Chapter 0414

Terror. Pure, unadulterated terror.

I’ve known fear before—when my mother’s mind fractured during her episodes, when death stole her from me and left me alone in this cruel world, when rogue Alphas hunted me like prey, desperate to force a bond.

But this? This isn’t fear for myself.

This is fear for Victor, my mate. Fear for Seraphina and Evelyn, my sisters standing beside me. Fear for my pack, for the innocent pups trembling behind us.

How dare they?

How dare these hunters think they can take what’s mine? How dare they threaten the life Victor and I have fought so hard to build?

As Evelyn unleashes our combined power and their attention snaps to us, my terror ignites into rage. A wildfire of fury.

They won’t take what’s mine. They won’t destroy the happiness my people have bled for.

Today, the thieves will become the robbed.

I seize Evelyn’s hand, drawing from her strength. She feels the shift and whips her head toward me.

They say auras have colors. Mine burns crimson. Evelyn’s flares orange, merging with mine into something fiercer.

Then a hand lands on my shoulder—Seraphina. Her energy is cool blue, but instead of dampening our fire, it bleeds into ours, forging violet power. Potent. Unbreakable.

I scan the battlefield, marking each hunter before closing my eyes. In my mind, they glow like beacons—dark stains against the light.

When my eyes snap open, Aurora’s power blazes through them.

The hunters open fire, their bullets and arrows aimed solely at us three.

"You will NOT take what’s mine!" My voice booms, layered with Aurora’s growl. I raise our linked hands—

And unleash hell.

The force that erupts from me is cataclysmic. I scream as it tears free, a freight train of raw power.

Then—collapse.

Seraphina drops behind me. Evelyn crumples beside me. The severed connection leaves me hollow, a shell. Bullets rip into my flesh as I stagger.

Victor catches me before I hit the ground.

"Isolde! Isolde!" His voice is distant. My body is lead. My mind floats away.

"Medic!" someone roars.

"Stay with me, Luna. You’re not dying today," Leopold grits out.

Victor cradles my face, his touch tethering me. "Listen to my voice. Stay with me."

"Get the silver out! They’re immune, but they won’t heal with bullets lodged in them!"

Chaos swirls—screams, sobbing pups, shouted orders.

"Are the children hurt?" Donovan demands.

"Finnian’s barrier held. They’re safe," Genevieve answers.

"And Finnian?"

"Exhausted, but alive."

Nearby, Sebastian and Donovan hover over Evelyn and Seraphina, murmuring the same pleas Victor whispers to me.

A stranger’s voice: "Where are her bullet wounds?"

I barely register the bullets being extracted. But when the last one’s gone, my healing kicks in.

"Isolde, open your eyes." I can’t.

Victor squeezes my hand. "Can you squeeze back?" I try. Nothing.

A sudden gasp. "Seraphina! Oh, gods—"

"I’m okay," she rasps. "Isolde drained me, but I’m recovering. Just needed a minute."

A pause. "They’re both still out?"

"Evelyn dropped right after you. Isolde last."

"They’ll wake. I could hear everything—I bet they can too. My healing just worked faster."

Victor’s thumb strokes my cheek. "If you can hear me, I’m right here."

"Did it work?" Seraphina asks. "Did Isolde’s attack land?"

Silence. Then—

"It worked." Victor’s voice is thick. "The Guardians saved us."

"Evelyn!" Donovan chokes out.

Her tired laugh is music. "You thought you’d get rid of me that easily, Alpha?"

Muffled sounds—probably Donovan burying his face in her neck.

"Seraphina’s right," Evelyn adds. "Isolde will wake. I’m weak, but I’m here."

Footsteps approach. "Alphas." A new voice. "Most hunters are dead. A few escaped, but..."

"But?" Victor growls.

"The ones who stayed... It’s like they were shredded. Never seen anything like it."

"She pulled too much power," Evelyn murmurs. "Drained us all."

Suddenly—light. Energy floods my veins, replacing numbness with aching weakness.

"Isolde!" Victor crushes me to his chest, his face buried in my neck. I cling to him.

"I heard you," I whisper. "I just couldn’t move." His scent, our bond—they stitch me back together.

I turn to my sisters. "Are you okay? I didn’t mean to take so much."

Seraphina, curled in Sebastian’s lap, smiles weakly. "We’ll train with Oberon. Learn control."

"Tired, but alive," Evelyn agrees from Donovan’s arms.

"Did it work?" I ask. "Did I protect our people?"

Victor kisses my temple. "It worked. The Guardians of the Realm won today."