Chapter Thirty Dylan #2
Maybe this was Lupe’s plan all along. Had I become too much of a threat—too unpredictable, too powerful?
Was this her way of eliminating me? As I kept battling the spirits, the realization struck like a dagger: they weren’t just attacking my wolf.
They were wearing me down, draining me in ways she couldn’t.
My wolf was tiring, struggling to hold them at bay—but maybe that was the point.
Fending them off prevented her from helping me.
This time when they attacked, I felt their claws through my skin, blood dripping down to the ground. These spirits could do whatever they wanted to me in here, and it looked to me they were choosing to kill me.
That’s how the serum worked. There was nothing left of those who had taken it before. The wolf didn’t just take over.
They were the only soul in the body.
If that’s what Lupe meant to create, she did one hell of a job.
This serum boosted the spirit’s power to go insane to where they kill their host. That was one hell of a way to create an army.
The wolves sensed his dominance and obeyed his unspoken commands.
That was how they were wired from the Great Moon.
There was always a hierarchy to keep us all in line.
So if Lupe still held on to the power and control of her human half, but had wolves broken into where they were the ones controlling the body, and she still outranked them, then she had the control.
The master plan of ruling our race.
How could she do this? The Great Moon had created us for a reason, and in doing this was spitting in our creator’s face. I understood wanting the power to control our race. Having people under your reign was a high for many of the alphas I’ve known. I was thankful my father wasn’t one of them.
But if Lupe wanted to take over our race, she would have to get through me.
There was one powerhouse on this plane of existence that could keep Lupe from winning. If Lupe wanted to start with me, thinking she could break through to control my pack because of me, she had another thing coming. I wouldn’t lose to her.
So I dropped to my knees and called out to the powerhouse who could stop this plan from coming to completion.
GREAT MOON! I NEED YOU! PLEASE HELP US!
There was nothing at first. Just the silence before the figures snarled and sliced into me again.
I screamed, the sound of it being drowned out by my wolf’s mournful howl.
I would not stop there. If I wanted to survive this, I needed to keep trying.
I had a reason to live, and the faces of my mates came to me.
Their devilish smiles and eyes twinkling with mischief on how to make me beg for them filled my heart with love I didn’t know I would ever feel in my life.
Something about all three of them being connected to me gave me the strength I needed.
To know they were out there, fighting for and with me and my pack, filled me with strength to call out to the Great Moon again.
I INVOKE THE POWER OF THE MOON, CALLING HER TO ME! GREAT MOON, COME TO ME AND RID THIS WORLD OF THE EVIL TRYING TO TAKE OVER!
Darkness from the trees came closing in.
More of the spirits showed themselves and glided across the grass toward me and my wolf.
I felt her soft fur at my back, feeling sticky and wet like she had taken the damage like I have.
The wall of black slowly closed in, and I knew this was my end.
I kept the walls in place for my mates, not wanting for them to see this coming.
I couldn’t imagine what it looked like on the other side of things.
I’m sure they were losing their damn minds as they felt me being dragged off into the darkness of death.
They were closer now, enough for me to know my end was coming. The shroud of dark coming in after them was blocking out the moon and its beautiful glow. Darkness engulfed me as I sent my goodbyes down through the bonds, and I felt my wolf shake behind me.
I turned to her, wrapping my arms around her as I accepted my fate.
Everything went silent. My wolf curled into me, my embrace tightening.
The images of my mates were sharp in my mind, so I had them close to me as I waited for the final blow to take me from this plane and into the arms of the Great Moon.
The wall blocked out the light entirely, consuming me in the dark, and I waited.
My wolf whined, breaking the silence, before I felt a warm power wash over me.
A blinding light emitted from her, making me throw my arms over my eyes to block it out.
A howl pierced through the silence. I opened my eyes to see my wolf glowing with her astral form, the swirls of the shadows that she turned into flaring around her larger than before.
My wolf looked like a goddess, powerful and ethereal as the power rolled around her, her eyes as bright as the moon.
The figures were gone and the darkness couldn’t pierce through the veil of light my wolf had created.
Tears rolled down my face as I saw my wolf, literally, in a whole new light.
It was like all the simmering power and magic of the goddess streamed through her right now as her light kept the creatures and darkness at bay.
Since I was still on my knees, my wolf approached me and licked my face.
I laughed and pushed my fingers through her soft, black fur.
How did you do that?
I didn’t. She did.
My wolf nudged me to look behind me. I jumped to my feet and twirled around to see the Great Moon looking at me.
The ethereal beauty that was my creator couldn’t be explained.
Just looking at her, I knew who she was and how honored I should be to have her in my presence.
The way her white hair cascaded down her body, her white dress having stars and moons embroidered on it, and her eyes looking as if she had two moons encased inside her head.
She smiled at me, and I dropped my head and leaned my neck to the side to show her my respect.
None of that, Dylan. I am not here to exert my power over you.
I looked back up at her, and the smile was still there. My wolf brushed past me, trotted over to the goddess, and sat by her side. I lifted my eyebrows at her, and she gave me a wolfish smile as the Great Moon patted her head.
Do you understand why your wolf chose to bond with you, Dylan?
While looking at my wolf, a snarky comment came to mind, but I was pretty sure that wasn’t the reason my wolf chose me and would just annoy the goddess, probably even make her regret creating me, if I was being honest, but of course the goddess heard it.
My sassy attitude?
The goddess softly giggled, continuing to pet my wolf’s head. No. Though, that was something she found amusing when I showed her who you would become.
What? Come again?
Her smile widened as she stepped closer, her presence washing over me like a tide.
Power enveloped me, warm and familiar, wrapping around me with the gentle reassurance of a grandmother’s embrace.
As if sensing the weight of my thoughts, the goddess closed the distance and folded me into her arms. I sank into the hug more easily than I’d expected, allowing myself to lean into the comfort she offered.
The world’s burdens had pressed into me for so long, but under the Great Moon’s touch, they lifted, leaving me weightless in her light.
Your wolf has waited an eternity for you.
She longed for a soul willing to leap into the heart of danger, someone who would fight—not for themselves, but for their people.
When she glimpsed the path ahead, she saw you: the one bold enough, strong enough, to walk the path beside her. And in that moment, she chose you.
I looked at my wolf and the wolfish grin returned. It made my heart swell with pride, knowing my wolf chose me over others. I just wasn’t sure if I deserved it.
There’s a reason I came, Dylan. If you doubt your capacity for goodness, now is your chance to prove, even to yourself, you have what it takes to overcome even the darkest foes.
I moved away from her and looked into her silver eyes. What do you mean?
You have a choice to make. The serum is still in your body, fighting for the chance to take over.
You are a key, just like you thought. Lupe has managed to lace her serum with spellwork where she can snap her fingers, and it will flow through your bonds.
Without the spellwork, it could only take over the current body.
Through you, she would gain control of the strongest Shadowborn pack known to our world.
This didn’t surprise me. I knew something had to be making Lupe think she could win this. She wanted to come after me for a reason, and, through me, she would get to my pack.
Then why didn’t she go after my parents? They are also a way into the pack bonds. Or even someone lower in my pack and probably could bargain with them.
She smiled. You’re special, Dylan. It’s in your bonds.
It’s in the way your mates strengthen you, shaping something rare, something powerful.
The academy aimed to reunite those who rejected their fated connections, but increasingly, more mates are left behind.
But an alpha-female with powerful mates like yours?
That’s almost unheard of. They warned Lupe before your arrival about the coming of an alpha-female Shadowborn, someone destined to shift the balance and change the Shadowborns forever.
The Great Moon sighed , a quiet exhale of certainty.
You were the first alpha-female Shadowborn ever to stand in that place, the first to cross that threshold.
And in that moment, she knew—it was you.
Even when I was told I was special as a kid, I didn’t believe anyone who said it. I knew it was something all kids were told when they were younger, but hearing the one who created me say it sent a shiver down my side as my heart rate skyrocketed.
How the hell was I supposed to go back to regular life knowing the damn Moon Goddess told me I was special?!
You’ve got to be kidding me. There’s no way...
You must make a choice, Dylan. I am running out of time. I don’t even have enough time to explain.
Great. A choice? This won’t end well. Being given a choice while I sit on the edge of death...I’m pretty sure I know where this is going.
What choice?
Reject the shadows or embrace them.