Rejected And Reborn As The Alpha King's Luna

Chapter 43: The Breaking Point

POV: Theo

Xavier hit the ground like a puppet with cut strings, his entire body convulsing. Blood poured from his nose, his ears, even the corners of his eyes. The sound he made wasn't quite human, a keening wail that made my wolf want to run and hide.

"Luna!" I dropped beside him, trying to hold him still. "Help him!"

She was already moving, her hands glowing with healing magic. "Get him on his back. Hold his head steady."

I did as she ordered, cradling Xavier's head in my lap. His eyes were rolled back, showing only whites. Blood kept coming, too much blood, pooling on the frozen ground.

"What's happening to him?" Elena hovered nearby, her face pale.

"The mate bond," Luna said, her hands pressed to Xavier's chest. "Whatever Thelma is experiencing in that cave, it's flooding through their connection. His body can't handle it."

Another convulsion wracked Xavier's body. He arched upward, his spine bending at an angle that had to be painful. A scream tore from his throat, and I felt the echo of it through my twin bond with Thelma.

She was in agony. And it was killing him.

"Do something!" I looked at Luna desperately. "Use your magic, heal him, anything!"

"I'm trying!" Sweat beaded on her forehead as she poured more power into him. "But it's not a physical wound. The bond itself is tearing him apart. As long as Thelma suffers, he suffers."

Xavier's eyes focused for just a moment, finding mine. "Thelma," he gasped. "Is she, is she alive?"

"She's alive," I promised, though I had no way of knowing. The twin bond told me she was conscious, in pain, but alive. "She's fighting."

"Good." His eyes started to roll back again. "Don't, don't let them. Don't let them separate us."

Then he was gone again, lost to whatever hell the mate bond was showing him.

"He's not going to make it," Elena said quietly. "Luna, you know he won't. Not at this rate."

Luna's jaw was tight, her healing magic flickering. "I know."

"Then we have to do something." Elena knelt beside us. "There's a ritual. A bond suspension. It would temporarily sever the mate bond, stop the feedback."

"No." The word came out of me hard and fast. "Absolutely not."

"Theo, look at him!" Elena gestured to Xavier, who was seizing again. "He's dying. Right now, in front of us. Is that what you want?"

"It's not about what I want." I held Xavier tighter as his body jerked. "It's about what Thelma would want. What Xavier wants. You heard him. He'd rather die than lose their connection."

"He's delirious," Luna said, but her voice was uncertain. "He doesn't know what he's saying."

"He knows exactly what he's saying." I looked between them. "That bond is the only thing keeping Thelma anchored. If you sever it, even temporarily, she might lose herself completely in whatever darkness she's facing. And if she comes back to find we made that choice without her, she'll never forgive us."

"Better alive and angry than dead," Elena said.

"Is it?" I challenged. "Is it really? Because from where I'm sitting, you're asking us to destroy the one thing that's kept them both fighting. Their connection. Their love. You want to cut that away to save his body, but what about his soul? What about hers?"

Luna's hands stilled. "Theo, as your Luna, I'm telling you this is the right choice."

Something clicked into place inside me. An authority I'd been running from my whole life, a mantle I'd refused to pick up. But Xavier was dying in my arms. My sister was suffering alone in that cave. And people were looking to me to lead.

"And as your Alpha," I said, my voice carrying a command I'd never used before, "I'm countermanding that order. We don't sever the bond."

Luna's eyes widened. "Theo, you can't—"

"I just did." I met her gaze steadily. "I know you're trying to help. I know this is coming from a good place. But I'm telling you, this isn't the way. We find another solution."

"There is no other solution!" Luna's frustration boiled over. "I've tried everything. Every healing spell I know, every technique. Nothing works because the problem isn't in his body. It's in his bond. And if we don't do something soon, Xavier dies. Then Thelma feels her mate die through their connection, and she dies too. Is that what you want? Both of them dead because you were too stubborn to make the hard choice?"

Xavier convulsed again, worse this time. His back arched so severely I heard something c***k. Blood gushed from his mouth.

"Theo," Elena said urgently. "Decide. Now."

I looked down at Xavier's face, twisted in agony. Thought about Thelma, alone in the dark, fighting Morgana's corruption. Thought about what they'd both want if they could speak.

And I thought about being an Alpha. About what that really meant.

"There has to be another way," I said. "Elena, you said you know dark magic. Is there anything else? Any other ritual, any other option?"

She hesitated. "There's, there might be something. A life force sharing spell. It wouldn't stop the pain, but it would distribute it. Share the burden between multiple people instead of Xavier bearing it alone."

"How many people?"

"Three, maybe four. But it's dangerous. Dark magic always has a price."

"What kind of price?"

"I don't know exactly. The spell creates a temporary bond between everyone involved. Whatever Xavier feels, we'd all feel. And if it goes wrong, we could all die with him."

Luna was already shaking her head. "Absolutely not. Theo, that's suicide."

"It's a choice," I corrected. "Luna, I need you. Your healing magic could keep us stable while we share the load. Elena, you know the spell. And I'm his, well, I'm his sister's twin. Our bond might help anchor the connection."

"This is insane," Luna said.

"Probably." I looked at her. "But it's his best chance. Our best chance. Will you help me?"

She stared at me for a long moment. Then she closed her eyes and nodded. "On one condition. If it starts to kill us all, I reserve the right to sever the bonds. All of them. To save whoever I can."

"Fair enough." I looked at Elena. "How do we do this?"

Elena pulled a knife from her belt. "Blood magic. We each cut our palm, link hands with Xavier in the center. I speak the words. Then, well, then we hope we survive."

She moved quickly, cutting her own palm first. Blood welled up, dark and thick. She pressed her hand to Xavier's chest, right over his heart.