Aria's POV
Power burns through my veins like liquid fire.
The liquid moonlight transforms me. My white wolf grows larger, brighter. Silver runes explode across my fur, glowing like stars. I can feel everything every heartbeat within a mile, every lie, every fear.
For one hour, I'm unstoppable.
Stand down, I command the Covenant wolves surrounding us.
Half of them drop immediately, unable to resist my True Luna authority. The other half wear spelled collars that block my power.
Morgana laughs. Clever girl. But we prepared for you this time.
She snaps her fingers. The spelled wolves attack.
My three mates shift instantly, forming a protective circle around me. But I don't need protecting. Not right now.
I move faster than thought, my white wolf a blur of starlight and fury. My jaws close on one attacker's throat not killing, commanding. Sleep. He drops.
Another lunges. I spin, claws raking across his side. Submit. He falls to his knees.
She's magnificent, I hear Cael breathe.
She's terrifying, Darius corrects.
She's ours, Zane finishes with fierce pride.
But there are too many. Even with the moonlight power, even with my three Alphas fighting beside me, we're outnumbered ten to one.
Aurora steps forward, her dead eyes fixed on me. Enough playing, sister. Morgana wants you alive. But she didn't say unbroken.
Dark magic erupts from Aurora's hands. It slams into me like a truck, knocking me back. The moonlight power flares, protecting me, but I feel it draining faster.
You have maybe forty minutes left, Darius warns through our bond. Use them wisely.
I shift back to human form. Cael immediately wraps his jacket around me.
Finn! I shout at Morgana. Let him go. Your fight is with me, not him.
Your fight is with all of us, Morgana corrects. She yanks Finn forward by his chains. My brother's face is swollen from beatings, but his eyes are fierce.
Don't do it, Aria, Finn gasps. Don't trade yourself
Aurora hits him. He cries out, and rage explodes in my chest.
ENOUGH! My voice carries True Luna authority that makes the earth shake. You want me? Fine. But you let everyone else go. Now.
Aria, no Zane starts.
Trust me, I tell him through our bond.
Morgana smiles. Such a noble sacrifice. Very well. Release the boy. Kill everyone else.
Wait. That's not what I said
The Covenant wolves surge forward, ignoring my commands. They're after my mates, the witnesses, everyone.
It's a slaughter spell, Lyra screams. She's overriding your authority!
I realize the trap. Morgana never intended to honor any deal. She's going to kill everyone and take me anyway.
Plan B, Cael shouts. He pulls something from his pocket a small device. He presses it.
Explosions rock the clearing. Smoke bombs. Flash grenades. Chaos erupts.
RUN! Darius yells.
But I can't run. Finn is still chained. I shift back to wolf form and charge toward my brother.
Aurora blocks my path. Her dead eyes flash with something jealousy? Rage? Pain?
You always ruin everything, she snarls in that layered voice. Always the special one. Always the chosen one.
I never asked to be chosen! I snarl back.
Doesn't matter. You still took everything from me.
We collide. Wolf against corrupted human. She's stronger than she should be, fuelled by Morgana's dark magic. But I have the moonlight.
We fight viciously. Claws against dark energy. Teeth against spells. Around us, my mates are fighting for their lives.
I see Zane take down five wolves at once, his massive form unstoppable. See Darius moving like he knows every attack before it comes. See Cael appearing and disappearing, striking from shadows.
Then I see Marcus. My father, standing at the edge of the clearing, watching everything with cold calculation.
He's not fighting. Not helping either side. Just watching.
You planned this, I realize, horror filling me. All of it. The poisoning, the trap, everything.
Marcus smiles. I planned to profit, whichever side won. If the Covenant captured you, I'd be paid. If you escaped, I'd claim I was secretly helping you all along. I win either way.
The betrayal shouldn't hurt anymore. But it does.
Aurora takes advantage of my distraction. Dark magic wraps around my throat, choking me. I struggle, but it's too strong.
Sister, Aurora whispers, and for a second her eyes clear. Actually her, not Morgana. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But I can't stop. She won't let me stop.
Her hand plunges toward my chest, dark magic forming into a blade.
Zane's roar shakes the earth. He slams into Aurora, knocking her away from me. They crash into the forest, disappearing into the trees.
ZANE! I scream.
Go get Finn! he shouts back. I've got this!
I race toward my brother. Covenant wolves block my path, but the moonlight power burns through them. I'm unstoppable.
I reach Finn. Bite through his silver chains. They break.
Can you run? I ask.
I can fight, he says, his eyes glowing. He shifts a beautiful grey wolf, young but strong.
Together, we turn to face the chaos.
That's when I see it. Darius, locked in combat with three Covenant wolves. He's winning, barely. But I see the future a second before it happens.
A fourth wolf, hidden in the shadows. Lunging for his throat.
DARIUS! I scream.
He turns, sees the attack. But he's too far away. Too slow.
I run. Faster than I've ever moved. The moonlight power pushes me beyond limits.
I reach Darius just as the wolf's jaws snap toward his neck. I take the bite instead.
Agony explodes in my shoulder. Silver-coated teeth. Poison.
I scream, collapsing.
ARIA! All three of my mates roar at once.
Darius catches me as I fall. Blood pours from my shoulder. The poison is already spreading, black veins crawling up my neck.
No, no, no, Darius whispers, his hands glowing as he tries to heal me. Stay with me. Aria, stay with me!
The moonlight power flickers. Thirty minutes left becomes ten. Then five.
The poison is eating the magic.
Morgana's laughter echoes. Silver and nightshade venom. Specifically designed to kill True Lunas. You have minutes, child. Unless you surrender and let me save you.
Cael appears beside us, his face white with panic. There has to be another way
There isn't, Darius says, his voice breaking. I've seen this future. She dies, or she becomes theirs.
Zane crashes back into the clearing, bloody but alive. Aurora is unconscious over his shoulder.
He sees me dying and his howl of anguish tears the sky.
No, he snarls, dropping Aurora and running to me. You don't get to die. You just found us. You don't get to leave.
I'm getting cold. So cold.
I'm sorry, I whisper. I should have listened. Should have run.
Shut up, Zane says, tears streaming down his face. Just shut up and stay alive.
My vision darkens. The mate bonds are screaming, all three trying to push their life force into me.
But the poison is stronger.
Take it, a voice says.
Everyone freezes.
Aurora, conscious again, crawls toward us. Her eyes are clear actually clear, not dead anymore.
I broke her hold, Aurora gasps, blood dripping from her mouth. For just a moment. Long enough to do this.
She places her hand on my wound. Dark magic flows out of her, but this time it's different. It's fighting the poison, absorbing it.
What are you doing? I gasp.
Saving my sister. Aurora's smile is sad. Like you tried to save me.
The poison transfers from me to her. The black veins recede from my neck and appear on hers instead.
No! I cry. Aurora, stop!
Too late. She collapses beside me. I've done so many terrible things. Let me do one good thing. Please.
Morgana screams with rage. FOOLISH CHILD! That poison will kill you!
I know, Aurora whispers. She looks at me one last time. I'm sorry. For everything. Be the Luna I never could be.
Her eyes close.
The clearing explodes with light. Aurora's sacrifice breaks something Morgana's control over the Covenant wolves shatters. They collapse, freed from compulsion.
NO! Morgana shrieks. She was mine! My weapon! My
A portal opens behind her. Hands reach through, pulling her back.
The Covenant Council is displeased, a voice echoes. You have failed for the last time, Morgana.
She's dragged screaming into the portal. It closes.
Silence falls.
I crawl to Aurora, pull her into my arms. She's still breathing, barely.
Stay with me, I beg. Please. We'll find a cure. We'll save you.
No cure, Aurora breathes. But it's okay. I'm ready.
I'm not ready to lose you!
You already lost me. Long time ago. Her hand finds mine. But maybe... in the next life... we can be sisters again.
She stops breathing.
I scream, clutching her body. My sister. My twin. Gone.
Around me, Covenant wolves flee. The battle is over. We won.
But victory tastes like ashes.
My three mates gather around me, holding me while I break.
Finn presses against my side, crying.
Even Marcus looks shaken, staring at Aurora's body.
The moonlight power fades completely. I collapse, helpless just like Lyra warned.
But I'm alive.
And my sister died to save me.
Through my tears, I see something. Aurora's body beginning to glow. Soft. Golden.
What I start.
Her eyes open. But they're not dead anymore. They're peaceful.
The sacrifice, Darius breathes. It broke the dark magic. Her death was willing. Pure. It's transforming her.
Aurora sits up, looking at her hands in wonder. The black veins are gone. The dead look is gone.
She's herself again.
How? she whispers.
Lyra steps forward, studying her with witch-sight. True love's sacrifice. You died to save your sister. The old magic responded. You're... reborn.
Aurora looks at me. Really looks at me.
Then she bursts into tears. I'm so sorry. For everything. I was so jealous, so angry
I pull her into a hug. You saved me. We're even.
We hold each other while chaos settles around us.
Marcus approaches slowly. Aria. Aurora. I
Leave, I say coldly. You're not welcome here.
I'm your father
You sold us. Both of us. You don't get to be our father anymore.
For once, Marcus has nothing to say. He turns and walks away, alone.
Good riddance.
My three mates help me stand. The exhaustion from the moonlight crash is overwhelming.
We need to get you somewhere safe, Zane says.
Somewhere you can rest, Darius adds.
Somewhere far from here, Cael finishes.
But before we can move, the ground trembles.
A massive portal opens. Not Covenant magic. Something older.
A figure steps through. Ancient. Powerful. Female.
She looks exactly like me.
Hello, daughter of my bloodline, the first True Luna says. We need to talk about what's coming.