Chapter 86

Elora’s POV

War drums weren’t rumors anymore, they were banging right in our faces.

By sunrise, the whole training yard was a madhouse. Blades getting sharpened, blacksmiths hammering away like they were trying to break the sky.

Dante was hunched over the map table, cracking his neck, looking about ten years older than yesterday. Neither of us had slept... no real surprise there. He traced the map with a finger, red markers crawling along our border, the route the enemy was taking plain as day.

“They’ll hit the eastern valley,” he muttered, matter-of-fact, like he was reading out the weather. “It’s the only stretch wide enough for that many boots. But it’s the move everyone expects.”

I leaned in, following where he pointed. “So, you want archers on the ridge?”

He nodded, eyes a little wild. “Make ‘em climb for it. By the time they reach us, they’ll be half-spent. We might actually stand a chance.”

Nobody wanted to flat-out disagree with Dante, but nobody was jumping to say yes, either.

“He’s right,” I said, and my voice cut through everything.

Heads snapped my way.

“If we spread too thin, we’ll snap in half the second Luca’s rogues show up. We hold the east. We dig in on the ridge. Make them bleed for every step.”

Silence. Then the oldest general, a grumpy old wolf with scars like tree roots, grunted. “The lady’s talking sense.”

My chest finally loosened, but I kept my face blank.

As everyone split to bark orders, Dante caught my eye. There was something in his look...pride, maybe, but he’d never say it out loud. Didn’t have to. It was enough.

Once the warriors cleared out, I let out a shaky breath. “They’re terrified,” I mumbled. “You can feel it. In the walls. Every stare, every whisper.”

He didn’t sugarcoat. “So are you.”

Didn’t bother arguing. “Yeah. But they can’t see that.”

His mouth twitched. “Then don’t let ‘em.”

Afternoon hit, and the castle turned upside down. Rations divided up, medics drilling, kids bundled off to the caves out west. I bounced from task to task, checking lists, blessing swords, trying to calm omegas who looked ready to bolt.

But fear was everywhere. Like, you could taste it in the air.

Near the kitchen, I overheard whispers—two omegas bent over sacks of food, voices sharp as knives.

“They say the Alpha’s too weak to fight,” one hissed. “If Dark Storm wins, Lady Mira’s coming back. She’ll take over again, spare the ones who sided with her.”

The other nodded, quick. “Heard she’s already making deals with Blood Fang. We’re screwed.”

My heart did a weird, tight thing.

Mira’s name was a curse in these halls, a ghost that wouldn’t quit, even after she was gone. Her shadow still stretched everywhere.

I stepped in, and the omegas froze. “Luna...we, um...we weren’t...”

“I know,” I said, keeping it gentle. “Just get the rations done.”

They skittered off, guilty as hell.

Dusk. The courtyard is packed, the sky is burning orange and red like the end of the world. Armor rattling, banners snapping, the whole place stinking of nerves and iron.

I climbed the steps, heart hammering. Dante stood beside me, steady as a rock.

“You ready?” he murmured.

“Nope,” I said, honestly. “But I’m doing it anyway.”

He smiled barely. “That’s what makes you better than most.”

I turned to face them, hundreds, all eyes locked on me. Wolves. People. All of ‘em hoping for something.

And for once, I didn’t feel tiny.

“My pack,” I started, voice mostly steady, hands shaking just a little. “We’ve seen darkness before. Lost brothers, mates, homes to war. But we’ve never ever bowed our heads and given up.”

A low rumble ran through the crowd.

“They say the Dark Storm Pack is coming for us,” I went on, louder now. “They say Mira rides with them, that we’re outnumbered, that we should just roll over and survive on our knees.”

I scanned the crowd, locking eyes with each one of them, trying not to flinch under the weight of all that hope and fear tangled together. “That’s not us,” I said, louder than I meant to, voice cracking just a little. “That’s not what Dominic wanted for us. He might not be here, I know he’s not...but his stubborn will? It’s alive in all of you. Like it or not.”

You could practically hear the mood shifting, like a wire tightening and then snapping loose. People straightened up. Someone wiped their nose on a sleeve. Maybe it was me.

I took a step closer, heart banging around in my chest. “They’re coming. No point pretending otherwise. They want to shatter us. But we don’t shatter, not for anyone. We fight. For our land, for our people, for whatever comes after tonight. Let them see...Alpha down or not, the pack’s still breathing.”

Silence.

Not the comfortable kind. It was sharp, almost electric, and I swear, time held its breath.

Then, out of nowhere, someone slammed a fist to their chest. Then again. And again. Until the noise built, rolling through the crowd like a storm breaking loose. Fists everywhere. Hearts pounding so loud I felt it in my bones.

“For the pack!” someone yelled, voice cracking like thunder.

“For the pack!” everyone else roared back.

The ground legit shook. Or maybe it was just me, hard to tell, honestly. My eyes burned with tears, probably, but I blinked them away. No time for that.

And then I saw Dante, standing off to the side, staring like he’d never really seen me before. Not just a teammate or whatever. Something else. Something dangerous.

He leaned close, voice all rough and low, just for me. “You were made for this,” he said, and I almost laughed, except I kinda wanted to cry.

For a second...just a second...I actually believed him.

I threw my fist up, and the whole pack howled, wild and fierce. And in that tiny sliver of time, I wasn’t scared. Not even a little.

I felt like Luna.