Chapter 32

~“Scarlett, open your eyes.”~

The voice was gentle, a mere whisper, but it wasn’t audible. It was a whisper in my mind. It was her, the Moon Goddess, reaching out to me once more.

I complied. My eyes snapped open. Everything was still moving in slow motion, but I saw what she wanted me to see.

Thomas materialized and intercepted the rock that was hurtling toward me. He deflected the rock, and I heard the sickening sound of his arm breaking. He was strong enough to save my life, but not without injury, though I knew his arm would heal in a matter of hours.

I scanned the scene to see all the guards engaged in battle, our men against the southern guards. Then I noticed that not only had my brother arrived, but also the council guards and my father’s convoy. They were heading toward Joshua, Bertha, and Brisa, but instinctively my gaze was drawn in the opposite direction, toward the homes of our wolves, our people.

Fear gripped me again, thinking about the potential impact of the escalating war on them.

That’s when I spotted Mathew. He emerged from one of the houses, followed by Mrs. Werner and her son. They took in the war scene, and Mathew’s eyes widened.

He ushered the woman and boy back into the house. He was protecting them, just as a real man should. They were meant to be together; this was supposed to be his future family, the one the Goddess had spoken of.

In that moment, I understood what the Moon Goddess meant when she said that Mathew needed to experience all of this with me—to suffer and transform internally—to be ready for his next family.

And then my faith was restored, the faith she had asked me to hold onto. The Moon Goddess had told me that in the end, the righteous would prevail and that I should have faith.

Why did I doubt, knowing that everything happened for a reason, when she had proven this to me time and time again?

And my mind searched the prophecies for the answer I sought, the real answer, ~And there is born the new leader who withstood.~

Withstood.

My son would not have an easy entry into this world; the prophecy stated that he would be a leader, a resilient leader. And I knew that everything happened for a reason, and I had a reason to act; my reason was him.

I felt my bleeding stop, which didn’t make sense. With the silver wound, I should have bled out.

But miraculously, my bleeding ceased.

I saw Brisa attempting to flee. Summoning all my strength, I rose and seized her arm.

“You’re not escaping this,” I declared, and her brown eyes met mine. I didn’t know where my strength came from, but it had arrived. And she looked like a trapped animal.

A council guard grabbed her other arm and took her away, but the scene was still chaotic—guards fighting—and I needed to put an end to it.

“Stop!”

The shout was loud and came from deep within me, but I knew that some of the shout was hers too; the Goddess was shouting through me. “It’s over, you are on our territory, we outnumber you, and the council is on our side. Spare your guards, we don’t need any more deaths.” The last sentence came out more like a plea; I couldn’t bear the thought of more lives lost to this senseless war, and it was already over; the south had practically surrendered.

And then another miracle occurred—the second one that day—they listened to me. The southern guards gradually ceased fighting. They realized it was a lost cause, and if they continued to fight, they would only be signing their own death warrants.

In a final desperate attempt—seeing his plan unraveling before his eyes—Joshua broke free from the council guards who were detaining him. He drew a gun and aimed at Christopher, who was still in his wolf form. I heard the deafening sound of the gunshot; it was powerful and left me disoriented, followed by a guttural groan.

I blinked rapidly, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Then I saw Christopher’s wolf lunging at Joshua. He bit Joshua’s arm, aiming to immobilize him, but Joshua fought back, forcing Christopher to bite him. The fight escalated, becoming more brutal until Joshua’s body convulsed once more and then went limp.

Only then did I realize I had been holding my breath. I sprinted toward Christopher, still in his wolf form.

His blue eyes locked onto mine, and I saw his brown fur stained red around his front paw. He had been shot in the arm, but he had fought and won. He howled, and I realized that his wolf was not relinquishing control. He couldn’t revert to his human form because the silver bullet was still lodged in his body.

I ran my fingers through the thick fur on his neck and made him look at me.

“I’ll help you. Just stay still,” I said, pulling out the dagger that was strapped to my leg—a precaution Christopher himself had insisted on.

I gripped the blade and took a deep breath.

“This is going to hurt, but I need to remove the bullet,” I warned, and without hesitation, I plunged the blade into the wound.

Christopher’s wolf howled in pain, and I felt my own wolf clawing at my chest, wanting to emerge, wanting to help him, but I suppressed her. I knew that at that moment, there was no one better equipped to save him than me.

I widened the cut and inserted my fingers into the wound. He howled again, and it pained me, but I continued. My fingertips searched for the bullet, which must have been causing him excruciating pain. I felt the bullet under my fingertips, but it wasn’t burning. I gripped it with all the strength I could muster in such a small area and extracted it as gently as possible.

The sigh of relief that Christopher and his wolf let out—I felt it too.

With his second breath, Christopher transformed back into a human, and I quickly found a piece of cloth to bind his arm tightly. He needed to get to a hospital fast, but without the bullet, I knew he would survive.

What happened next, I didn’t anticipate. All the southern guards knelt before us and placed their right hands over their hearts, followed by our own guards.

“Long live the alpha,” they all chanted in unison, from the depths of their hearts and with all the strength they had left.

It took me a few seconds to comprehend. Joshua had attacked Christopher on our territory, and Christopher had killed him, which automatically made him their new alpha. Christopher placed one hand over his heart before declaring.

“For the pack and for the Moon Goddess.”

I shivered as the resonance of his voice hit me.

“Pledged to the alpha, the pack, and the Moon Goddess,” the guards echoed. At that, Christopher swiveled toward me.

“We need to get to the hospital,” he commanded. “Can you guys handle this chaos?” he asked my father and Marquardt, who simply nodded in response.

“Go, Alpha. Stay safe. We’ve got it from here,” my dad assured us, practically pushing us into the car.

My breaths came in ragged gasps, taking a few moments to steady. A whirlwind of emotions swirled within me, and there were things I still couldn’t wrap my head around.

Despite my apprehension, I tilted my face to inspect my wound. Just minutes ago, blood had been spurting from it, and I was clueless as to how my body had managed to halt the bleeding from a silver-inflicted wound.

When I glanced at the spot where I’d been stabbed, all that remained was a thin, delicate scar. It was shaped like a slender crescent moon, and it brought a smile to my face.

“Aren’t you scared?” Christopher’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Scared of what?” I asked, genuinely clueless.

“You were injured by silver. Aren’t you concerned about the baby?” Christopher’s voice wavered, as if he was terrified to voice his fears.

“No.” My voice was steady, filled with unwavering certainty. “The Moon Goddess told me many things. One was to always have faith, and the other was that the prophecies are accurate. He is the new leader who withstood.”

“And thus is born the new leader who withstood,” Christopher quoted the prophecy, a smile playing on his lips. He understood as well.

Christopher pulled me closer with his uninjured hand, and I nestled into his chest. He buried his nose in my hair, inhaling deeply before speaking.

“Thank you for saving my life,” he murmured, his hold on me tightening.

“And thank you for saving mine,” I replied. In that moment, it dawned on me that ever since our paths crossed on that dance floor, we had been saving each other.