Rejected And Reborn As The Alpha King's Luna

Chapter 47: The Children's Pyre

POV: Xavier

"Finn." The name came out as a whisper. "My brother is twelve years old."

The reality of it hit me like a physical blow. Finn, who still had nightmares about the dark. Finn, who collected rocks and told terrible jokes. Finn, who'd hugged me goodbye three days ago, making me promise to come home safe.

He was in that temple. Waiting to be sacrificed.

"We have to split up," Luna said, already thinking tactically. "Half of us rescue the children, half confront Morgana."

"No." I grabbed Thelma's arm without thinking. The moment I touched her, dark magic crackled between us. I jerked back, but not before I felt it, the corruption inside her, hungry and eager. "We stay together. We need everyone to fight Morgana."

"Xavier." Thelma's glowing eyes met mine. "Those children will die if someone doesn't save them. And you know who their best chance is."

"Don't." I knew where she was going. "Don't ask me to leave you."

"I'm not asking." Her voice was gentle but firm. "I'm telling you. Take Luna, take Elena. Save those kids. Theo, Kael, and I will handle Morgana."

"You can't fight her," I said desperately. "The corruption, you're barely holding on as it is. And Kael wants you dead. You need me there."

"I need you to save your brother." She stepped closer, carefully not touching. "I need you to get those children out alive. Because if you don't, if they die because we were too focused on me, neither of us will be able to live with that."

She was right. God help me, she was right. But every instinct I had screamed against leaving her.

"The mate bond," I said. "If we separate, if something happens—"

"The bond will hold." But I could see the fear in her eyes, could feel it through our connection. "Xavier, please. I can feel Morgana getting stronger inside me. I can feel my time running out. Let me do this. Let me face her while I'm still me. And let yourself save your pack."

Theo moved beside his sister. "I'll protect her. You have my word."

"Your word?" I rounded on him. "Your word means nothing if she's consumed by corruption. If Morgana takes control, what then?"

"Then I keep my promise." Theo's face was grim. "I end it, quickly and cleanly. Before she can hurt anyone."

The thought of Theo killing Thelma, even to save her from becoming Morgana's puppet, made me want to tear him apart. But what choice did we have?

"There's something we can do," Thelma said quietly. "Before we separate. A mate marking."

I stared at her. "Now?"

"Especially now." She touched her neck, where the mate mark should be. "We haven't completed it. If I die, if I'm lost to the corruption, at least we'll have this. A permanent bond that nothing can break."

Luna looked uncertain. "Mate marking during corruption is risky. The dark magic could infect Xavier through the bond."

"I'll risk it," I said immediately.

"Of course you will," Kael muttered. "Fools, both of you."

I ignored him. Stepped close to Thelma, close enough that I could feel the dark energy radiating from her skin. "Are you sure? If the corruption spreads to me—"

"It won't." She lifted her chin, exposing her throat. "I won't let it. I love you too much to poison you."

My wolf surged forward, eager and desperate. This was what we'd wanted since the moment we met. To mark her, claim her, make the bond permanent and unbreakable.

I leaned in, pressed my lips to her throat first. Felt her pulse racing beneath my mouth. She shivered, and through the bond, I felt her love, her fear, her desperate hope that this wouldn't be goodbye.

"Even if I die," she whispered, "you'll always be mine."

"And I'll always be yours," I promised against her skin.

Then I bit down.

My fangs sank into the soft flesh of her throat, and power exploded between us. The mate bond, already strong, became diamond-hard, unbreakable. I felt everything she felt, every emotion, every thought. Her love for me, vast and consuming. Her terror of what she was becoming. Her determination to save everyone, even at the cost of herself.

And underneath it all, Morgana's corruption, coiled and waiting.

I pulled back, licking the wound closed. The mark was perfect, my claim visible on her skin. Even as I watched, the punctures healed, leaving behind a silvery scar in the shape of my bite.

"Your turn," I said, tilting my head to expose my throat.

Thelma's eyes had gone darker, the corruption responding to the intimacy. For a moment, I saw Morgana looking out at me, hungry and predatory. Then Thelma blinked, and she was back in control.

"I love you," she said. Then she struck.

Her bite was harder than mine, more desperate. I felt her fangs pierce skin, felt the rush of the bond completing. And with it came the flood of her emotions, unchecked and overwhelming.

Joy at being able to feel again. Agony from the dark magic tearing at her from inside. Love for me so fierce it burned. And fear, terrible fear, that this was the last time we'd ever touch.

She pulled away, and I saw tears streaming down her face. The mate mark on my throat tingled as it healed, leaving behind her claim.

"There," she said, her voice breaking. "Now nothing can separate us. Not death, not corruption, not even Morgana herself. You're mine, Xavier. Always."

"Always," I echoed.

We stood there, just looking at each other, memorizing every detail. Then Kael cleared his throat.

"Touching. But we're wasting time."

He was right. I turned to Luna and Elena. "Let's move. We have less than eight hours."

"Six hours to reach the children, rescue them, and get them to safety," Luna calculated. "It's possible. Barely."

Elena nodded. "I know the temple layout. Morgana used to bring me there for rituals when I was younger. I can guide you."

We split into two groups. Theo, Kael, and Thelma would head directly for the ritual chamber. Luna, Elena, and I would circle around to the prison wing where the children were held.

As we prepared to separate, I caught Thelma's hand one last time, ignoring the sting of dark magic. "Come back to me."

"You too." She squeezed my fingers. "Save your brother. Save them all."

Then we were moving in opposite directions, and with every step, the mate bond stretched thinner, more painful. It didn't break, we'd marked each other too deeply for that, but the distance ached like a physical wound.

We ran through the Blighted Lands, covering ground at supernatural speed. The landscape grew more corrupted the closer we got to the temple. Trees twisted into grotesque shapes, the ground cracked and oozing black sludge.

"There," Elena pointed to a massive structure of black stone rising from the cursed earth. "The Blood Moon Temple."

It was enormous, all sharp angles and dark spires. Magic pulsed around it, a barrier that shimmered like oil on water.

"The children are in the eastern wing," Elena said. "Morgana keeps sacrifices there before the ritual. There'll be guards."

"How many?" Luna asked.

"At least a dozen. Maybe more."

"We can handle a dozen," I said grimly.