Page 91 of Rising Luna
There was no time for that. This needed to end, and I was the one that needed to do it.
I couldn’t see my mates, but their presence thrummed through the bonds, steady and undeniable. For now, that was enough. One enemy remained. The one who needed to fall. The head of the wolf. And once it was severed, the body would crumble, leaving nothing behind but silence from the shadows that needed ridden from this world.
It didn’t take me long to find her. Lupe was in a fight with her mate, who didn’t look like he was going easy on her at all. It gave me some hope to see him giving it his all to take down the love of his life. The bond between them being severed must have given him the edge to see her for who she truly was instead of the person who was the other half of his soul.
Yet I watched Lupe jump in the air, twisting her body to slam her foot against his temple. Teowulf went down and there was a loud thud when his body hit the ground. I winced on the behalf of the combat teacher. There had to be hope that Teowulf was just knocked out, but he was pretty bloody. I wasn’t even sure how long I had been knocked out. The difference between everything around me was the amount of bodies on the ground.
But this also opened Lupe up for me to come in.
With her back to me, it gave me the perfect opening to catch her off guard. I ran. Sprinting toward the one person who I thought I couldn’t win against, there was no backing out now. Win or lose, this was where it would either make or break this world.
No pressure or anything.
Lupe didn’t turn in time to see me flying, using the very move she had just used against her mate on her. My foot connected with her face, and she spun through the air before she hit theground. When she looked up, recognition went through her eyes, and she growled.
“You’re supposed to be mine! How did you override the serum?” She snarled as she jumped to her feet. “No one could have pushed out the serum! I was sure of it! The shadows should have killed you!”
I smirked at her. “That’s where you went wrong. You thought you controlled the shadows.”I stretched out my arms, reaching for every bond tethered to me. The moment I pulled, power surged, crashing into me like a tidal wave. My teeth clenched as the force consumed me, rattling through every bone, every nerve. My body trembled under the weight of it, the sheer intensity unlike anything I had ever known. When I felt myself ready to burst, my wolf pushed out the power before it destroyed me. Without having to even think too hard, I called in the darkness and pulled it to me. “I am the shadows, Lupe.” I wrapped the darkness through the field and I felt every one of my wolves stop fighting as they couldn’t see. “And you don’t control me.”
The truth no one speaks of when wielding the shadows is this—you alone can see within them. They bend to your will, shielding you from your enemies, obscuring everything from those who do not command them. But if my pack was going to win, that had to change.
The shadows curled around me, dense and alive, waiting for my command. I reached out, threading my power through them, demanding they open themselves to my pack—to let them see as I did. My strength surged outward, stretching through every connection, lending them the sight to shift the course of the battle.
I felt their astonishment ripple through the bond, but there was no hesitation. With their vision cleared, they dove into the fight, turning the tide with ruthless precision.
Dylan!Hunter roared in my mind. Jackson and Silas followed up with calling out to me and their shock, fear, and relief flooded the bonds.
We thought we lost you! Don’t ever fucking do that to us again!Silas chimed in.
Or we will have to spank the shit out of you.
The smile that spread across my face distracted me for a moment until I felt Lupe’s power swell around her. I erected the walls again to keep them out of my head. Blocking them out was the best thing to do right now. I couldn’t afford any distractions.
Lupe’s power surged against mine, clawing at the shadows, trying to rip them from my grasp. She pressed harder, forcing her will into mine, but the shadows fought back. My energy lashed out, striking hers with brutal precision, and I caught the flicker of pain as she winced.
Satisfaction curled in my chest as I watched panic flash across her face. She felt it—knew, without a doubt, that everything had shifted. From this moment forward, the battle would no longer be hers to control. Lupe’s eyes flashed with her wolf before she leaped in the direction she thought I would be in. I smirked, knowing she went in the wrong direction before appearing in front of her just to nail her in the face with my fist. Her head snapped to the side, and I traveled behind her so when she swung, she met the air.
“I think you missed,” I whispered in her ear.
Lupe’s arm swung again, but I was already five feet away, moving with effortless precision. Commanding shadows like this had once been impossible—before my connection to my mates, before the balance they brought. I’d heard the stories growing up, whispers of how mates could restore harmony within a Shadowborn’s body, unlocking their full potential. But back then, I hadn’t understood what it truly meant.
Now, I did.
With every bond forged, another piece of my power awakened, stretching beyond what I once believed possible. Controlling the shadows—something rare, something few Shadowborn could do—had become second nature. Completing the bonds with my mates had changed everything, allowing me to embrace not just my strength, but my true self. And now, wielding this power was easier than any ability I had ever mastered.
It had become a ruthless dance—just me and the shadows, slipping through them with effortless precision to strike Lupe before vanishing again. She lashed out, but her attacks hit nothing. I could see the frustration twisting her bloody mouth, her rage mounting with each missed blow.
Too easy.
This wasn’t a fight. It was a spectacle, a game where I had already won. And that wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted a damn fight.
As I pulled the shadows into me, the battlefield shifted—the pack had overtaken every one of Lupe’s forces. Bodies littered the lawn, marking the price of this war. My mates fought the Monarch in seamless tandem, concealed within my power, striking with an advantage that should have made me keep them where they were. Regret flickered—I had called them back too soon.
But this wasn’t just about defeating Lupe. A swift death would be mercy, and mercy was the last thing she deserved.
This was for every stolen life, every shattered family, every forgotten soul cast aside in the wake of her greed. It was no longer just my battle—it was theirs. Justice demanded a response, rising for the silenced voices. And I would see it through.
Lupe’s endgame was clear—seizing control, ruling over our people. But she never understood what true leadership meant.She put herself before those she protected, and that was her fatal flaw.
