Kira's POV
RUN!
The Void Wolf reforms, twice as large and infinitely angrier.
No one runs. Two hundred exhausted wolves stand their ground defiantly.
Stubborn fools, it laughs, the sound like grinding bones. I will devour every single one of you. Starting with the Moon Child.
Kieran struggles upright beside me, bleeding heavily, barely standing.
We fight together. Until the very end.
There has to be another way I flip desperately through Selene's journal.
The Wolf attacks. Not targeting me this time.
The moonmarked wolves standing in the ritual circle.
Its claws slash through three of them instantly.
They fall. Dead before hitting the ground.
NO! Vera screams, throwing ice desperately.
It shatters like glass against the Wolf's armor.
Four more moonmarked wolves fall. Then two more.
We're losing rapidly.
Elena appears beside me, breathing hard. There's one thing Selene never tried. True willing sacrifice. Offering your life completely to seal it forever. The Moon Goddess grants one final wish to her champion before they die.
My heart stops. I have to die intentionally?
Yes. But not just dying randomly. Willing sacrifice. Trading your life for the permanent destruction of the Void Wolf.
How exactly?
Stand in the ritual center. Call on the Moon Goddess directly. Offer yourself completely. She grabs my shoulders desperately. But if you do this, there's absolutely no coming back. You'll be gone forever.
Through our thin bond, Kieran's panic. He heard everything.
No. We'll find another way. There's always another way.
There is no other way.
His face crumbles. Kira, please
I love you. That's exactly why I have to do this.
I run to the circle center before he can physically stop me.
KIRA! Kieran's anguish tears through the night.
Moon Goddess, hear me. I am Kira Ashwood. Your Moon Child. I offer my life willingly and completely. In exchange for the permanent destruction of the Void Wolf and eternal protection of every wolf.
The moon blazes impossibly bright. Turning night to day.
Power floods into me directly. From the Moon Goddess herself.
My body ignites with silver fire.
The Wolf charges. I won't let you complete
You don't get a choice anymore.
The goddess's power erupts. My body becomes pure living moonlight.
I expand outward.
Silver light spreads across the entire battlefield, wrapping around the Wolf, binding it in unbreakable chains of pure lunar magic.
No! I am eternal! I cannot be
You're wrong. Nothing is eternal except the Moon Goddess herself. And she's completely done with you.
The chains tighten relentlessly. The Wolf cracks. Splits. Disintegrates atom by atom.
This time, it doesn't reform.
Silver fire burns through every particle, permanently erasing it from reality.
When it's completely gone, the light pulls back.
Condensing. Returning to center.
To me.
Except me isn't me anymore.
My body lies motionless on the ground. No breath. No heartbeat. No life.
My spirit floats above, watching with detachment.
I'm dead.
I actually did it. Saved everyone.
Kieran runs to my body, pulling it into his arms.
No, no, no. Come back. Please come back.
Through our thin bond still existing somehow I feel his absolute agony.
I'm fading rapidly.
Well done, my child, the Moon Goddess's voice surrounds me warmly. You have saved your world.
I didn't want to leave him.
I know. That's precisely why your sacrifice had real power.
Will he be okay eventually?
In time.
Can I at least say goodbye properly?
You already did.
I'm fading faster. The world growing dimmer.
Elena checks for a pulse. Shakes her head sadly.
Kieran just holds my body and screams his grief.
The silver bond breaks finally.
I feel nothing. Completely alone in the void.
Kira.
A voice. Familiar. Impossibly warm.
A woman made of pure moonlight appears.
Selene?
Yes. The Moon Goddess sent me to guide you beyond.
I thought you died a thousand years ago.
I did. But I've been waiting. Hoping another would be braver than I was. She extends a glowing hand. Thank you for succeeding where I failed.
I reach for her hand
And stop.
I feel something. Impossibly faint. A pull.
From below. From where my bond with Kieran used to exist.
What is that?
Selene's eyes widen with shock. Impossible. The bond broke. It should be completely gone.
But it's growing. Strengthening somehow. Pulling me back.
He's calling you. Through sheer will alone. Refusing to let you go.
Can he actually do that?
No one's ever tried before. She looks at me with genuine wonder. But your evolved bond doesn't follow the old rules.
The pull strengthens dramatically.
I hear Kieran distantly: Come back. I know you're still out there somewhere. I feel you. Come back to me.
Go, Selene releases my hand. Your story isn't finished after all.
But the sacrifice
Was real. The Wolf is genuinely gone. But she never explicitly said you couldn't return after. She smiles. Go. Live. Love. You've earned it.
I fall. Down. Back toward the living world.
Back toward Kieran.
I slam back into my body with a violent gasp.
Eyes snap open.
Kieran still holds me, still crying
Kieran.
He freezes completely. Looks down in disbelief.
Kira?
Hi.
You're alive. How is that even
I died. But you pulled me back somehow.
I didn't I couldn't He can't form coherent words.
She died, Vera whispers, checking my pulse. No heartbeat for minutes.
The Moon Goddess brought her back, Elena breathes reverently.
But I know the real truth. Kieran's love refused to let me go. His bond that refused to break completely.
I love you.
I love you too. He kisses me desperately. The bond blazes to life.
Not thin anymore. Stronger than ever. Glowing with impossible power.
It's completing again, Elena studies it with awe. Truly completing. Beyond just the mark. I've never seen anything like this.
We feel everything. His heartbeat. His breath. His thoughts.
And he feels mine perfectly.
We're completely one, I whisper.
Survivors start cheering.
We won. I'm alive. We're together.
It's finally over.
Except
Slow, deliberate clapping echoes across the clearing.
Cassius stands at the edge, flanked by a hundred fresh Council warriors.
Impressive. You destroyed the Void Wolf. Found true love. He smiles with chilling coldness. Now surrender. All of you. Or I systematically kill everyone.
The battle's over, Kieran says.
You won against the Wolf. Not against me. He gestures to his warriors. You defied the Council. Started open rebellion. Now face the consequences.
We still have Rafe stops, counting heads.
We have survivors. But they're completely exhausted. Wounded. Drained.
Cassius's warriors are fresh. Armed. Ready.
Choose wisely, Cassius says. Surrender peacefully now, or I kill them anyway and take what I want by force.
I look at Kieran. At our bond. At the exhausted survivors.
I'll go with you.
No
If I surrender, everyone else goes completely free.
Agreed immediately, Cassius says too quickly.
He's lying. But what choice do I have?
Don't do this, Kieran begs through our bond.
I have to. It's the only way to save everyone.
I'm sorry.
I walk toward Cassius. Warriors grab me instantly. Chain me with fresh silver.
Kieran tries to follow desperately. Rafe holds him back.
We'll get her back. I promise you.
As Cassius leads me away into darkness, I look back one final time.
Through our bond: I will find you. No matter what it takes. Wait for me.
Kieran's response: Always. Forever. However long it takes.
Then he disappears completely from view.
Cassius leans close. Did you really think I'd let you live free? You're far too dangerous for that.
Then why not kill me immediately?
Because someone very important wants to meet you first. Someone with particular interest in Moon Children.
Who?
You'll see very soon.
We walk for hours through darkness.
Finally, a camp I don't recognize appears. Different flags. Different colors.
But the banner makes my blood freeze completely solid.
A crescent moon dripping fresh blood.
No. That's impossible.
Let me introduce my secret partner. The one who's been helping me hunt moonmarked wolves for years.
A figure emerges from the central tent.
Tall. Powerful. Impossibly familiar.
My heart stops completely.
Hello, Kira, says my mother's voice.
My dead mother.
Who died five years ago.
Who I personally watched take poison and stop breathing.
Who's standing right here, very much alive.
Surprise, darling, she says with a smile that doesn't reach her cold eyes. We have so very much to discuss about your future. And your past.