Luna. Chapter 126

(Lyra's POV)

Aria, I need you.

I'm here.

The shift came faster than it ever had before, my human form dissolving into silver fur and lupine strength. But this wasn't like my usual shifts. This felt different. Stronger. Like something fundamental had changed in my supernatural nature.

Magnus shifted beside me, his massive brown wolf taking a protective stance as we approached the cottage. Through the pack link, I could sense his determination and his fear for my safety.

The shadow creatures turned toward us as we emerged from the tree line. Up close, they were even more disturbing. Their forms seemed to shift and waver, like smoke given substance, and their eyes glowed with an unnatural blue light.

These aren't werewolves, Magnus observed through the link.

No. They're something else entirely.

Iris, I called through the psychic connection. How many girls are in the safe room?

Eight confirmed. All accounted for.

Good. Stay quiet. We're handling the outside threat.

The first shadow creature moved toward me with fluid grace, its form rippling like black water. I had expected it to be slow, cumbersome. Instead, it was faster than any wolf I'd ever fought.

It struck like lightning, claws that looked like crystallized darkness raking toward my ribs. I twisted away, but not quite fast enough. Pain flared along my left side as those impossible claws found their mark.

Lyra! Magnus lunged toward the creature, but the second shadow intercepted him, moving with that same unnatural speed.

I rolled to my feet, silver fur slick with blood. The wound wasn't deep, but it burned with an cold fire that felt wrong on every level.

Aria, what are these things?

Ashwalkers. Not the organization—the actual beings they're named for. Creatures that exist between life and death.

How do we fight them?

With everything we have.

The first creature stalked toward me again, and I could see intelligence in those glowing eyes. This wasn't some mindless beast. It was calculating, strategic, testing my abilities.

It wanted to see what a celestial wolf could do under pressure.

Fine. I'd show it.

I called on the power that had been building inside me since the night at the museum, the connection to something vast and ancient that I was only beginning to understand. Silver light began to emanate from my fur, growing brighter with each passing second.

The creature paused, its shadowy form flickering uncertainly.

Now you have its attention, Aria observed.

The thing lunged again, but this time I was ready. Instead of dodging, I met its attack head-on, silver light blazing around me like armor. When its crystalline claws struck my fur, they slid off harmlessly, unable to penetrate the protective glow.

I struck back, my own claws now wreathed in silver fire. They connected with the creature's chest, and it shrieked in a voice that sounded like breaking glass. Where I touched it, its shadowy form began to dissolve.

The light hurts them! I called to Magnus.

But Magnus was having his own problems. The second creature had wrapped itself around him like living smoke, and he was struggling to break free from its grip. I could see the strain in his movements, could sense through the pack link that his strength was being drained by whatever supernatural poison the thing was using.

I turned my attention to the cottage itself, extending my senses inside the building. I could feel Iris's terror, could sense the eight frightened girls huddled in the safe room. But I could also sense something else.

More creatures. At least four additional shadows moving through the building's interior.

Iris, how many total did you see?

I don't know! They keep changing shape. Sometimes I think there are six, sometimes ten.

They're shapeshifters. Stay in the safe room no matter what you hear.

The creature I'd wounded was reforming itself, pulling its scattered essence back together like smoke coalescing into solid form. But it looked smaller now, less substantial. The silver light had definitely hurt it.

I needed more light. More power.

I thought about Asher, about the girls trapped in the cottage, about the life Magnus and I had built together. I thought about the responsibility that came with supernatural abilities, about the choice between safety and duty.

The silver light around me blazed brighter, so bright that the shadow creatures actually recoiled. I felt Aria's strength merge with mine, felt the power of the celestial wolves flowing through my blood like liquid starlight.

Show them what happens when they threaten our family, Aria said fiercely.

I howled, and the sound was unlike anything I'd ever produced before. It rang across the clearing with supernatural force, carrying my rage and determination and protective instincts. The shadow creatures actually stumbled backward, their forms wavering under the assault of pure celestial wolf power.

But as the echoes of my howl faded, I heard something that made my blood run cold.

Slow, deliberate applause.

A figure stepped out of the cottage's front door, clapping her hands with mocking appreciation. She looked human—tall, elegant, with silver hair and sharp green eyes. She was wearing ordinary clothes, jeans and a sweater, but she radiated an aura of power that made the shadow creatures look like minor annoyances.

"Magnificent," she said, her voice carrying clearly across the clearing. "Absolutely magnificent. The reports about your potential were accurate, but seeing it in person... well, that's something else entirely."

I shifted back to human form, the silver light still flickering around my skin like protective armor. Magnus shifted beside me, moving closer in a protective stance.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

The woman smiled, and it was the kind of expression that promised pain.

"Someone who's been very interested in meeting you, Lyra Blackwood. Or should I say, Lyra Steele? It's so hard to keep track of your various marital arrangements."

She raised her hand, and I saw the syringe too late. The dart hit me in the shoulder before I could dodge, its needle piercing through my protective light like it wasn't even there.

Cold fire raced through my bloodstream, and I felt my legs give out beneath me. The silver light flickered and died as whatever she'd injected began to work its way through my system.

"Lyra!" Magnus lunged toward me, but the shadow creatures swarmed him, holding him back with tendrils of living darkness.

The woman approached me as I struggled to stay conscious, kneeling beside me with that same mocking smile.

"Don't worry, dear. You're far too valuable to kill. This is just a little something to help you sleep while we transport you somewhere more... private."

"The girls," I managed to say, my tongue already feeling thick and clumsy.

"Will be fine. We have no interest in them. They were just bait to draw you out, and they served their purpose admirably."

The last thing I saw before the darkness claimed me was her face leaning close to mine, her green eyes filled with malicious satisfaction.

"Sweet dreams, celestial wolf. When you wake up, the real fun begins."