Semua Bab Returning in Reverse After Betrayal: Bab 71 - Bab 80

"I taught her. As I have taught you. She was brilliant. Brave beyond measure. But terrified, always. The fear never left her."I sat down heavily on a supply crate. "Tell me about her. Please. I barely remember..."Thea's expression softened.She sat beside me."What happened to her?" I asked."She chose to fight despite her fear. Saved many people that day. Including you." Thea touched my face gently, like she was seeing someone else. "There was a rogue attack—coordinated, vicious. Your mother organized the defense herself. Fought like a demon to protect the pack. To protect you.""But she died.""She did. But not before ensuring every child made it to safety. Not before killing the rogue alpha with her bare hands when he tried to reach the shelter. She died standing between her pack and certain death."Thea's voice grew thick. "I tried to save her. Couldn't. The wounds were too severe. But she smiled at the end. Said, 'Thea, make sure my daughter knows I chose this. I chose to prote

Kael and Thea at the circle's perimeter. They touched their runes simultaneously. Channeled everything they had.Power exploded upward.Instant and overwhelming.Silver-white light shooting into the sky like a pillar connecting the earth to heaven. The twelve master runes are blazing.Energy walls form between them, creating a cage of pure Moonbane power. The sound was deafening.Like reality itself screaming. Light so bright I had to shield my eyes. Heat washing over me in waves.The cage formed in seconds.Perfect geometric dome.Fifty feet across. Thirty feet high. Walls humming with contained force.The monster realized too late that it was trapped.It roared. Betrayal. Rage beyond measure.Then it changed.At me.Inside the cage, time seemed to slow.The monster Dane, I had to remember his name, had to remember he'd been a person once, charged with all the speed and force of an avalanche.I rolled. Barely. Just barely. Felt the wind as its fist cratered the ground where I'd

The pain was indescribable.Like having your identity ripped away.You're torn out piece by piece.My consciousness started going with it. Losing myself in the vast cold of the Tear's power.Drowning in ice and moonlight and endless silver.I could feel myself fading. Sophia disappearing.Just the Tear remaining. In the shelter, Erica felt it through our family bond."MOM!" She screamed. Tore away from Helena's grip."Something's wrong! Something's wrong with Mom!"Helena tried to hold her. "Erica, you can't!""I can feel her! She's—she's disappearing!" Tears were streaming down her face."I can't feel her anymore!"The bond between mother and daughter, that unbreakable connection, was fraying.Thinning. About to snap."Mom, please," Erica sobbed."Please don't leave me. Please!"On the battlefield, I was fading.The Tear is almost free of my body now, a glowing sphere of ice-blue power floating between Seraphine's hands and my chest.Connected by threads of light. Breaking. This wa

Back in Black River, we entered the pack house.Exhausted."Sleep," Kael said. "Both of you. Tomorrow brings new challenges.""Will we survive them?" Erica asked. Scared child under the mature exterior.I knelt. Looked her in the eyes."I don't know, baby. I really don't. But I promise you this: I'll fight for you. For us. For this family. With everything I have. Every breath. Every heartbeat. Everything.""That's all I can ask," she said.Wise beyond her years.My daughter.We went to our rooms. Kael and I are collapsing into bed. Erica is in her own room across the hall. Close enough to feel safe.As sleep claimed me, I felt the Tear. Quiet Settled.It whispered to me in that space between waking and dreams:You did well today. Showed strength and mercy. Freed a tormented soul. Saved your people. I am... proud. If divine power can feel pride."Thank you," I whispered back.Too tired to be surprised by the Tear speaking again.But know this vessel. Seraphine spoke the truth.She will

Two Cult warriors are doing a routine patrol. They weren't supposed to be here.Aldric's information was wrong.Or outdated.Liana moved without being asked.Silent as death. “Drag them into the shadows,” Kael ordered.“Quickly.”We did.Hid the evidence.But the damage was done.When these two didn't report in, the alarm would sound.“How long?” I asked.“An hour. Maybe two before they're missed.”We'd have to move faster.We pressed on.The tunnel opened into a vast storage chamber.Supplies. Weapons. Food. Enough to feed an army for months.“They're preparing for a siege,” Marcus observed.“Or expansion.”“Both,” Aldric said.“Seraphine's plans go beyond just capturing you, Sophia. She wants to reshape the entire wolf world.”“Megalomaniac tendencies. How original.”“Mock all you want. She has the power to do it.”Stone stairs worn smooth by centuries of use.Away from the storage levels. Toward Leighton.We nearly made it.The keep level was better guarded.But my Moonbane stealt