Vengeance Reborn

Lightning strikes across the land. Thunder roars throughout the night, shaking the heavens as rain and hail pour from the blackened sky—as though the Moon Goddess herself is crying for me. But no one can hear my screams. No one can see my tears. Or perhaps they can. Perhaps they simply choose not to. We are shifters, after all. And somewhere out there, someone must be able to smell me. My blood. It surrounds me, spreading beneath my broken body in a dark crimson pool across the freezing concrete floor of an abandoned warehouse at the edge of our territory. The scent is so rich, so potent, that even through the unbearable pain, my stomach rolls violently. I want to scream again. I want to beg. I want to call for my father. My mother. My mate. Anyone. But my voice is gone. I screamed until my throat became raw. I begged until nothing but broken whispers escaped me. I cried until there were no tears left. Now there is only silence. My body is broken. Abused. Bleeding. Cold. And my eyes are slowly beginning to fade. Everything has been ripped away from me. My dignity. My strength. My future. My children. A trembling hand moves instinctively toward my stomach, but I barely have enough strength left to touch it. "I'm sorry..." The words are little more than air. My babies. My beautiful babies. They were supposed to have a life. They were supposed to know love. To know their grandparents. To run through the packhouse halls and drive everyone insane with their laughter. They were supposed to shift beneath their first full moon. I was supposed to hold them. Protect them. Watch them grow. Instead, my soul is slowly leaving my body... and they are leaving this world with me. My name is Leona Knight. Alpha daughter of former Alpha Sebastian Knight and former Luna Sophia Knight. Mate and Luna to Michael McGarland. Best friend to Gabrielle Yellowstone and Dominick Benedict. And soon... I was supposed to be a mother. I had a family. A mate. A pack. A future. Until the night of the Blue Eclipse. That was the night everything changed. That was the night my world ended. Another violent c***k of thunder shakes the warehouse. My breathing becomes shallower. Slower. My heartbeat struggles inside my chest, each beat weaker than the last. I know what is coming. And strangely... I'm no longer afraid. My eyes drift closed as memories replace the darkness. My father's strength. My mother's embrace. Gabrielle's laughter. Dominick's ridiculous smile. Michael... My heart breaks one final time. To my children, I am sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry I couldn't give you the lives you deserved. To my mother and father... Thank you. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for raising me to be strong, even when strength wasn't enough to save me. To Gabrielle and Dominick... I cry for you. Because I know what my death will do to you. And to everyone responsible for what happened here tonight... I have only one prayer left. Not for mercy. Not for peace. Not even for salvation. Vengeance. If there is another life waiting for me beyond this one, let me remember. Let my soul carry every wound. Every betrayal. Every face. Every name. Let me return stronger than I ever was before. And when I do... let them remember the night they killed Leona Knight. Because if the Moon Goddess grants me another life— I will make certain they regret it. My heart beats once. Twice. Then— nothing. And beneath the light of the Blue Eclipse, Leona Knight takes her final breath. But death... is only the beginning.