All Chapters of MINE BEFORE THE BLOOD MOON : Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

The map was still in the air, the last symbol glowed under Moonhold. The Seventh in Thea pulled hard but it wouldn’t show a face, only pieces, hands opening the gates, boots crossing the Alpha Hall, a voice saying Kael’s name, black veins under skin. Thea understood, the Sovereign didn’t pick at random, it picked someone inside, someone who knew the old system. Kael turned, We go back now. Thea stopped him, If we run in and command that’s what it wants. What do we do then. We find who chose it, Thea said, before we decide what to do about them. The symbol shifted, Diana pointed, Under the council chamber. They all felt it, someone was already there. Thea reached through the Seventh and went still, It isn’t being forced, she said, it’s agreeing.That was worse, the Sovereign had found someone who wanted it, they ran. Moonhold was quiet, too quiet, no horns, no fighting, gates open, wolves in the streets looking lost. The rebel leader was gone, the prisoner was gone, Kael’s

The black mark over Eli’s border pulsed, Thea stared at it, she was already moving toward the gate. Kael stepped in front of her, not to stop her, to ask, What are you choosing. Thea stopped, she felt it, grief, guilt, the need to run, I’m going because I need the truth, she said, not to undo him. Kael nodded, Then I’m coming. Astra stepped forward, The border is old, it may have records from before the Guardians. Diana, Edris, Seren, Auren, Sylva, they all fell in behind. Moonhold was breaking while they left, black pieces of the Sovereign drifted through the wolves. Some took them, I don’t want to choose wrong, one whispered, others threw them down. Kael didn’t force anyone, he gathered a council, old rebels, young wolves, wolves who hated each other. Whatever happens while I’m gone, he said, don’t let anyone tell you peace requires obedience. That was all, he walked away without looking back. Lyra caught Thea at the gate, The border is where it learned grief.

The chamber was still, Thea looked between Seren and Sylva. There was space, not just air, absence. Everyone remembered standing beside someone, no one could say who. Kael closed his eyes, Alpha instincts reached out, nothing. Astra’s face went pale, This is older than forgetting. Edris backed away, This is what the First Witness feared, the Sovereign didn’t erase a memory, it erased the relationship attached to it. Diana started crying, she didn’t know why, I lost someone, she whispered, important. Thea knelt, What do you remember. A hand, Diana said, in the snow, a voice, Don’t be scared of the silver in your eyes, someone always stood in front of me. Thea felt it, a guardian, for generations. Diana opened her mouth, Her name was, it slipped, gone. Thea understood, the Sovereign was fighting them in real time. The Seventh pulled, not a memory, the shape of one. Thea saw the group, Thea, Kael, Astra, Diana, Edris, Seren, Sylva, Auren, and a blur. Every time sh

Far north the ice cracked, a woman opened her eyes. She didn’t look old, she hadn’t aged because she had been taking it out, small pieces, forgetting her own years, forgetting her own death. It wasn’t immortality, it was editing. She remembered the Alpha, she remembered finding the Seventh in a field of wounded, she remembered the day the world changed. She could not remember the name she gave it, something had been taken from her too. In Moonhold the stolen archive sat on the table, no words stayed still, they moved when you looked. Diana touched the cover, It listens. How. It opens when someone admits a choice they regret. Kael went first, I wanted to make every decision for the pack. The pages settled. Astra, I thought I was wiser than everyone. Diana, I’m scared my blood brought it back. Edris, I chose guidance over freedom once. Auren, I still think people need to be protected from themselves. The book opened. A woman stood in the memory, healer hand

The chamber kept opening, stone fell away, Thea, Kael, Seraphine, stood at the edge. Walls covered in names, kings, Alphas, Guardians, farmers, children, some old, some fresh. Thea realized it, the Sovereign didn’t only ride leaders, it lived on ordinary people giving away their choices, Kael’s name burned brightest. Thea reached with the Seventh, she saw it differently now, every name had a moment, You decide, You choose for me, I can’t. The throne wasn’t power, it was responsibility people put down. She looked at Seraphine, Why Kael. Seraphine answered, Because it knows what he’s about to be asked. The throne showed him, Moonhold burning, the North split, Shadow at the gates, wolves fighting wolves, children under rubble, the council shouting and failing, people scared. Kael standing in the middle, the Sovereign offered, Take command, if you do, the wars stop, the packs join, the Shadow falls back, order returns, and I come back through you, if you don’t, the fightin