Chapter 24: The Final Showdown

(Penny’s POV)

The eastern tower roof felt smaller under the full moon, silver light pooling on the stone, turning every shadow sharp and accusing. Genesis and I had spent the night wrapped in each other, talking in whispers, kissing until our lips were swollen, holding on like we could stop time if we just refused to let go. We hadn’t slept. We’d barely spoken of tomorrow. We’d just existed, two people stealing hours from fate.

But fate doesn’t negotiate.

The door at the base of the tower stairs banged open.

Heavy boots climbed, too many.

Genesis sat up first, pulling me with him. He stood, still favoring his left side where Kael’s claws had bitten deepest, and positioned himself between me and the stairwell.

Torren appeared first. Behind him: six royal guards in black leather and silver wolf pelts. Behind them: King Aldric.

No crown tonight. Just a dark cloak and eyes like frozen steel.

He stopped at the top step. Looked at us.

“You’ve had your night,” he said. Voice low. Carrying. “Now give me your answer, girl.”

Genesis’s hand found mine. Squeezed once, hard.

I stepped forward—only half a step. Enough to stand beside him.

“I choose him,” I said. Clear. Steady. “Not because of prophecy. Not because of your throne. Because I love him. And I’m staying.”

The words landed like stones in still water.

Aldric’s expression didn’t change.

Genesis exhaled, soft, shaky, like he’d been holding his breath since the day we met.

Torren’s scarred face remained blank, but his hand relaxed on his sword hilt.

Aldric looked between us.

“Then the bond will be sealed tonight,” he said. “Here. Under the moon. Before witnesses.”

Genesis stiffened. “No.”

The king’s gaze snapped to his son.

“You will not defy me again.”

“I’m not defying you,” Genesis said, voice calm, lethal. “I’m protecting her. She’s not a prize to be claimed in front of an audience. She’s not a ritual to be performed for your court. If she chooses the bond, it happens between us. Alone. Private. The way it’s supposed to be.”

Aldric’s eyes narrowed. “Tradition—”

“Tradition has kept us dying for centuries,” Genesis cut in. “You want the Luna to save us? Then let her choose how she saves us.”

Silence stretched, thin, dangerous.

Then Aldric laughed, cold, short.

“You’ve grown bold, boy. Or foolish.”

“Both,” Genesis said.

The king studied him. Then me.

“You truly choose this? My son. This life. The wars. The weight.”

I met his gaze without flinching.

“I choose him. The rest… we’ll face together.”

Aldric exhaled, long, slow.

Then he turned to Torren.

“Clear the tower. The guards wait below. No one enters until dawn.”

Torren hesitated, only a heartbeat, then nodded.

The guards filed down the stairs. Torren was last. He paused at the top step, looked at Genesis.

“Brother,” he said quietly. “If you need us…”

Genesis gave a small nod.

Torren disappeared.

The door at the bottom closed with a heavy thud.

We were alone.

Moonlight poured over us like liquid silver.

Genesis turned to me, slow, careful.

“You didn’t have to say that,” he whispered. “You could have asked for more time. You could have—”

“I meant it,” I said. “Every word.”

His eyes searched mine, desperate, hopeful, terrified.

“Penny…”

I stepped into him. Cupped his face with both hands.

“I’m scared,” I admitted. “Of forever. Of what this bond means. Of never seeing my world again. But I’m not scared of you. I’m not scared of us.”

He swallowed hard.

Then he kissed me.

Soft at first. Reverent.

Then deeper. Hungrier.

Like he was pouring every unspoken word into it.

When we broke apart, he rested his forehead against mine.

“The claiming…” he said quietly. “It’s not gentle. Not always. The bond, it changes you. Strengthens you. Makes you part of the pack. Part of me. Irrevocably.”

“I know.”

“You’ll feel everything I feel. Pain. Rage. Love. All of it.”

“Good,” I whispered. “I want to feel it. All of it. With you.”

He exhaled, shaky.

Then he took my hand. Led me to the center of the roof, where the moonlight was brightest.

We knelt together, face to face, hands joined.

He spoke first, voice low, steady, ancient words I didn’t understand but felt in my bones.

I repeated them, awkward, halting, trusting him to guide me.

Then he leaned in.

Teeth grazed my neck, sharp, careful.

“I love you,” he whispered against my skin.

“I love you,” I answered.

He bit.

Pain flared, bright, searing, then melted into heat. Into light. Into something bigger than either of us.

I felt him, everywhere. His heartbeat. His fear. His joy. His love—fierce, consuming, endless.

And he felt me.

The bond snapped into place, golden thread tying soul to soul.

The sky erupted.

Light, blinding, white-hot, poured down from the moon like a waterfall.

Genesis gasped, arms tightening around me.

The world tilted.

Spun.

Darkness rushed in.

—-

I woke with a jolt.

My bedroom.

My bed.

My ceiling fan spinning lazily overhead.

The manuscript lay open on my chest. pages creased, ink smudged where my hand had rested.

No tower.

No moonlight.

No Genesis.

Just my alarm clock blinking 6:47 a.m.

And silence.

I sat up slowly.

Tears came, quiet, unstoppable.

I touched my neck.

A faint scar, two small crescents, still warm under my fingers.

I closed my eyes.

And whispered into the empty room:

“Genesis…”

No answer.

But the scar pulsed, once, softly, like a heartbeat not my own.

And somewhere, far away, in another world, I felt him answer.

I’m still here.

Waiting.

To be continued….