All Chapters of Moonbound: The Rise Of The Alpha: Chapter 161 - Chapter 169

“Don’t let go.”Eli’s voice was raw, his hand gripping Lyla’s wrist like his life depended on it.“Not planning on it,” she shot back, though her other arm trembled from holding both their weight against the crumbling ledge. The abyss below roared like it was hungry for them.The rocks gave another crack.Lyla’s heart stuttered.“Eli !”Too late.The stone collapsed.Both of them plummeted into darkness.The fall wasn’t clean. Jagged rocks tore at their clothes, at their skin. But at the last second, Lyla summoned the forest’s energy, wrapping it around them like a tether. They slammed hard against a ledge far below, the impact driving the air from her lungs.Eli groaned beside her, already pushing up to shield her. “You okay?”She coughed, clutching her ribs. “Define okay.”Eli gave a shaky laugh that didn’t last long. The space around them was wrong, twisted, damp, alive with whispers that slithered into their ears. The abyss wasn’t just a hole. It was a passage.“Where the hell are

“Jonas stop!” Lyla’s voice cracked as the cavern shook around them. “That voice isn’t you. She’s using you!”Jonas tilted his head, dagger trembling in his grip, eyes dark with a madness that wasn’t his alone. “Finally, I see clearly. She showed me everything you tried to keep from me. The truth of who I am.”Eli staggered to his feet, blood streaking down his temple, but his stance was unyielding. His silver eyes cut into Jonas like steel. “You’re not the Lost Wolf’s heir. You’re her slave.”Jonas’s laugh was raw and jagged. “Better a slave to her than a shadow in your light!” He lunged, the dagger singing as it cut through the air, its obsidian blade glowing with infernal runes.Lyla shoved Eli aside, the strike barely missing his chest. The dagger grazed her arm instead, searing through flesh like fire. She hissed, the Guardian’s light sparking erratically as blood dripped to the stone floor.“Lyla!” Eli caught her, steadying her against him. His hands shook, not from fear but from

“Kill her.”The words slithered from the Lost Wolf’s lips, echoing through the broken chamber like a curse.Lyla’s twin grinned, blood-smeared dagger glinting under the moonlight seeping in through the cracks above. She twirled it lazily, her crimson eyes locked on Lyla’s. “He bleeds for you, Guardian. All it takes is one hesitation. One flicker of doubt.”Lyla’s fists trembled, silver fire licking her veins. Behind her, Eli groaned, clutching his side, his blood soaking the floor in a spreading pool. She felt the pull, every instinct screaming to drop to his side, to hold him, to heal him.But if she looked away for even a breath The shadow would end them both.“You’ll never be me,” Lyla growled, stepping forward, her claws lengthening, light sparking at her fingertips.“Oh, I already am.” The shadow tilted her head, her smile sharp, cruel. “But better. Stronger. Wilder. The part of you that craves power… and him.”Her gaze flicked to Eli, and Lyla’s chest constricted.That was all

“Finally.”The voice wasn’t hers.But it was.Lyla’s eyes snapped open, her body hitting solid ground. The world around her shimmered in silver and blood-red. The sky was a searing canvas of fire, the Blood Moon looming so close it felt like it could crush her.And standing only a few steps away Herself.Shadow-Lyla tilted her head, smiling with venomous sweetness. Same face. Same fire. But her eyes glowed with endless black, a void that swallowed every spark of light.“You’ve fought Kane. You’ve fought Aleron. You’ve even fought the whisper itself.” Her voice dripped with mockery. “But you never fought the truth.”Lyla’s fists clenched, silver flames flickering to life around her. “And what truth is that?”“That you are the danger, not the savior.”The words hit harder than claws.Shadow-Lyla stepped closer, her presence heavy, suffocating. “You think you’re the High Alpha. The uniter. The Guardian. But let’s not pretend, Lyla, you didn’t save Silverwood out of love. You saved it ou