Rogue Alpha's Sweet Trap

Chapter 145: For the Folk of the Moon

RION

Just when I was about to shred off Darec’s head with my teeth, something blinding crashed onto the land.

My lips parted when I realized what it was.

Lightning.

I didn’t know how he did it, but Darec was suddenly gone from under me. He was already sprinting toward the spot where the lightning had struck. But before I could catch up to him, another streak of lightning fell from the sky, and this time, it hit him directly. It slammed him onto the snowy ground, and chains of lightning pinned his body down.

Beyond us, the Diaj wolves lost their lives instantly. They collapsed, turning slowly into dust after being struck.

When I looked up at the tower, a woman was standing there, staring down at us.

My heart skipped a beat. It only took a fraction of a second to recognize her.

My mate. My Vivien.

All my warriors stared at her in awe. We all knew lightning belonged only to the Celestial wolf, the wolf blessed with the divine power of the Moon Goddess.

Realizing this, my warriors lowered their heads without a single command from me.

They bowed in respect to her.

And I did the same.

I knew she’d come back to me. She was strong. She could survive anything thrown at her. Because she was Vivien. She was one of a kind.

When I looked back up, she had leaped off the tower, shifting into her wolf mid-air. My warriors parted, forming an aisle as she walked toward the Arysian Alpha King.

Her silver wolf glowing against the snow was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

She stopped in front of Darec, who was still conscious but had shifted back into his human form, his body limp from the lightning’s impact.

"So it’s true then. The Celestial wolf has arrived," Darec said between heavy breaths.

’You could have lived in peace in your lands, but you chose violence, Alpha King. Now I cannot spare you for what you’ve done to my people.’ Vivien’s eyes glowed a bright, intimidating silver.

"Think about it! I can be a better match for you! You and I would be more powerful together! We could rule the world!"

I growled and moved forward, biting off Darec’s hand and tearing it clean from his body. He screamed as his blood splattered across the pale snow.

’You will never be a match for her, you nitwit.’

I shifted back to my human form and picked up the massive ring from the arm I’d torn off.

’That is the ancient relic he’s been using to summon the dead,’ Vivien confirmed. ’The Undersea Tower showed it to me.’

Darec’s eyes widened when he saw the ring in my hand.

"No! Give that back! That’s mine!"

"Yours?" I smiled darkly and let my shadows crush it until it disintegrated into dust on my palm. "Sorry. It’s gone now. You must have overused it. Got as fragile as paper."

"You piece of—"

Before Darec could finish, another bolt of lightning slammed into him. He shrieked, but after that, he could barely move a finger.

’This is where your scheming ends,’ Vivien said coldly, and without another word, she lifted her hand and snapped it down just as lightning split the sky wide open.

***

VIVIEN

I didn’t know what exactly had happened. The moment I passed out outside the Undersea Tower right after the lightning struck the empty spot, and the next thing I knew, I was standing somewhere unfamiliar.

I was atop a different tower. It was dark outside, but through the huge windows, I could see the stormy skies flashing with lightning every few seconds.

That was when I saw her.

She stood several feet away, wrapped in an unearthly glow. She wore a long white dress so ethereal it almost didn’t look real, and her long hair shimmered as though woven with starlight.

"Finally, you are here," she said. Before I could even ask who she was, she continued, "I am Elodia. I was the Celestial wolf a long time ago, granted with the divine power of the Moon Goddess herself. Now it is your turn to bear the responsibility of the Celestial wolf. Will you accept it?"

That was when the truth hit me. There was no sleeping Celestial wolf inside the Undersea Tower. The Celestial wolf had existed long ago... and she was standing right in front of me.

"I am only a spirit now," Elodia said gently, "and I have remained here for this moment, to pass the full power to you. You are chosen by the Goddess, Vivien. You are meant to be the Celestial wolf."

I was speechless. I had always assumed there was some mistake. That there had to be someone more deserving. That I had merely borrowed the Celestial wolf’s power from some sacred being slumbering beneath the tower.

But hearing it from Elodia herself... my chest warmed in a way I couldn’t describe.

Why me? How?

As if she could hear my racing thoughts, Elodia smiled softly.

"Only the Goddess knows her reason. But she does not make mistakes. You must be someone extraordinary, and I know you can wield the Celestial wolf’s power as it is meant to be."

"What is my responsibility?" I asked. "What am I supposed to do? Am I meant to stop the war?"

Elodia stepped closer and took my hand. Her touch felt both cold and warm at the same time, like moonlit water.

"You will do what you believe is right," she said. "You shall live for the folk of the moon. Your heart will guide you."

"What if I make a mistake—"

"You must trust yourself, Vivien." Her voice grew faint. "I don’t have much time. My spirit will fade soon. And they need you outside. The war has begun, and only you can do what must be done."

Before I could speak again, she held both my hands. Something powerful surged through me. Brilliant, overwhelming, divine. She was transferring the full power of the Celestial wolf.

And then—

I opened my eyes in the Undercity palace.

Raye was beside me, sobbing her heart out when she saw I was awake. After learning what was happening, we rushed aboveground.

Standing atop the tower, I looked down at the battlefield. At the hundreds of warriors fighting for the Undercity... and my mate’s massive black wolf tearing through our enemies.

Right that moment, I knew what must be done.