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Chapter Twenty-Three: The Price of the Mark

Author: Reds
last update Last Updated: 2025-06-26 17:06:05

Silas’s POV – Hollow Spine Chamber

He couldn’t breathe.

The pendant burned in his palm, the words etched on it searing deeper than flesh

“He who bears the mark must choose which pack to save.”

Lucien’s voice echoed in the background.

“One bond forged through fire… one pack left in ruin.”

Silas dropped the pendant.

“No.”

Lucien tilted his head. “You thought the Moon would grant you unity? No, boy. It grants balance.

And balance always demands loss.”

Silas stepped back. “You’re wrong.”

But he wasn’t.

The bond mark on his chest pulsed againbrighter. Hotter.

Reacting. Agreeing.

Ethan stood in the doorway, silent.

And Silas knew he’d heard everything.

Ethan’s POV

He didn’t speak.

He couldn’t.

Silas stood between two flames. Ethan saw in his eyes a war not just between packs…

But inside him.

He wanted to reach for him.

But didn't.

Because if the prophecy demanded a choice…

He might be the one left behind.

Arden’s POV – Shadow Port

The blade missed his heart.

Barely.

Blood slicked his side as Nina lunged again.

He caught her wrist mid-air, twisted, and shoved her against the rotting wall.

“You always go for the heart,” Arden muttered. “Even when you never had one.”

Nina smirked. “You think this ends with me dying?”

“No,” he said. “It ends with you answering for everything.”

But even as he bound her wrists, something in her smile didn’t fade.

“Lucien’s returned,” she whispered. “And he’s not here to fix anything.”

“He’s here to finish what he started.”

Marcus’s POV – Crescent Council

The Council room trembled with tension.

One elder slammed his fist. “If Lucien lives, we demand answers!”

Marcus stood slowly.

“I’ll give you one,” he said. “He’s not just alive he's armed with prophecy. And he’s forcing a choice none of us deserve.”

Gasps. Shouting.

Then it was quiet.

“My brother,” Marcus said carefully, “is marked to fulfill a path the Moon carved. I will not force his hand.”

But his eyes darkened.

“But I will make sure he knows what this choice costs.”

Silas’s POV – Forest, Alone

He’d slipped away from Ethan.

Not to hide.

To think.

The pendant hung around his neck, cold now. Silent.

One pack must fall.

The Moon chose him as the blade.

But which side would he cut?

He was Crescent by blood.

Red Moon by bond.

And between both, his heart burned in Ethan’s hands.

The air shifted behind him.

Ethan.

Of course.

He turned.

“I heard everything,” Ethan said softly.

Silas’s voice cracked. “I didn’t ask for this.”

“I know.”

They stood a breath apart.

No blades.

Just hearts.

Ethan stepped closer.

“You don’t have to decide tonight.

But when you do

Don’t choose for the sake of the prophecy.

Choose for you.”

Unknown Location

Lucien stood before a black altar, inked with Crescent blood.

The moon hung low above him scarlet now.

Bleeding.

He pressed a hand to the stone.

Whispered the words no Alpha dared say.

And far away…

Something woke.

Something ancient.

Something bound to the Hati line.

Because when a god gives you a choice

It’s never mercy.

It’s a test wrapped in ruin.

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