The Silver-Loaded Rifle

Chapter 3 The Fatal Decision

The guards seized my arms and dragged me back. I kicked, fought, and scraped my nails across their leather armor. They did not loosen their grip.

“Let me go!” I screamed.

They threw me down. My cheek struck the floor hard enough to rattle my teeth.

One guard drove a knee between my shoulders while the other trapped my wrists. Killian raised the rifle and aimed at Maeve’s heart.

Dust floated through the lantern light. Killian set the stock against his shoulder and curled his finger around the trigger.

Ten years of blood and secrecy came down to that finger.

I twisted against the guards. A splinter cut into my cheek as I lifted my head.

“KILLIAN, NO! STOP!”

My voice cracked.

“IT’S MAEVE! IT’S YOUR GRANDMOTHER!”

He froze.

The barrel dipped. He stared at me, and for one second, I thought he had heard the truth.

Lyla shrieked.

“Blasphemy!” She clutched her chest. “How dare you use the former Luna’s name to save a cursed beast? You would spit on her grave because you’re jealous?”

Killian lifted the barrel again.

His mouth tightened.

“So that’s your final move.” His words came out quiet. “You curse my grandmother’s memory and use the filthiest lie you can think of.”

He settled the rifle against his shoulder. One corner of his mouth lifted.

“You have no honor left, Serena. No soul.”

He leaned into the stock, his eye aligning with the sight.

“You invoked her name. Consider this shot my gift to you. A piece of the heartbreak you tried to give me.”

He pulled the trigger.

The shot filled the cabin. Silver light burned across my vision.

Maeve gave one strangled cry, convulsed, and hit the floor hard enough to shake dust from the beams. Her claws scraped once across the boards, then stopped.

Silence.

My mouth opened. Nothing came out.

White light spilled from the wound in Maeve’s chest.

The light carried no heat. It flooded the cabin and drove the shadows into the corners.

Old magic tightened the air, the same curse I had spent ten years containing with herbs, blood, and sleepless nights.

The outline of the wolf wavered inside the light.

Her body began to change.