85. The Main Ritual.

Adrian POV

The night feels heavy.

Not dark—just heavy.

The full moon hangs above the Luna shrine, wide and bright, watching everything like an unblinking eye. Its silver light spreads across the clearing, touching the stone floor, the ancient pillars, the carved symbols that have existed longer than I have lived.

Wolves are everywhere.

Not ordinary wolves.

Powerful ones.

Alphas from different territories. Leaders. Elders. Warriors. Wolves from lands far and wide, all gathered in one place. Their scents mix in the air...dominance, age, strength, authority. It presses against my chest, but none of it compares to the weight already sitting there.

This is it.

This is what everything has been leading to.

I stand at the front of the shrine, beside Lucy.

She looks… calm on the outside. Too calm. But I can smell her fear. It seeps through the air, sharp and restless. Her hands twitch slightly at her sides, even though she tries to stand tall, tries to look like the Luna they expect her to be.

I don’t look at her.

I can’t.

My eyes drift instead to the crowd...to Matthew and Caleb standing a short distance away. They haven’t transformed yet. Their expressions are tight, controlled, but their eyes search for mine.

Matthew gives a small nod.

Caleb meets my gaze and lifts his chin slightly, like he’s telling me, You’re not alone.

It helps. Just a little.

But not enough.

The seer stands between Lucy and me, her presence quiet but commanding. Her white robes move gently in the breeze, and her eyes look distant, like she’s already half in another world.

The chanting hasn’t started yet.

Everything is waiting.

Waiting for the moment that cannot be undone.

Lucy POV

The moon is so bright.

Too bright.

It feels like it can see through me...through my thoughts, my fears, my desperation. Wolves surround us from every direction. Their eyes glow softly, reflecting the moonlight. Some of them stare at me with curiosity. Others with respect.

Some… with judgment.

This is what I wanted.

Isn’t it?

To stand here. To be seen. To be chosen.

So why does my chest feel tight?

Why does my heart feel like it’s beating too fast, like it wants to escape my body?

Adrian stands beside me, tall and distant. He hasn’t looked at me once. Not since we stepped into this place. His presence feels cold, controlled, like he’s already somewhere else.

I want him to look at me.

Just once.

The seer moves between us, and her voice rises, calm and ancient.

“The ritual begins now.”

My stomach twists.

She turns and walks into the shrine, disappearing behind the stone entrance. The moment she’s gone, the silence grows louder.

I swallow.

My fingers curl into fists.

You can do this, I tell myself. You’ve come too far to turn back now.

You've done a lot of things.

But will it work out?.... The ritual?.

Adrian POV

The seer returns, holding the silver ritual bowl.

It gleams under the moonlight, ancient symbols etched along its edges. Inside it are things I don’t focus on...herbs, powders, sacred elements meant to bind fate and power.

She raises the bowl slightly.

“Stretch out your hands.”

I do it without hesitation.

Lucy hesitates for half a second… then stretches hers out too.

The seer takes a small blade.

Sharp. Clean. Sacred.

She cuts my palm.

The sting is brief, but the blood flows easily, dripping into the bowl. Then she cuts Lucy’s palm. Her breath catches, but she doesn’t cry out.

Our blood mixes.

The bowl seems to hum softly, like it recognizes something.

Or someone.

“Transform,” the seer commands.

The chanting begins.

Low at first. Deep. Ancient words that sink into my bones.

I let go.

The shift rips through me.

Bones stretching. Muscles tearing and rebuilding. Power surging through every vein. My wolf explodes forward, massive and dominant, silver-black fur glowing under the moonlight.

I hear gasps.

I feel them.

Wolves across the clearing begin to transform too...one after another, answering the call of the ritual. The ground vibrates with power. Howls rise into the sky, filling the night.

For a moment…

Everything feels right.

Lucy POV

The transformation burns.

But I welcome it.

My wolf surges out, strong and white, her fur glowing softly like moonlight itself. The chanting grows louder, stronger, wrapping around us like a living force.

I feel powerful.

I feel seen.

I feel...

Sudden. Sharp. Wrong.

Adrian’s wolf stumbles.

At first, I think I imagined it.

Then he collapses.

A horrible sound rips from his throat...a cry of pure agony. His massive body slams into the ground, claws tearing into the stone as he writhes.

The chanting breaks.

Gasps turn into shouts.

Confusion spreads like fire.

“Adrian!” I scream, rushing toward him.

I press my body against his, trying to steady him, trying to comfort him. His pain crashes into me, raw and unbearable.

“What’s happening?” I cry.

Then..

I’m shoved.

Hard.

I hit the ground, startled.

The seer stands over me, fury and fear in her eyes.

“Stay away from him!” she snaps. “What have you done?”

My heart shatters.

“I..I didn’t do anything!” I sob.... I lie.

Adrian POV

The pain is everywhere.

It tears through me, drowning out sound, sight, thought.

This same pain, when I was looking for my Luna , before I met Rose... Now tripled pain.

Then...

Silence.

The last thing I feel is movement.

And darkness.

The clearing is left in chaos.

The moon still watches.

And nothing will ever be the same again.

Seer POV

No!.

This is wrong.

The moment the blood mixed, I felt it.

The imbalance.

The rejection.

As Adrian collapsed, the truth slammed into me like a wave.

The sacrifice was not accepted.

Not from Adrian.

I look at Lucy...at her wolf, glowing and terrified...and the answer is painfully clear.

She is the one.

The wolves begin to howl, long and sorrowful. The sound fills the air, heavy with loss and confusion.

“Enough!” I shout. “Calm yourselves!”

Matthew and Caleb, still in their wolf forms, rush to Adrian’s side. Their panic mirrors my own.

I don’t have time to explain.

Not now.

Power gathers around me as I make my decision.

This cannot continue here.

I reach out...

And the world bends.

Then I vanished with the Alpha, the beta ....Caleb and their caregiver.... Matthew.