Mira’s POV.

You can be angry and love me. Both are true." "Is that how you felt about Kael? For six years?"

The question caught me off guard. "Yes. I was furious at him. For rejecting me, for breaking us. But I never stopped loving him." "That sounds exhausting." "It was." I smiled slightly. "Love usually is."

Lyra was quiet for a moment. And I was scared. About tomorrow. About the assassins." "Me too. Just before dawn, Cyrus burst back into camp, moving fast. "We have another problem." Kael was at his side immediately. "What now?"

"I found tracks. Beyond the perimeter." Cyrus's face was grim. "Signs of a pure-blood Crescent Elder." "Impossible," Raven said. "They're all dead. The purge"

"One survived." Cyrus looked at me. "And they're heading toward Blackridge." My blood went cold. "Who?" "I don't know. But their power signature is" he struggled for words, "ancient. Overwhelming. Makes your awakened power look like a candle next to the sun."

Kael started issuing orders immediately. "We move out now. Before." "Too late." Cyrus pointed toward Blackridge. "They're already there." We marched at dawn, the entire coalition moving as one.

I stayed close to Lyra, maternal instinct overriding everything else. She'd become the centre of my universe in just days. Kael walked ahead, every inch the Alpha. But through the bond, I felt his fear. Not for himself, for us.

Blackridge's walls filled with wolves as we approached. Then Seraphine emerged at the gates. "Kael Thorne. You return with an army to your own home?"

"I return to reclaim what a traitor stole." Kael's voice carried authority I'd never heard before.

"You're the traitor. You abandoned your pack for personal obsession." "I left to investigate a threat you helped create."

The verbal sparring continued, building toward the challenge. My heart hammered. This was it, the moment that would decide everything. Kael stepped forward. "By pack law, I challenge you for leadership of Blackridge. Single combat."

Seraphine smiled, cold and calculated. "You assume you have the right to challenge." "I'm the legitimate Alpha." "You're a deserter." She cut him off. "But I'll accept. After all," she signalled, and chaos erupted.

Three figures moved faster than should be possible, heading straight for Lyra. The assassins. "Lyra!" I screamed, already running. She saw them coming, dropped into a combat stance. Met the first one head-on, her silver power flaring. I wasn't going to reach her in time.

Then Cyrus was there, intercepting the killing blow. The blade meant for Lyra's chest punched through his side instead. "No!" I screamed. Cyrus collapsed beside Lyra, blood spreading across the ground. I reached them, dropped to my knees. "Cyrus, you idiot, why?"

"Because she's yours." He coughed up blood. "And I owed you... a debt... for six years of lies." "You never lied to me." "I lied by omission." His eyes found Kael, fighting across the field. "Let you think I could love you the way he does." His breathing was laboured. "Protect them. Both."

Then a voice cut through everything, ancient, powerful, making even the strongest Alphas freeze.

"Enough."

A figure stood on the ridge overlooking the battlefield. "I am Elder Mora, last of the true Crescent line." They descended toward us, each step deliberate. "And I have returned to judge." Seraphina's face went white. "You're supposed to be dead."

"The purge failed." Mora's smile was cold. "One always survives." The real threat was just beginning.

Elder Mora’s presence bent the air around us, pressure rolling outward in waves that made every wolf drop to their knees. Even Kael staggered mid-strike. Seraphina froze, mid-command, her eyes wide, calculating. Fear sat on her like armour cracking apart.

I shielded Lyra with my body out of instinct. Cyrus lay between us, barely conscious. His breath was unsteady and shallow. His blood was still warm on my hands.

Mora’s gaze swept over the battlefield with lightning speed. After a few seconds, he fixed his gaze on Kael and Seraphina. And then, on Lyra. Something unreadable glimmered in their eyes. Recognition, pity and judgment.

“You brought ruin to your own doorstep,” Mora said, voice echoing through stone and bone. “All of you.” Seraphina recovered first. “You have no authority here.”

“I built the laws you twist,” Mora replied, stepping closer, each word stripping Seraphina bare. “I know every sin committed under your rule. Every child is taken. Every wolf is silenced.” Kael straightened despite the weight pressing down on him. “If you knew, why didn’t you intervene?”

“Because intervention implies hope.” Mora’s gaze hardened. “And your world has had none for a long time, until now.” Their eyes shifted to Lyra again. She stiffened. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Mora didn’t answer. Not immediately. Instead, they surveyed the dead assassins. “Seraphina, you summoned them. You tried to end something you don’t understand.” Seraphina stepped back. “I did what was necessary to hold the pack together.”

“You did what fed your greed,” Mora said, voice sharp enough to cut stone. “And now the consequences have arrived.” Kael moved to stand before Seraphina, fury controlled but burning bright. “Your lies end today.”

“Oh?” Seraphina tilted her head. “You think this ancient ghost came to crown you?” She let out a brittle laugh. “You don’t even know what she is.” Mora’s expression didn’t change. “Tell him.”

Seraphina turned to Kael, triumph flickering in her gaze. “Your mate bond. Your sudden awakening near the Wastes. Her power. Her survival. Did you never question it, Kael?”

My heart hammered. Lyra’s hand clutched mine. Seraphina pointed at Lyra. “She wasn’t chosen. She was bred.” Lyra recoiled. “What?”

“You’re lying,” Kael growled.

But Mora closed their eyes, resigned. “She speaks a truth, though twisted. The Crescent Elders foresaw the collapse of the bloodlines. We created… contingencies. Children scattered in secret. Carriers of purity. Keys to restore balance if the world ever fell this far.”

Lyra shook her head violently. “No. No. I’m just a warrior. I’m not.” “You are the last Crescent heir,” Mora said gently. “The true one.”

The earth seemed to tilt. I felt Kael through the bond. Kael felt shock, disbelief, and dread. Seraphina’s smile sharpened. “And that is why she must die.”

Kael lunged, but Mora raised a hand, stopping everyone mid-motion. Even the air seemed to freeze. “No more blood,” Mora said. “Not until judgment is given.”

Their gaze locked on Seraphina. “Your rule ends today.” Seraphina hissed, “You can’t strip me.”

Mora didn’t need to speak. A pulse of ancient power rolled outward. Seraphina dropped to her knees, gasping as her Alpha aura shattered like glass. Kael stared, stunned.

“You are Alpha now, Kael Thorne,” Mora declared. “But leadership demands sacrifice.” Kael’s jaw clenched. “What sacrifice?”

Mora looked at Lyra. “To claim Blackridge, you must protect the heir. At all costs.” A storm gathered in Kael’s eyes, duty colliding with fear.

Then Mora turned to me. “And you, Mira, will decide the fate of the bond between them. The past and future hinge on your choice.”

The world held its breath.