Marie knew that Kai’s words carried truth, but her heart clung to a different hope. She wanted to believe in Gary. She wanted to believe in Blake, in Innu, in the Howlers who had bled and fought their way through this hellish night.
The situation was balanced on the thinnest of blades. A single reckless move could shatter everything they had worked for. And Kai, Kai was reckless incarnate. In his True Alpha state, he was no longer the boy she had once laughed with, argued with, or trusted. He was a wild beast chained only by instinct.
That was what terrified her. That was what made her hesitate.
She had already seen what happened the last time Kai had lost control. The Howlers had nearly torn themselves apart because of it. Letting him loose again could mean disaster, not just for Lupus, but for them all.
But then Gary’s voice cut through the battlefield like thunder. His shout had been so desperate, so commanding, that Marie felt it reverberate in her bones.
That was what swayed her. Gary’s call was the one thing she could not ignore.
Her hands shook as she reached for the food, every nerve in her body screaming that this decision could doom them. She shoved the thought aside. Kai snatched the food from her hand and devoured it in seconds. Then the transformation began.
In an instant, the ground trembled. Kai’s form ripped apart, fur surging across his body, muscles bulging, bones twisting and reshaping until the beast stood before her. The True Alpha. His crimson aura burned like wildfire. Marie followed, her own body glowing in silver radiance as she entered her Luna form.
And then Kai was gone.
One heartbeat he was beside her, the next he was tearing through the battlefield at impossible speed, instincts guiding him straight toward Lupus. There was no nobility in his charge, no thought of saving Midwak or Austin. His body moved because it had to, because every fiber of his being demanded he strike at the Alpha that stood above them all. Fresh chapters posted on novel✦fire.net
Lupus, his arm still encased in frost from Kai’s earlier attack, simply clenched his fist. The ice shattered and fell away as if it had never existed. His hand was whole, untouched, stronger than ever.
A claw swept through the air, the sheer force of it carving a mark across the battlefield. The shockwave stretched wide, wide enough to swallow Midwak and Austin in its path.
Marie threw herself forward. Her body loomed large in the light of the moon, her Luna form radiating brilliance. She braced herself, weaving the Eclipse Barrier, a shimmering dome of moonlight designed to absorb both physical and energy-based attacks.
The claw met the barrier. For a moment it held, crackling with luminous energy. Then the barrier burst like shattered glass. The remnants of Lupus’s swing crashed into her body, ripping through her defenses.
Pain tore through every inch of her. Muscles screamed, bones groaned, and her vision blurred. It was as if her entire body had been pulled apart thread by thread. She staggered but did not fall. Somehow, she had endured.
“That was... from one swing,” she thought, trembling. “I’m in my Luna form, and still... it nearly broke me. How strong... how much stronger has he become?”
The truth chilled her more than Lupus’s ice ever could. She had hesitated to release Kai, but in the end, she had released him too late. Now, she could feel it, Lupus had ascended. He had grown beyond them.
Gary and Kai had clawed their way to strength by consuming, by surviving, by enduring trials that would have broken anyone else. Their growth had been meteoric, unnatural, terrifying.
Lupus had reached the same peak by sheer will, by endless years of training and experience. And now, with Ice and Don’s power coursing through him, he was beyond even that.
The fight had shifted. The Alpha was not just strong, he was unstoppable.
Kai darted in, a blur on all fours, weaving through the battlefield. Frost exploded beneath his paws as he unleashed ice beams onto the ground, creating jagged blocks that formed stepping stones in his path. Mist curled in his wake, a trail of cold fury.
Each leap made him faster. Each bound propelled him closer, the ice boosting his speed until he was a streak of silver light. He had fought Lupus before. He had learned. And this time, his power was greater than ever.
Kai lunged from the final ice block, maw open wide, fangs ready to tear into Lupus’s throat.
But the Alpha was ready.
A single hand lashed out, wrapping around Kai’s neck mid-air. The True Alpha’s momentum halted like a toy caught in a vice. Lupus slammed him into the ground with earth-shaking force. Cracks spiderwebbed across the battlefield, dust exploding outward.
The blow was so raw, so overwhelming, that elemental power bled from it in waves. Frost spread outward from the impact, freezing stone and soil alike.
Kai roared, his body twisting, forcing itself into his two-legged form to break free. He lashed out with a kick, muscles straining with every ounce of his might. His foot struck Lupus’s stomach with bone-crunching force.
Lupus didn’t even flinch.
The Alpha’s eyes glowed, mad and merciless. His grip tightened on Kai’s neck. Kai opened his mouth, frost gathering in his throat, but Lupus’s other hand snapped his jaw shut with terrifying ease.
“No... no... he’s going to die!” Marie’s heart screamed. She broke away from Midwak and Austin, sprinting toward them. She didn’t know what she could do, didn’t know if she had the strength left to stop him. All she knew was that she couldn’t stand by and watch Kai be crushed.
Her lungs burned. Her muscles ached. Still, she ran.
Beyond the treeline, just over the ruined battlefield, the horizon shifted. A pale light began to climb. The first rays of dawn stretched across the forest, painting the world in silver and gold.
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