over me, his frame towering and almost completely shrouded in darkness, his face was burnt from my last attack but instead of the black ash it looked like it was healing badly but slowly.
His dark magic crackled in the air like lightening, weaving through my body like venom, burning and weakening me from the inside out.
My head throbbed, my vision blurred, even more, I couldn’t tell the grass from my fingers but I could still make out his form-
“Pathetic,” he growled, his voice a low, raspy rumble that sent chills down my spine. I gasped, clutching my side where his claws had raked through my skin. It felt as though fire was spreading through my veins, and every nerve setting them on fire with pain and each word he spoke made it worse.
I couldn’t shift, or access my wolf. I was completely vulnerable, human and he knew it.
“Is this all you are, Kate?” He echoed, his voice venomous, every word sinking into me like a claw.
“And you thought you could defeat me? You are nothing compared to me.” then he chuckled with a soft tsk
“It’s not really your fault though is it? This is all you’ll ever be, all you can be. A weak little girl pretending to be strong?”
I wanted to scream, to tell him he was wrong, but the words caught in my throat.
My chest heaving with ragged, shallow, breaths, I could feel myself slipping. I tried to push myself up, but my arms buckled, and I collapsed back to the ground.
My mind filled with memories that swirled like broken glass in the wind, memories of a time before now-before Dimitri, before this pack, before the three lives I had been gifted.
“I’ve made my decision, Kate. You will be traded to Dimitri of the Blood Moon Park at the next full moon ritual.” My father roared in my first life, or was it the betrayal of my mate Kayden when he had rejected me for my sister even at my pleas
“N-No… Kayden, why?” I pleaded brokenly. “We were supposed to be mated for life! You swore your wolf only had eyes for me!”
Or was it the end of that life when the jealous female had slit my throat with her claw as she sneered
“Stand in my way again, Omega… and I’ll make certain your death is the slowest, most anguished fade into oblivion imaginable!”.
It had been the beginning of a fresh bout of hell then.
Images of my past flooded my mind, the mockery the dissent and rejection. “You were never enough, Kate. You were always weak. You will never be strong enough. Not for this. Not for me.” he snarled,
“Without him, you’re nothing.” Dimitri’s face flashed before me, his stern expression, even though his eyes were filled with a quiet love.
I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms as his words pounded against my skull.
Doubt crept in, cutting at my resolve.
Was I really strong enough for this? Could I really face him alone? Without Dimitri, without my pack?
“Join me,” the ancient wolf purred, circling me like a predator.
“You could be great. You could be powerful, more than you ever dreamed. All you have to do is submit. Give in to the darkness inside you, and I will make you stronger than you ever imagined.”
Maybe it would be easier to surrender, to let go from this endless battle and , to just let the darkness take me. The temptation was there, gnawing at the edges of my thoughts. He promised power, and a release from the pain, from the fear. All I had to do was give in. Maybe it was worth it.
I heard it the first time, like clear spring, familiar and echoing through the field almost like I was detached from the scene happening around me at the moment.
The voice-soft, gentle, but clear as the moonlight above-cut through the haze. Kate.
My name almost to thin to recognize
It wasn’t Dimitri . It wasn’t the Ancient wolf’s.
It was hers.
I froze, my breath catching in my throat. It was the Moon Goddess, her voice like a beacon in the darkness.
“Choices, Kate. The power has always been in your choices.”
“You are stronger than this and you always have a choice.
My choices.
The words rang through me, sinking like rain, in desert floors deep in my heart and soul. I could feel the power of her light, pulsing through my veins, pushing against the dark magic trying to take hold.
My choice. It had always been my choice.
To Give in, or fight.
The ancient wolf stepped closer, his eyes glowing with malevolent hunger as he watched me. He could sense my struggle, my doubt. He was sure he had me where he had wanted.
But he was wrong. Dead wrong .
I wasn’t just fighting for myself. I was fighting for my pack, For Dimitri. For every pack mate who had fallen, and for every life that still depended on me.
The Moon Goddess’s voice echoed in my mind again, softer this time, but filled with power.
“Your strength comes not from me, but from within you. You can do this , Kate. Finish what you started.”
Slowly, I pushed myself up, my legs trembling beneath me, my body screamed in protest, every muscle aching, but I forced it to obey
He faltered as he watched me rise to my feet, disbelief flashing in his eyes.
A surge of energy shot through me, with the pain receding to somewhere deep inside me- and awakening something even more primal-.
“You cannot stop me,” he growled, his voice thick with fury.
” I never said I would” I muttered.
” You said, I was weak and pathetic. You were right” I hissed drawing in a deep breath
” But I will never be broken. Not yet. Not by you. Not ever.”
“I won’t just stop you,” I whispered, summoning every ounce of strength the Moon Goddess had gifted me.
” I will end you Lycaon.”
I took a step forward, my fists clenched, drawing on the Moon Goddess’s power, with a roar, I channeled the power of the through me feeling it surge through me like a flood. My skin hummed with energy, crackling over it like lightening, sparks from my fingertips and for the first time since the battle began, I felt whole. Complete.
He charged at me, his claws outstretched, but I met him head-on.
“You will not win,” I said, my voice steady, filled with resolve.
He roared, lunging at me with all his strength, swiping at me, he caught my arm and I winced but I was ready. I dodged his attack, moving faster than I had ever moved before. It felt like the Moon Goddess was guiding my every step the power of the moonlight wrapping around me like armor.
The fight felt eternal, every strike sent us across the grass like chess pieces on a board.
His dark magic clashed against the light in me, sending sparks through the field and into the sky.
All around me the sounds of fighting echoed, warriors fought and fell, so did the chief but I couldn’t focus on them. It was just Lycaon and me now.
With a swift strike, I slashed at him with my claws, and this time, I didn’t miss. My blow cut deep into his side, a vicious wound that sent him staggering back, black caustic blood pouring from the gash.
He howled in pain, his eyes blazing with fury, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. I had to finish this.
I lunged again, my claws tearing through his flesh, each strike fueled by the thoughts of my pack, my family, and the love that had brought me this far.
With one final, desperate blow, I drove my claws into his chest, sinking them deep. Closing my eyes I drew on the Goddess moonlight and filtered it into him
” It’s over for you now” I hissed
He let out one last, shuddering roar before collapsing to the ground, his massive body crumpling knee first to the floor. His eyes glazed over, his breath rattling in his throat as he took his final breath.
It was over.
I stood there, panting, blood dripping from my claws, the power of the Moon Goddess slowly fading from my body. My knees buckled, and I collapsed to the ground, my heart racing, my vision blurring.
We had won.
But we had done so at a large cost.
The battlefield was littered with bodies-our warriors, and friends, so many of them gone. I rose to my feet dragging myself up with my last strength
Dimitri. I had to find him, the pack member around me moved around picking men from the field , I stumbled across the hall dazedly trying to find the tent.
It was crumbled to one side when I finally saw it a flap on the floor. I swallowed had they gotten here somehow, where was Lia or the others.
I saw her first but I didn’t recognize her, she lay on the ground her hands falling to the side blood black and red pooling beneath it.
Lia.
“No,” I whispered, dropping to my knees.
“Lia, no.”
I crawled over to where she lay, her body broken. Tears blurred my vision as I reached out, touching her hands.
I shook her, willing her to wake up, but there was no response. Her skin was cold, her chest unmoving. The realization hit me like a punch to the gut. She was gone.
She was so still, her body pale and cold to touch, I swallowed softly
Tears blurred my vision as I cradled her in my arms, rocking back and forth, the weight of her loss taking the air out of me.
Maybe the cost of victory had been too high.
She had been my friend, almost like a sister more of one to me than my own family.
And now she was gone.
She had fought so bravely. She had been a warrior until the very end.
“Rest now, Lia,” I whispered, my voice shaking. “You fought well. You fought like a hero.”
But if she was here then what about Dimitri where was he, had he survived. I stood on my feet rushing into the camp, I saw the men some unconscious, some in pain but all still well, the nurses were shaking but trying their best to tend to them
Lia had saved them all.
I rushed to the back of the tent where he had been restrained and there he was, my breath burst out of my lungs like fire and I had no idea what to do in that moment but just take him in.
I walked over to his side of the bed and sat down gingerly careful as possible I ran my fingers in his hair but i must have not been careful enough because he stilled eyes blinking open no longer wild with confusion or detachment just the man i loved looking right back at me.
” Hi” i said softly and he swallowed , his voice hoarse as he mutters
” You lied , you said you would wake me”