Selene
The world narrowed to the rubble and flames separating me from Draven, his still form barely visible through the choking dust and smoke. His chest had stopped rising, his blood pooling beneath him and soaking into the cracked stone.
"Draven!" I screamed and began frantically clawing at the debris, nails splitting as I heaved rocks aside, the heat scorching my skin. "Draven, get up. Gods, please, get up!"
The flames licked higher, devouring everything they touched. I heard Torren's pained groan cut through the haze. I turned to see he lay nearby, his arm mangled, with his leg twisted at an unnatural angle.
"Luna, get out! The tunnel's coming down!"
"No!" I snarled, tossing another stone aside, my hands bloody now. "He's not breathing, help me!"
The ceiling groaned again, more rubble crashing down, forcing us back. The guards were gone, scattered or crushed, but the flames spread, the curse turning them into writhing shapes that clawed at the air.
Veyra's shouts echoed from the gates: "We're through... hold on!" Metal screeched as they battered the wards, Elara's chants rising in a desperate crescendo.
Torren reached me, grabbing my arm with his good hand. "He's gone, Selene. We have to–"
"He's not!" I yanked free, diving back into the debris. My fingers brushed Draven's tunic, slick with blood, and I pulled, heaving with everything I had. His body shifted, limp and heavy, but a faint wheeze escaped his lips. He was alive. Barely. "Torren, help me!"
He cursed but joined, his injured arm useless as we dragged Draven free, the flames nipping at our heels. The chamber shuddered, walls cracked, and we stumbled into a side tunnel just as the main collapse hit with a thunderous roar that buried the blood warded bars and everything else under tons of stone. Dust billowed choking us, and I coughed, shielding Draven's face with my body.
"Draven, stay with me," I whispered, pressing my ear to his chest. His heartbeat was thready and weak, blood bubbling from his wounds with every shallow breath. The thigh gash gaped open revealing torn muscle, and his side was a mess of lacerated flesh. His skin was cold and clammy, and he was bleeding out too quickly.
Draven's gonna die and it's all my fault, I thought. Everything is my fault.
Suddenly, foootsteps began pounding down the tunnel and before long, Veyra, Renn, and Elara bursted through a breached wall, reaching us with faces smeared with soot. Veyra's arm bled from a fresh cut, Renn was limping, but they froze at the sight of us.
"Alpha!" Veyra dropped to her knees beside Draven, her voice breaking. "Elara, hurry!"
Elara knelt, her hands trembling as she assessed the damage. "Goddess... he's lost too much blood. The wounds are cursed and spreading fast." Her pouches spilled open, herbs and vials scattering, but her glow flickered weakly, her own strength drained from breaking the gates.
"Do something!" I begged, clutching Draven's hand, his fingers limp in mine. "Please... he can't die like this."
Elara's eyes, when they met mine, were full of sympathy. "I'm sorry, Luna, but the salves won't hold. He's too far gone."
"Elara, I'm begging you... you have to do something. He's your Alpha. He's the only one that can stop Kaelen from taking over the six packs." My tear stained eyes held hers. "He's my husband and I love him."
She held my gaze for a moment, and then she nodded, rolled up her sleeves, and sliced open her palm with a knife.
"There's a ritual I know that can help." she said, as she leaned over to slice open Draven's palm too. "It involves using dark magic to draw from my life force to bind his."
Torren's head snapped up from where he slumped against the wall, his own blood trailing down his arm. "What? No. Elara, don't–"
She ignored him, and pressed her cut palm to Draven's, the glow intensifying to a blinding white. Chants spilled from her lips, ancient words that made the air hum, the curse flames recoiling.
"Elara, stop!" Torren shouted, trying to sit up. "It'll kill you!"
Draven's body arched, wounds knitting with unnatural speed, blood flow stemming as color returned to his face. But Elara gasped, her skin paling, veins darkening as the magic pulled from her essence.
"Stop!" I cried, grabbing her arm. "You'll die!"
She smiled faintly. "The Goddess favors sacrifices earned for those we love."
"No! There has to be another way!" I begged, clutching Draven's hand, his fingers limp and cold in mine. Tears streamed down my face, hot and unchecked. "Elara, please, you can't die for this."
Her hand covered mine briefly, warm despite the chill settling over her. "Child, I've lived my trials. Now it's time to earn one more." She began chanting again, her voice low and melodic, ancient words that made the air hum with power.
Draven's body arched again, his torn flesh sealing, blood flow stemming, color returning to his ashen face. But Elara gasped, her glow faltering as she weakened, her skin paling to a ghostly hue.
"Stop, Elara. Please stop!" Torren crawled to her, grabbing her arm, his voice breaking. "You're killing yourself!"
She turned to him, her eyes going soft. A lone tear slipped down her cheek. "Torren, my sexy, flirtatious spy. Be sure to take care of them, okay? And... don't forget this." She pressed a small pouch of herbs into his hand, her voice a whisper now. "Regular herbs will work for all regular wounds. But the moon-blessed ones are for cursed wounds only – be sure to always say a prayer to the goddess before using them. The charms..." a strong coughing fit racked through her, shaking her entire body in the process. "...hang them at camp entrances to ward illusions. Be sure to earn the Goddess's favor... as I did."
Tears were streaming down Torren's face uncontrollably now. "Elara, please don't leave me."
She cupped his cheek briefly. "I'm not leaving you, my love. I've earned this life... it's time I earn the next." With that, her glow faded completely, and she slumped against him, her eyes closing as her breath stilled, peaceful in sacrifice.
I pressed my head to Draven's chest as a sob tore from my throat, the loss hitting like a fresh wound.
Torren was still holding her, rocking slightly, his grief raw and silent. Veyra bowed her head.
"She saved our Alpha," she murmured. "We'll honor her."
We stayed in the heavy silence for a while, until Draven stirred, coughing wetly. I lifted my head from his chest just in time to see his eyes fluttering open.
"Draven, are you okay?" I asked.
He pushed up on one elbow, wincing, the wounds were now fully closed but scarred. "What... happened?" His gaze found Elara's still form, and horror dawned. "Elara..."
"She used dark magic to bind her life force... to save you." Torren said, grief twisting into rage. "Essentially, she gave you her life. You better make a damned good use of it."
"Wait, what? No..." confusion, disbelief and grief went through his face all at once as he struggled to come to terms with what he'd just heard.
"We should go." Torren said, laying Elara's head gently on the concrete.
We scrambled through the collapsing tunnels, flames nipping at our heels. Veyra, Thorne and Renn led, hacking through debris, while Draven and I supported Torren, though he kept trying to shrug us off. Rubble blocked our paths, forcing us to take detours, and the curse illusions kept clawing at us, but eventually, we burst out into the night air, the fortress groaning behind us as sections caved in.
We regrouped in a nearby ravine, but we were all battered: Veyra's arm was slashed, Renn's limp was worsening, and Torren's wounds were starting to reopen. Draven leaned against a rock, staring into the dark, not a word since we left the tunnel. The silence stretched within the group, heavy with loss.
Renn broke it. "Morwen's betrayal runs deeper than we knew. She's helping Kaelen for a cut of the power when he becomes High Alpha. She plans to rule beside him."
Veyra spat. "Traitorous bitch."
"But that doesn't make any sense," I said, furrowing my brow. "There's no way Lysandra would let Kaelen take another mate an Luna."
Veyra shrugged. "Well, we know Alphas can have multiple mates, so it's possible."
"Possible, yes." I argued. "But likely, no. Kaelen's too smart to make such a mistake. Two scorn–"
"Ofcourse you're the expert on all things Kaelen." Draven, who hadn't uttered a word single the tunnel, spoke now.
"No, that's not what I'm–"
"It's your fault, you know?" he cut in. "What happened in there is your fault."
I swallowed, readying myself for what I knew was coming. Torren, who'd withdrawn into himself the whole time, perked up now, listening.
Draven's eyes met mine, and the accusation hit like a blow. "You got into my head at the worst possible moment. Your little confession during the fight is what distracted me which made the guard to land that hit in the first place. If I'd been focused–"
"You did what?!" Torren's voice interrupted in a low snarl.
Goddess help me...
I turned to him. "Torren–"
"What was our agreement?" he said, turning his full, injured body to me now.
"I remember our agreement, but we also agreed it was ultimately my decision."
"And THAT was the decision you made?!" His voice was beginning to raise now.
"Wait... what the hell are you both talking about?" Draven cut in, looking between Torren and me. "What agreement? What decision?"
"I made a mistake." I said, ignoring him, my eyes fixed on Torren.
A low, bitter laugh tore from his throat.
"No, no, Selene." his voice was filled with so much rage, I had to take a step back. "A mistake was dragging the team into a premature battle without any preparation whatsoever, when you thought you heard your child's voice. A mistake was shooting Veyra in the arm when you were high off your ass on the curse." He took a dangerous step towards me, his hand inching towards his dagger. "But making that sort of confession in the middle of the worst battle of our lives is NOT a mistake. It's plain stupidity!"
I swallowed and forced steal into my voice. "I'll have to remind you, Torren, you're speaking to your Luna."
"Then throw me to the dungeons!" He was full on shouting now. "Have your guards chain me to a wall and whip me for all I care. But let me tell you this, Selene. You are no Luna of mine."
Gasps rose from those around. Veyra interjected, "Torren, I think that's–"
"As soon as we get back to Shadowfang," he continued, ignoring her. "I'm going to find my brother a true Luna to sit by his side and rule. One with an actual head between her shoulders and not just hot air. For now, you can all feel free to continue with this cursed mission if you like, but I'm done."
He turned to leave, Thorne appearing at his side in a flash for support.
"I'm going home."