Chapter 80: The Luna is alive

The earth vibrated violently beneath Dorian’s massive paws as he tore through the palm grove, uprooting trees and smashing stone out of his path in a desperate, frantic bid to reach the villa.

Only one name echoed in a terrifying loop inside his skull: Alyssa.

He couldn’t lose her, not when his frozen, iron-bound heart had only just begun to crack open after more than a century of solitude. If she died tonight, he would burn the world to ash.

He burst through the edge of the palm grove and skidded to a jarring halt. The sight before him made his blood run cold.

The villa was gone. Flattened entirely into a mountain of crushed concrete, shattered timber, and twisted iron. Dust motes filled the night air, turning the atmosphere thick, dry. The Lycan guards were already clawing through the debris.

Dorian closed the distance in a single, monstrous leap, barely registering Cole’s presence as the Alpha sprinted out of the woods right behind him.

He didn’t stop to ask questions. He didn’t stop to process the horror. He plunged his claws into the pile, digging violently, ripping away heavy stone slabs and splintered beams, desperate to reach Alyssa.

Panic threatened to tear his mind apart, but he shoved it down with sheer willpower. He couldn’t go mad now. Alyssa was alive. She had to be.

Behind him, the Lycans began to slow down, their movements heavy with despair. Cole had joined the effort, but after clawing through a mountain of crushed stone to reveal only solid, impenetrable collapse, he slowly stopped. Even with their Lycan strength, it would take days to clear a path to the foundation.

Cole shifted back to his human form, taking a sorrowful step toward Dorian. His eyes were downcast, his pale face reflecting the hollow shadow of a man who had already accepted the brutal truth.

"Alpha..." he began softly.

Dorian didn’t let him finish. He whirled around and let out a savage, demonic roar through the mind-link, a wave of sonic fury so intense that Cole recoiled sharply, clutching his head as blood threatened to spill from his ears.

[She’s not dead, Cole! I can’t lose her! I WON’T!]

[I really wish that was true, Alpha!] Cole shouted back through the link, his voice thick with grief. [But look at this destruction! A full-grown Lycan warrior wouldn’t survive being flattened under two floors of solid stone, not to talk of...]

He trailed off, unable to bring himself to say her name. But the brutal reality hung in the air. Cade wouldn’t survive being crushed under a collapsing mansion, let alone a wolfless girl. The chances were zero.

But Dorian didn’t stop. He refused to yield. His claws turned bloody as he tore into the debris like a beast that had completely lost its mind. Deep, ragged growls ripped from his throat as he slashed through iron rods and shattered wooden beams.

He was on the brink of snapping, on the verge of going completely feral and surrendering to the beast, when her voice reached his ears from behind.

"Dorian?"

Dorian stiffened, his claws hovering over a jagged piece of granite. He closed his eyes, forcing his lungs to draw air, convincing himself that his fractured mind was playing cruel tricks on him.

Then, Cole gasped sharply behind him. A collective, stunned shout echoed across the mind-link from the Lycans: [The Luna is alive!]

Dorian whirled around, and there she stood, at the edge of the driveway, completely untouched, unhurt, and breathing. Beside her stood Cade, limping slightly and clutching his side.

Alyssa lifted one trembling hand toward Dorian, tears brimming and spilling down her pale cheeks.

Dorian didn’t even process the sudden shift. His Lycan form dissolved in a second, his clothes torn as he broke into a sprint.

He closed the distance between them in a heartbeat, his eyes locked onto her face as if praying she wouldn’t dissolve into mist the second he touched her.

He swept her up into his arms, letting out a shattered, half-choked breath of pure relief as he felt how warm, solid, and soft she was against his chest. She wasn’t a phantom. She was real.

His grip around her waist was tight enough to bruise, holding her as if the world was ending around them. His other hand slid into her hair, angling her face up as his mouth slammed down onto hers in a savage, possessive kiss.

He kissed her like a man who had just been pulled from the depths of hell, his entire body trembling from the sudden, overwhelming sense of relief.

Alyssa clung to him with every ounce of her remaining strength, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. She didn’t even realize she was crying until loud, broken sobs began to wrack her small frame.

She had never felt so terrified in her entire life. Minutes ago, she had stared death in the face. Her whole life had flashed before her eyes, and as the ceiling caved in, she had been certain she would never draw another breath.

Dorian broke the kiss, pulling back just an inch, his hands roaming frantically over her face, her shoulders, her arms, checking her again and again, ensuring she was whole.

"How?" he whispered hoarsely, his voice thick and stripped of his usual iron control.

He didn’t give her a chance to answer. He claimed her mouth again in another deep kiss, before burying his face into the warm curve of her neck, inhaling her sweet scent and holding her close against his heart.

All around them, the Lycan warriors watched the reunion in silence and relief. Every single one of them knew what would have happened if Alyssa had died tonight.

Dorian would have unleashed an era of bloody, unhinged vengeance that would have burned the realm to the ground.

Cole hurried over to Cade’s side, slinging one arm over his shoulder to support him. Cade was bleeding from a wound across his abdomen, where an iron rod had stabbed him. His face was lined with tiny cuts that were slowly starting to heal.

"You look like hell," Cole muttered.

Cade let out a chuckle, wincing as the movement caused him pain. "I feel like hell."

With Cole’s help, Cade carefully lowered himself to sit against the rear bumper of an armored SUV, stretching his long legs out on the gravel with a deep exhale.

Cole crouched beside him as the rest of the Lycans drifted closer. "What the hell actually happened out here, Cade? How did you and the Luna crawl out?"

"We didn’t," Cade shook his head slowly. "We were teleported, by two women. I don’t know how the fuck they did it. One second, I’m holding the Luna tight against my chest at the bottom of the collapsing building, waiting for the ceiling to crush us. Then, a beam of light enveloped us, and the next second, we materialized out in a dark alley."

Cole’s brows pulled together into a deep furrow. "What did they look like?"

"One was definitely a sorceress," Cade explained, his voice strained. "She had long, pure white hair. The other one looked normal, but nothing about her presence was normal. She had this choking aura radiating off her skin. Then I blacked out for a moment. When I came to, the women were gone, and Luna Alyssa was kneeling over me, shaking me awake."

Cole sat back on his heels, a troubled scowl carving into his features. He glanced back over his shoulder toward Dorian, who was still holding Alyssa as if she were his lifeline.

After what felt like an eternity, Dorian finally allowed Alyssa’s feet to touch the ground, though he refused to let go of her hand. Holding her slender fingers in a firm grip, he motioned for Cole to approach.

Cole stepped up instantly, his eyes warm with genuine relief. "Thank the goddess you’re safe, Luna Alyssa."

"Thank you, Cole," Alyssa murmured, her voice soft and hoarse with exhaustion.

Dorian’s gaze grew serious. "Cole, would it be an inconvenience if we stayed the night at your estate?"

"No, of course not," Cole agreed instantly, without a second’s hesitation. "My home is entirely yours and the Luna’s for as long as you need."

Within ten minutes, a fleet of black armored vehicles arrived from Cole’s compound to transport them.

Dorian pulled Alyssa into the backseat of the lead car, holding her close the entire drive, while Cole and the remaining Lycans dispersed into the remaining vehicles.

As the convoy’s taillights faded down the road, the air in front of the ruined villa rippled like heat on asphalt. Miranda materialized out of thin air, with Wren standing silently by her side. Together, they watched the dark road where the cars had vanished.

"Do you think she believed you?" Miranda asked softly. "When you told her you were her mother?"

Wren shook her head slowly. "I don’t know. I sprung the news on her all of a sudden. It will take time for her mind to digest it."

"You know they are leaving Ashgard tomorrow," Miranda reminded her softly. "You should have told her the whole truth. What she really is."

"There wasn’t time, Miranda," Wren sighed. "You can’t dump twenty years of bloodline secrets on a girl in a matter of seconds without breaking her."

She turned back to gaze down the empty, dark road. "I will travel to Wintercrest. Now that Ozai has felt her awakening and confirmed her existence, he will hunt her down. I need to be near her, to protect her."

"And what about the Alpha King?" Miranda asked quietly. "He won’t let a stranger near his Luna."

Wren’s eyes hardened. "He won’t stop me from protecting my daughter. And if he becomes a threat to her safety, I will take her away from him myself."