Chapter 28 - The White Wolf
1140 Words
*Raiden’s – pov*
The full moon rose enormous over the packhouse.
Cold silver light spilled across the clearing where the challenge circle had been prepared hours earlier. Torches flickered in the wind while pack members gathered in tense silence around the boundary stones.
No one spoke loudly or smiled because everyone understood what tonight meant;
Death.
The elders had ruled before sunset.
A fight to the death.
Rafe stood beside me tightening the leather around my wrist guards while Jake paced nearby like a caged animal.
“Elara shouldn’t be here,” Jake muttered for the fifth time.
I ignored him because Elara had refused to stay behind.
Honestly, the only thing stopping me from dragging her back to Rosewood myself was the look she’d given me when I suggested it.
Mate strong.
Aeron sounded proud while he was also preparing to kill my father.
Complicated evening.
Across the clearing Lucien stood among several elders dressed entirely in black.
He seemed way too calm and confident.
Something about it twisted uneasily beneath my skin.
My father met my gaze across the circle.
He looked like a man preparing for victory.
The crowd shifted slightly behind me.
My entire body reacted before I even turned.
Elara.
She stepped into the moonlight wearing dark fitted jeans, combat boots and a black coat against the cold autumn air. Pale hair spilled loose around her shoulders tonight, silver beneath the moonlight.
She looked dangerously beautiful.
I could feel Adira’s worry immediately through the bond.
Elara stopped beside me and slid her hand into mine silently.
Her fingers trembled slightly.
I lifted her hand and pressed a kiss against her knuckles.
“It’ll be alright.”
Her blue eyes searched mine desperately.
“You come back to me.”
Something inside my chest tightened painfully.
I leaned forward and kissed her not caring who saw or said what.
The elders finally stepped into the center of the clearing.
The oldest among them raised his staff.
“By moon law,” he announced heavily, “this challenge shall determine the rightful Alpha of Golden Moon Pack.”
The crowd fell completely silent.
“No outside interference.”
“No retreat.”
“No surrender.”
His gaze shifted between Lucien and me.
“Only one survives.”
A low growl rolled through my chest automatically.
My father smiled again.
Then we stepped into the circle.
---
The first strike nearly shattered my jaw.
Lucien moved faster than expected. Faster than I’d ever seen him move.
I barely blocked the second hit before his fist slammed into my ribs hard enough to crack bone.
The crowd erupted instantly around us.
I countered immediately.
We collided violently beneath the full moon.
Alpha against Alpha.
Power crashed through the clearing hard enough that weaker wolves backed away instinctively.
Lucien fought like a monster. He was precise, brutal and merciless. There was no hesitation or restraint in his movements.
This was not father and son sparring. It was predator against threat.
We exchanged blows viciously across the circle while the pack watched in horrified silence.
White-hot pain exploded through my side.
I staggered backward instinctively.
Knife.
Lucien withdrew a small hidden blade slick with dark liquid.
Wolfsbane.
My blood ran cold instantly.
The elders shouted angrily around us but it was too late.
The poison burned immediately. My strength crashed violently beneath me. Aeron was getting weaker by the second.
I dropped hard to one knee.
The crowd erupted.
“Elara—”
Her name tore from me instinctively.
Through the roaring pain I saw her shove past Jake and Rafe at the boundary.
Terror filled her face.
Adira surged violently beneath the bond.
My vision blurred.
Lucien struck again.
A brutal hit across my jaw sent me crashing fully to the ground.
Pain screamed through my body.
The wolfsbane burned through my veins like acid.
I tried to stand but couldn’t.
“Elara stay back!” I roared.
But she wasn’t listening anymore. Something was happening to her.
The air shifted violently around the clearing.
Elara stumbled forward clutching her chest while raw power burst outward from her in waves.
The crowd backed away instantly.
She let out a gut wrenching scream.
LET ME OUT. A growl came from her mouth but it wasn’t quite her voice.
Elara gasped sharply as her body convulsed.
Bones cracked. Fur sprouting. Her eyes flashed between blue and stark glowing white.
I forced myself upward despite the agony.
“Elara—”
Lucien slammed me back down immediately.
CRACK.
Agony exploded through my leg.
My scream tore across the clearing as Lucien’s boot crushed bone beneath him.
Elara screamed too.
Not human or wolf. She sounded almost primal and ancient.
Suddenly, she let go and braced both hands on the ground.
Power detonated outward.
Wind exploded across the clearing hard enough to extinguish the torches instantly.
The entire pack staggered backward as Adira ripped free.
Silence fell instantly.
Standing where Elara had been was the most magnificent wolf I had ever seen.
A snow-white coat gleamed beneath the moonlight with a faint icy blue sheen shimmering across her fur.
Black-rimmed ice blue eyes burned with terrifying power.
The entire clearing froze.
Even Lucien stumbled backward.
“No…” he whispered hoarsely.
Adira’s growl shook the ground beneath us.
Recognition flashed across every face watching.
Royal wolf.
Lucien started retreating.
Fear poured off him now.
“No…“
The wind exploded again. It felt violent, wild and supernatural.
A whirlwind spiraled suddenly around Adira and me, forcing everyone backward.
Trees bent violently.
Rain burst from nowhere overhead.
And through the chaos Elara’s voice began whispering in Latin.
Magic.
Her eyes glowed completely white now.
She stood inside Adira somehow and yet separate all at once.
Witch and wolf.
Power surged violently through the storm around us. Pack members ran for cover.
Warmth slammed suddenly into my poisoned body.
Aeron’s pulse became stronger again.
The wolfsbane burned away while my shattered leg cracked violently back into place.
The entire pack watched in stunned horror.
Lucien backed away further.
Terrified.
Then lightning split the sky overhead.
The storm exploded outward and everything went dark.
---
The silence afterward felt unreal.
Rain dripped softly through the trees.
The storm vanished as suddenly as it appeared.
Pack members slowly emerged from cover staring toward the center of the clearing toward us.
I forced myself upright slowly.
My body was healed.
Completely healed.
Impossible.
But Elara—
Elara lay motionless in the grass completely naked.
Panic hit instantly.
“Elara.”
No response.
I crawled toward her desperately and pulled her into my arms. Jake handed a thick blanket for cover.
She was ice cold.
“Elara.”
Nothing.
Around us the pack stood frozen in shock.
Jake looked horrified.
Rafe speechless.
And Lucien—
Lucien was gone.
- Writer
