Aria's POV
Wait, I say, staring at the First True Luna. You're supposed to be dead. For three thousand years.
She smiles sadly. Death is complicated for beings like us. I've been waiting in the space between worlds, watching my daughters fall one by one. Until you.
I don't understand
You will. She steps closer, and I see she's not quite solid. More like a ghost made of moonlight. The Covenant didn't just kill Primordial. They trapped our souls, using us as power sources for their immortality. I've been their battery for millennia.
Horror fills me. That's what they want to do to me.
Yes. But you're stronger than I was. You have something I never had. She looks at my three mates. True bonds. Not forced. Not political. Real.
Zane moves protectively closer. What do you want with her?
To warn her. The First Luna's eyes are ancient and sad. The Covenant's main force is coming. Not dozens. Hundreds. They're going to attack tomorrow at dawn with everything they have. And they have a weapon specifically designed to kill True Lunas.
What kind of weapon? Darius asks.
Me. She looks at her translucent hands. They'll force my trapped soul into a physical form and make me fight you. I won't be able to resist. I'll kill everyone you love.
My blood runs cold. How do we stop it?
You can't stop it. But you can survive it. She kneels before me. There's a ritual. Ancient magic that can free trapped souls and break Covenant power permanently. But it requires massive sacrifice.
What kind of sacrifice? Cael demands.
The First Luna meets my eyes. The True Luna must willingly give up her power. All of it. Become human. Mortal. Normal.
Everything stops.
Give up my power? Become nothing again?
No, Zane snarls. There has to be another way
There isn't, the First Luna says. I've seen all possible futures. This is the only path where Aria survives and the Covenant falls forever.
She just got her power, Darius protests. You can't ask her to give it up
I'm not asking. I'm warning. She looks at me. Tomorrow, you'll have to choose. Stay powerful and die, or become human and live. Choose wisely, daughter.
She fades away before I can respond.
Silence falls over the clearing.
We're not doing that, Zane says firmly. We'll find another way.
There is no other way, I whisper. You heard her.
She could be lying, Cael argues. We don't know if we can trust
She's telling the truth, I interrupt. I could feel it. True Lunas can sense lies, remember?
My three mates look devastated.
We just found you, Zane says, his voice breaking. We're not losing you to some ritual
You won't lose me. I'll still be here. Just... human.
Human mates are fragile, Darius says quietly. They age. They die. We'd have maybe fifty years together instead of centuries.
The reality hits me. If I give up my power, I give up the supernatural lifespan too. I'll grow old while they stay young. I'll die while they live on.
Fifty years is better than zero, I say, trying to smile.
None of them smile back.
We need to prepare, Cael says finally. If the Covenant attacks at dawn, we have maybe eight hours.
We gather everyone Bloodmoon Pack, the Seattle volunteers, Lyra, even Aurora and Finn. I explain what's coming.
An army at dawn, Lyra repeats. And a trapped True Luna soul as their weapon. Great. Just great.
We need allies, Darius says. Every pack we can reach in eight hours.
I'll make calls, Cael volunteers, already pulling out his phone.
While they plan, I slip away to the lake. I need a moment to breathe. To think.
I'm going to give up my power. Become human. After finally being special, finally being strong, I'll go back to being nobody.
The thought should terrify me. Instead, I feel... peaceful.
You're thinking too loud, Zane's voice says behind me.
I turn. All three of my mates have followed me.
I'm sorry, I tell them. I know this isn't what you signed up for. Mating a True Luna is one thing. But a human
Stop, Zane interrupts. He cups my face gently. I don't care if you're a True Luna or human or anything in between. You're mine. That's all that matters.
He's right, Darius says, taking my hand. I've seen futures with you as human. They're beautiful. Different, but beautiful.
And hey, Cael adds with a forced smile, at least you won't be able to command us around anymore.
I laugh despite everything. I never commanded you.
You commanded us to trust you. To let you fight. To believe in you. His smile softens. Best commands I ever followed.
They hold me while I cry. Not sad tears. Grateful ones.
I found my mates. My pack. My family. Even if I lose my power, I'm keeping them.
That's enough.
Dawn comes too fast.
We stand at Bloodmoon territory's border, an army of two hundred wolves behind us. Every pack Cael could reach answered the call.
But across the field, the Covenant army waits. Hundreds of wolves, witches, and vampires. United by greed and fear.
And at their front, glowing with stolen power, stands the First True Luna. Her eyes are empty. Controlled.
Beside her is someone I didn't expect.
Marcus. My father. Wearing Covenant colors.
Of course, I mutter. He always picks the winning side.
He picked wrong this time, Zane growls.
A Covenant leader steps forward. Not Eldris. Someone new. Someone worse.
Aria Thorne, the figure says, pulling back their hood.
I stop breathing.
Kade. My rejected mate. But wrong. His eyes are dead like Aurora's were. Dark veins pulse under his skin.
They got him too, I whisper.
Hello, Aria, Kade says in a voice layered with dark magic. Remember me? The mate you weren't good enough for? Well, the Covenant made me better. Stronger. And my first order is to kill you and everyone you love.
He shifts into a massive wolf, twice the size he should be. Corrupted by dark magic.
This is wrong, Aurora says beside me, her hand finding mine. Kade would never
Kade's gone, I say. Just like you were. The Covenant takes everything.
The First True Luna raises her hand. Power builds around her ancient, terrible, unstoppable.
Last chance, the Covenant leader calls. Surrender the True Luna and we'll let the rest live.
My three mates snarl in unison. Never.
So be it.
The First True Luna's power explodes forward.
The battle begins.
It's chaos. Wolves tearing into each other. Magic flying. Screams echoing. Blood soaking the earth.
I fight beside my mates, using every bit of power I have left. But the corrupted Kade is hunting me specifically, and he's terrifyingly strong.
You should have chosen me, he snarls, slamming into me. I would have made you perfect.
I am perfect, I snarl back. You were just too stupid to see it.
We fight viciously. He's stronger, but I'm faster. More desperate.
Then the First True Luna targets my mates.
Her power hits Zane first, lifting him off the ground. He roars in agony.
NO! I scream, abandoning my fight with Kade.
I run toward the First True Luna. She looks at me with those empty, controlled eyes.
I'm sorry, daughter, her voice echoes. I can't stop.
Her power turns on me.
It's crushing. Overwhelming. I can't breathe.
This is how I die.
Then Aurora tackles the First True Luna from the side.
She's my sister! Aurora screams. You don't get to kill her!
The distraction is enough. The First True Luna's control wavers.
For just one second, her eyes clear.
Now, she whispers. Do the ritual now. While I'm fighting them. It's your only chance.
But I don't know how
Your heart knows. Trust yourself.
I understand. I close my eyes and reach deep inside, to where my True Luna power lives.
And I let it go.
Power explodes from my body in a wave of pure light. It rushes into the First True Luna, freeing her trapped soul. Rushes into every Covenant member who stole Primordial power.
The light cleanses everything it touches.
Corrupted wolves scream as dark magic burns away. The First True Luna's body dissolves into starlight, finally free.
Kade collapses, the corruption leaving him. He's himself again, confused and scared.
And I fall to my knees, human. Powerless. Normal.
The Covenant army crumbles without their stolen power. They flee, broken and defeated.
We won.
I did it.
I'm alive.
My three mates rush to me, checking for injuries.
Are you okay? Zane demands.
Did it work? Darius asks.
You're human, Cael breathes, wonder in his voice. You really did it.
I nod, unable to speak.
The First True Luna's voice echoes one last time, fading: Thank you, daughter. You freed us all. Now live. Love. Be happy. You earned it.
She's gone. Really gone this time.
The battle is over.
I look at my three mates Zane, Darius, Cael. The three Alphas who loved me when I was nothing, fought for me when I was everything, and stayed when I became nothing again.
So, I say, trying to smile. Still want a human mate?
All three answer by kissing me.