Rejected And Reborn As The Alpha King's Luna

Chapter 63: Champions at Dusk

POV: Xavier

Ravencrest smiled, showing fangs. "Meet your opponents, wolves. Malakai, six hundred years of battlefield experience. Seraphine, dhampir witch who's killed more wolves than you've met in your lifetime. And The Silent One, who hasn't spoken in three centuries. The last time he fought wolves, forty-seven died. Good luck."

He laughed and retreated with his champions.

"We're going to die," Luna said quietly beside me.

"Maybe," I replied. "But we'll die fighting for what's right. That counts for something."

The Oracle appeared, gesturing for us to follow her. "Come. I have much to teach you and very little time to do it."

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The training was brutal. The Oracle took us to a secluded clearing and immediately began drilling ancient vampire killing techniques. Vampires were faster than wolves, stronger than humans, and could manipulate shadows and blood magic.

"Their weakness is their arrogance," the Oracle said. "They've lived so long, they underestimate their opponents. Use that."

She taught us strike patterns designed to exploit vampire anatomy. Where their hearts actually were, how to sever the connections between their consciousness and their bodies. How to resist their mental compulsion and blood magic.

By midday, I was exhausted, bruised, and starting to doubt we could win.

Luna collapsed beside me during a break, breathing hard. "I need to tell you something," she said. "Before tonight, in case I don't get another chance."

"Luna.."

"I've loved Theo for years, you oblivious wolf," she said, looking at me with fierce determination. "Thought you should know before I die."

I stared at her, surprised. "Does Theo know?"

"No. He sees me as his aunt's Beta, nothing more. But I needed to say it out loud at least once."

"You're not going to die," I said firmly.

"You can't promise that."

She was right. I couldn't.

Kael joined us, sitting heavily on the grass. "I've killed seventeen creatures corrupted by dark magic in my career," he said quietly. "Always thought I was doing right, protecting people. But after seeing Thelma, seeing what you're willing to do for her, I wonder if I was just a murderer with a badge."

"You're getting a chance at redemption," I told him. "Fight tonight, protect instead of hunt. That's how you make up for the past."

He nodded slowly. "If we survive this, I'm done being a hunter. I'll find another way to help people."

The training continued until the sun began its descent toward the horizon. The Oracle finally called a halt.

"You're as ready as you'll ever be," she said. "Rest now. Eat. Say your goodbyes. At dusk, we fight."

She vanished, leaving us exhausted and terrified. I walked back toward the pack buildings, my body aching. I needed to see Thelma before the battle, needed to spend whatever time remained with her.

But before I reached her cell, a small figure ran up to me.

Finn.

My little brother's face was streaked with tears. He grabbed my shirt, holding on like he was drowning.

"Don't go," Finn begged. "Please, Xavier. Don't fight. You're the only family I have left. Please don't leave me."

My heart shattered. I knelt down to his level, holding his shoulders.

"Finn, I have to. Two people will die if I don't fight."

"But you might die if you do fight," Finn sobbed. "I can't lose you. I already lost Mom. I can't lose you too."

"You won't lose me," I said, hoping it was true. "I'm a True Alpha now. That means something. I'm stronger than I was."

"You're not stronger than an eight hundred year old vampire," Finn said, showing wisdom beyond his years.

He was right. But what choice did I have?

"I'm sorry," I whispered, pulling him into a hug. "But this is who I am. This is what True Alphas do. We protect people, even when it's hard. Even when it's scary."

Finn cried into my shoulder, and I held him until his sobs quieted. Finally, he pulled back, wiping his eyes.

"Promise me you'll try to survive," he said.

"I promise."

He nodded and ran off, still crying. I watched him go, feeling like the worst brother in the world.

I continued toward the prison building, but Damien intercepted me in a shadowed corridor. He looked around, making sure we were alone.

"Xavier," he said quietly.

"What do you want?"

He pulled a small vial from his pocket. Dark liquid swirled inside, looking oily and wrong.

"Coat your weapon with this before the fight," Damien said. "It's poison, specifically designed to kill vampires. They'll never know until it's too late. It's the only way you'll survive."

I stared at the vial, then at Damien. "Why would you help me? You've never helped me before."

Damien's expression was complicated, mixing resentment and something that might have been regret.

"Because if you die, Finn becomes my heir again," he said. "And I've realized he deserves better than me. You're the brother he needs, even if you're not my son. Don't waste the poison, boy. Use it, survive, come back to Finn."

He pressed the vial into my hand.

"Don't tell the Oracle," Damien added. "She'll forbid it on principle. She believes in honor and fair fights. But honor doesn't keep you alive against eight hundred year old vampires."

He walked away, leaving me standing alone with the poison in my hand.

I looked at the vial, my mind racing. Using poison would be dishonorable, against the spirit of Trial by Champions. But it might save my life. Might let me return to Finn, to Thelma.

Was survival worth dishonor?

I pocketed the vial, not yet decided, and continued toward Thelma's cell.

When I arrived, the door stood open. Guards were releasing her, following Council orders that she remain free until after the trial.

Thelma stepped out, looking dazed. The moment she saw me, she ran forward. I caught her in my arms, holding her tight.

"Xavier," she whispered. "You don't have to do this. Please. Find another way."

"There is no other way."

"Then let the vampires have me. My life isn't worth yours."

"Yes, it is," I said firmly. "You're worth fighting for. Worth dying for if it comes to that."

She pulled back, looking at me with those golden eyes that haunted my dreams.

"I can't lose you again," she said. "I already lost you once when the memories were taken. If you die tonight, I lose you forever."

"You won't lose me," I promised, hoping desperately it was true.

We walked together to my room. The sun was setting, painting the sky in reds and oranges. Dusk approached rapidly.

We had maybe two hours before the battle.

I looked at Thelma, this woman I loved but couldn't remember loving. And I made a decision about more than just the fight.

I pulled out the poison vial, holding it up so she could see.

"Damien gave me this," I said. "Vampire poison. He says it's the only way I'll survive."

Thelma looked at the vial, then at me. "Will you use it?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "It's dishonorable. But it might save my life."

She took the vial from my hand, studying it carefully. Then she walked to the window and threw it out, watching it shatter on the stones below.

"Honor matters," Thelma said quietly. "Not because of some abstract principle, but because of who you are. You're a True Alpha. That means something. If you win by cheating, you're not the man I love."

"I might die," I said.

"Then die as yourself," she replied. "Die as Xavier, the man who always does what's right even when it's hard. That's the man I fell in love with. That's the man worth remembering."

She was right. Deep down, I'd known it. Using the poison would have saved my life but destroyed who I was.

I pulled her close, holding her as the sun continued its descent.

"If I die tomorrow," I whispered, "I die knowing I loved you, even if I don't remember learning how."

Thelma's tears wet my shirt. "You taught me what love means. Every version of you, across every timeline, in every memory or lack of one, you're my constant."

We talked until the light faded, sharing stories and hopes and fears. Creating new memories since the old ones were locked away.

Eventually, exhaustion claimed us both. We fell asleep in each other's arms, the broken mate bond flickering with warmth for the first time since it shattered. And outside, dusk fell completely. The battle was about to begin..