RION
Just when I was about to shred off Darec’s head with my teeth, sothing blinding crashed onto the land.
My lips parted when I realized what it was.
Lightning.
I didn’t know how he did it, but Darec was suddenly gone from under . He was already sprinting toward the spot where the lightning had struck. But before I could catch up to him, another streak of lightning fell from the sky, and this ti, it hit him directly. It slamd him onto the snowy ground, and chains of lightning pinned his body down.
Beyond us, the Diaj wolves lost their lives instantly. They collapsed, turning slowly into dust after being struck.
When I looked up at the tower, a woman was standing there, staring down at us.
My heart skipped a beat. It only took a fraction of a second to recognize her.
My mate. My Vivien.
All my warriors stared at her in awe. We all knew lightning belonged only to the Celestial wolf, the wolf blessed with the divine power of the Moon Goddess.
Realizing this, my warriors lowered their heads without a single command from .
They bowed in respect to her.
And I did the sa.
I knew she’d co back to . She was strong. She could survive anything thrown at her. Because she was Vivien. She was one of a kind.
When I looked back up, she had leaped off the tower, shifting into her wolf mid-air. My warriors parted, forming an aisle as she walked toward the Arysian Alpha King.
Her silver wolf glowing against the snow was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
She stopped in front of Darec, who was still conscious but had shifted back into his human form, his body limp from the lightning’s impact.
"So it’s true then. The Celestial wolf has arrived," Darec said between heavy breaths.
’You could have lived in peace in your lands, but you chose violence, Alpha King. Now I cannot spare you for what you’ve done to my people.’ Vivien’s eyes glowed a bright, intimidating silver.
"Think about it! I can be a better match for you! You and I would be more powerful together! We could rule the world!"
I growled and moved forward, biting off Darec’s hand and tearing it clean from his body. He scread as his blood splattered across the pale snow.
’You will never be a match for her, you nitwit.’
I shifted back to my human form and picked up the massive ring from the arm I’d torn off.
’That is the ancient relic he’s been using to summon the dead,’ Vivien confird. ’The Undersea Tower showed it to .’
Darec’s eyes widened when he saw the ring in my hand.
"No! Give that back! That’s mine!"
"Yours?" I smiled darkly and let my shadows crush it until it disintegrated into dust on my palm. "Sorry. It’s gone now. You must have overused it. Got as fragile as paper."
"You piece of—"
Before Darec could finish, another bolt of lightning slamd into him. He shrieked, but after that, he could barely move a finger.
’This is where your scheming ends,’ Vivien said coldly, and without another word, she lifted her hand and snapped it down just as lightning split the sky wide open.
***
VIVIEN
I didn’t know what exactly had happened. The mont I passed out outside the Undersea Tower right after the lightning struck the empty spot, and the next thing I knew, I was standing sowhere unfamiliar.
I was atop a different tower. It was dark outside, but through the huge windows, I could see the stormy skies flashing with lightning every few seconds.
That was when I saw her.
She stood several feet away, wrapped in an unearthly glow. She wore a long white dress so ethereal it almost didn’t look real, and her long hair shimred as though woven with starlight.
"Finally, you are here," she said. Before I could even ask who she was, she continued, "I am Elodia. I was the Celestial wolf a long ti ago, granted with the divine power of the Moon Goddess herself. Now it is your turn to bear the responsibility of the Celestial wolf. Will you accept it?"
That was when the truth hit . There was no sleeping Celestial wolf inside the Undersea Tower. The Celestial wolf had existed long ago... and she was standing right in front of .
"I am only a spirit now," Elodia said gently, "and I have remained here for this mont, to pass the full power to you. You are chosen by the Goddess, Vivien. You are ant to be the Celestial wolf."
I was speechless. I had always assud there was so mistake. That there had to be soone more deserving. That I had rely borrowed the Celestial wolf’s power from so sacred being slumbering beneath the tower.
But hearing it from Elodia herself... my chest ward in a way I couldn’t describe.
Why ? How?
As if she could hear my racing thoughts, Elodia smiled softly.
"Only the Goddess knows her reason. But she does not make mistakes. You must be soone extraordinary, and I know you can wield the Celestial wolf’s power as it is ant to be."
"What is my responsibility?" I asked. "What am I supposed to do? Am I ant to stop the war?"
Elodia stepped closer and took my hand. Her touch felt both cold and warm at the sa ti, like moonlit water.
"You will do what you believe is right," she said. "You shall live for the folk of the moon. Your heart will guide you."
"What if I make a mistake—"
"You must trust yourself, Vivien." Her voice grew faint. "I don’t have much ti. My spirit will fade soon. And they need you outside. The war has begun, and only you can do what must be done."
Before I could speak again, she held both my hands. Sothing powerful surged through . Brilliant, overwhelming, divine. She was transferring the full power of the Celestial wolf.
And then—
I opened my eyes in the Undercity palace.
Raye was beside , sobbing her heart out when she saw I was awake. After learning what was happening, we rushed aboveground.
Standing atop the tower, I looked down at the battlefield. At the hundreds of warriors fighting for the Undercity... and my mate’s massive black wolf tearing through our enemies.
Right that mont, I knew what must be done.
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