Luna. Chapter 120

(Lyra's POV)

"Tell me about the fight itself," I said, pouring Magnus fresh coffee. "Not the aftermath. The actual combat."

Magnus wrapped his hands around the mug like he was trying to absorb its warmth.

"It started normally. Standard patrol, three teams of four. We were checking the northern border where we'd had some unusual scent markers."

"What kind of scent markers?"

"Nothing identifiable. Not wolf, not human, not any creature we recognized. But old. Like something that had been buried for a long time and recently disturbed."

Kael frowned. "Ashwalkers don't usually leave scent trails."

"These weren't trying to hide. If anything, I think they wanted us to find them."

"A trap?"

"Obviously. But we didn't realize how sophisticated until it was too late."

Magnus took a sip of coffee, his hands slightly shaking. Whether from the head injury or the memory, I couldn't tell.

"They hit the eastern team first. We heard the howls, but by the time we got there..." He trailed off.

"It was over?"

"It was over. Three of my best fighters, dead in under two minutes."

I exchanged glances with Kael. Three experienced werewolves dead in two minutes suggested a level of skill and brutality we weren't prepared for.

"Then what happened?"

"They came for the rest of us. But this time we were ready. Or thought we were."

Magnus touched the bandage around his head gingerly.

"They move like nothing I've ever seen. Faster than wolves, more agile than cats, and they coordinate their attacks perfectly."

"Coordinate how?"

"Like a hive mind. They don't communicate that we could hear, but they fought like they shared the same brain. When one attacked high, another went low. When we focused on one threat, two others flanked us."

"What about their physical capabilities?" Kael asked.

"Stronger than alphas. Their claws went through Kevlar like paper. And the poison..."

"Tell me about the poison."

Magnus rolled up his sleeve, revealing angry red welts that looked like burns.

"Every time they touched us, this happened. It's not just painful, it weakens you. Makes you slower, less coordinated."

"Did you get any of them?" I asked.

"We landed some hits. But they healed almost instantly. Wounds that should have been crippling closed up in seconds."

"Faster healing than werewolves?"

"Much faster. And they don't seem to feel pain the way we do."

I studied Magnus's injuries with growing dread. If experienced fighters like his pack couldn't handle six Ashwalkers, what chance did we have protecting Asher?

"How did you survive?" I asked.

"Sage." Magnus's voice was heavy with guilt. "She threw herself between me and three of them, gave the rest of us time to retreat."

"And they just let you go?"

"I don't think they were trying to kill all of us. I think they were making a point."

"What point?"

"That they could have killed us all if they wanted to. That they chose to let us live to spread the word."

"Psychological warfare."

"Exactly. They want us afraid. They want us to know we can't stop them."

Kael was pacing again, his expression dark.

"There's something else," Magnus said quietly.

"What?"

"One of them spoke to me. In perfect English."

I felt cold fingers crawl up my spine. "What did it say?"

"It said 'Tell the celestial wolf her son's time is running out.'"

The blood drained from my face. "They know about Asher's abilities."

"They know everything, Lyra. They've been watching, planning, waiting for the right moment."

"What's the right moment?"

"I don't know. But whatever they're building toward, Asher is central to it."

I thought about the ritualistic positioning of the bodies in Magnus's photos.

"The sequence," I said suddenly.

"What?"

"The killings aren't random. They're following a specific sequence, building toward something that requires Asher."

"What kind of something?"

"I don't know. But Magnus, did they take anything from your pack? Any artifacts, any ceremonial items?"

Magnus thought for a moment. "They took Sarah's moonstone pendant. The one that's been in her family for generations."

"What else?"

"Marcus's ceremonial dagger. And they..." Magnus paused, looking confused.

"What?"

"They took blood. From each of the dead. Very carefully, like they were collecting samples."

"For what?"

"I don't know. But they had vials, like they came prepared for it."

Kael stopped pacing. "They're building something. Some kind of ritual that requires specific bloodlines and ceremonial objects."

"And Asher."

"And Asher," he confirmed grimly.

"How much time do we have?"

"Based on the pattern of recent attacks across the region? Maybe weeks. Possibly less."

I felt panic rising in my chest. "We need to get him somewhere safe."

"Where?" Magnus asked. "They found my pack in the middle of nowhere with defensive positions and advance warning. How do you hide from creatures that can track anything?"

"We don't hide," Kael said suddenly. "We fight."

"Fight how? You heard what Magnus said about their capabilities."

"By using advantages they don't expect."

"What advantages?"

"Asher's abilities. They want him for his power, but they might not understand exactly what that power can do."

"He's four years old, Kael. I'm not putting my son in combat."

"Not in combat. But his abilities might give us an edge they're not prepared for."

I looked at both men, seeing the desperation in their eyes.

"What are you suggesting?"

"That we stop trying to hide from them and start laying traps of our own."

"Using Asher as bait?"

"Using Asher as an advantage. There's a difference."

"Is there? Because it sounds like you want to put my child in danger to solve our problems."

"Lyra," Magnus said softly, "your child is already in danger. The question is whether we face that danger passively or actively."

"What does that mean?"

"It means we can wait for them to come for us when and where they choose, or we can choose the time and place of confrontation ourselves."

I looked out the window where Asher was still playing happily, oblivious to the conversation happening inside.

"I need to think about this."

"We don't have time to think," Kael said urgently. "They're escalating their attacks. If we wait too long—"

"If we move too fast, we could get him killed!"

"If we don't move at all, we definitely will."

The truth of that statement hit me like a physical blow.

"How?" I asked quietly. "If we were going to do this, how would it work?"

Magnus and Kael exchanged glances.

"We need to talk to the other pack leaders," Kael said. "Form an alliance."

"And if they refuse?"

"Then we do it ourselves."

"Three adults against an unknown number of creatures that can kill experienced fighters in seconds?"

"Three adults who love that child more than life itself," Magnus corrected. "Never underestimate the power of desperate parents."

I looked at both of them, these two men who had shaped my life in such different ways, now united in their determination to protect my son.

Our son.

"Okay," I said quietly.

"Okay?"

"Okay, we fight. But we do it smart, and we do it together."

"Together," Kael agreed.

"All of us," Magnus added.

Outside, Asher's laughter carried on the afternoon breeze, innocent and joyful.

I was going to do everything in my power to make sure it stayed that way.

Even if it meant going to war.