Chapter 137: Conquest

Selene’s POV

Some of his guards had already left Winterwood for Bloodmoon to cause damage.

"I may do something else drastic and it will be very painful. Selene, follow me now," he said.

"Please, stop all of this," I told him, but he didn’t hear me. He didn’t even want to pay me any attention.

"William fucking Steelborn, when my time comes, nobody will be able to contain me," Lucian said to him.

"I’m ready to cause destruction today, and I will be any other day of the week ... just for my Luna," he kept saying.

Lucian kept disagreeing. I even tried to look at his face to see if we could work something out, but I could see that he was rigid ... his mind was already made up. He was not giving me up to anybody.

Damn.

"Okay, bring her out! Since you all don’t want to understand, then I don’t understand either," William said.

I was wondering who they were going to bring out.

Lo and behold, it was Ms. Ashlyn. What the hell.

"Please don’t touch her!" I shouted the moment I saw her. She didn’t look harmed at all. She was perfectly fine ... not even a mark on her face.

"Selene, or this wolf," William said.

Someone who was like a mother figure to me.

I walked over to Lucian. "I have to go with him for the time being. I can’t endure this anymore."

"No," he said flatly. Over and over again.

"But you’ve already caused so much damage with your wolves," I said.

"I can’t go with you if you don’t find a way to fix this mess," I continued.

"As long as I take my Luna home, I’ll make it right," he said.

"Then I’ll follow you," I said to him, and I held Lucian’s gaze.

I could see the disappointment on his face.

The reports kept flooding in like water. We had been there for hours and the hunger was already kicking in. There was no food and no way to process whatever little remained. So I decided to be the leader in that situation. I wasn’t going to sit back and watch this happen.

"I have a solution, and only after it is fully put in place will I get in that car with you to Icefang," I said to William.

"What solution do you have, Selene?" William asked.

"I have a machine ... one that I invented ... that can process food at any stage," I said.

"And how is that supposed to help us?" he asked.

"We bring the machine out, test it, and once it proves itself, we deploy it."

I asked the manufacturers to bring the machine out. It was a huge piece of equipment, and it had been registered and protected under my name so no one could access it before now. It was tested, and it worked ... it actually worked. Whatever food was available, cooked or raw, it would process it and multiply it beyond compare.

William let Ms. Ashlyn go. She signed her thanks to me as she walked away.

"This is why I’m marrying you. I always knew you were a wise wolf," William said.

"I’m ready to leave with you, but only on the condition that this machine will be used to bring food and hope to the whole of Morvaine," I said to him.

"It will," he replied.

He had conquered both territories ... Winterwood and Bloodmoon. There was nothing left to contest.

"I need a moment to say my goodbyes," I said to William.

"Sure, but don’t take too long. We’ll be waiting for you in the car," he said.

His soldiers pulled back considerably. The tension had eased.

I took Lucian’s hand and led him inside. I could already see the tears building in his eyes.

If Lucian had never known defeat before, today was the day I watched it settle on his face. It was written all over him. He couldn’t speak. He was broken.

I kissed him like the world was ending for us both. He stood still while I kissed him. I didn’t want to leave, but it was the only way out.

"I love you, Lucian, and somewhere deep in my heart, I hope this is not the end," I said to him.

"I never thought this would happen. We were supposed to be getting married ... not this. I love you too, Selene," he said.

"This is the only way to save these people from destruction. I can’t let anyone die because of me. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself," I said.

"If this is the only way, then I understand why you made this choice. I just hope we get the chance to love each other again," he said, and this time he kissed me.

He didn’t want to let go. We kissed for what felt like forever, and when it was over, I left. I dragged my feet out of that place.

I went to see the breeders and they were all crying.

"This is not the end, okay? I love you all and we will meet again," I told them. We hugged and held each other tight before I pulled away.

I went to find Ms. Ashlyn too. We embraced without words. And then I was ready to go.

I didn’t know what was waiting for me ahead, but as I walked out, I was met with cheers from Winterwood ... and for the first time in a very long time, I felt accepted.

Astrid’s POV

The ruins across Bloodmoon were nothing to write home about. It was chaotic.

The help team arrived and led us all out of the smoke and destruction that had swallowed Bloodmoon whole. But before help came, we saw soldiers pushing in with full force ... William’s wolves. I didn’t know what to do. Then, just as suddenly as they appeared, they began to turn back. It was as if they had received a signal from their boss and reversed course immediately.

When the help finally came, I used my car to help transport some people back to safety.

I had said it before ... Selene was born to drag chaos and havoc everywhere she went.

I kept up the strong front among the people around me, holding it together until I saw my husband, Ethan.

I ran to him and pounced on him like a child. Every wall I had built came down the second I was in his arms. I was terrified ... I just hadn’t known how to show it.

He held me too. Not a scratch on him, thankfully.

We had all survived.

I cried on his shoulder. "Ethan, what is going on?" I asked him. I needed clarity, because this had been just my first kill and I hadn’t fully gotten over it ... and now an entire catastrophe had followed. It was not what I had expected at all.

We met with Alpha Roran of Bloodmoon territory. He was holding a meeting with everyone about what had just happened. It was the first time I had seen the Alpha in a long while.

"Good day, everyone. I know many of you have been affected ... I myself haven’t eaten since this happened. I would be a reckless and wicked Alpha to eat while the food plant has been destroyed. But we are working toward a solution," he said.

The people were wailing. All of us were desperate to hear something ... any progress at all. I held my husband’s hand while the Alpha addressed us.

"The first option was to migrate immediately to Winterwood to seek shelter and food, since they have more resources. But they were also affected ... and Alpha Lucian had agreed to hand over to Icefang’s William what he demanded: the outcast daughter of Caden and Lyra Ironheart. Selene," he continued.

That was fine by them, I supposed. I had wanted to see Selene myself. I had been thinking of going there and looking her dead in the eyes so she could face what she had done. There would surely be another opportunity.

"However, due to a recent turn of events, a solution has been provided by the same outcast who is now set to become the Luna of Icefang. She invented a machine some time ago that processes and multiplies food ... cooked and raw alike ... and she has made it available to the entire Morvaine district. Bloodmoon will see better days again, and we can remain here safely. Thank you," he finished.

The room erupted in applause and an ovation for Selene and everything she had done ... and it stung me in a way I couldn’t explain.

A card was placed in each of our hands. An invitation to the reinauguration of Icefang as a territory and to the wedding ceremony of William Steelborn and my sister, Selene.

I had just become a murderer. She was about to become a Luna.

What a twist of fate. Fuck.

On the way home, my husband turned to me and asked, "What were you doing at the Bloodmoon borders?"

I couldn’t answer that question. All I could think about was how far my sister had come ... how I had wished nothing but evil on her and it hadn’t worked, and now I was going to have to sit there and watch her get married.

"We’ll talk when we get home, Ethan. My head is banging right now," I said, pressing two fingers to my temple.

It really was.