Leah's POV
I opened my eyes to a nightmare carved into my own flesh. My skin was ulcerating, sores splitting open like overripe fruit, weeping pus and blood across my arms, my legs, my chest. The stench hit me first - rotting meat, sour and thick, clogging my throat - but there was no pain. No sting, no burn, just a cold, creeping numbness that pinned me down like chains. I tried to move, to claw my way out of this decaying shell, but my limbs wouldn't answer. My body was a traitor, a cage of meat and bone, and I was trapped inside it.
In front of me, Leo thrashed under the grip of a naked werewolf - a hulking, beastly thing, more monster than man, its matted fur streaked with filth. His bloodshot eyes locked onto mine, wild and desperate, pleading for something I couldn't give. Through our Mindlink, his voice rasped into my skull, faint and final - "I'm dead now. You will be the next, sister."
The words sank into me like teeth, tearing at the last threads of hope I'd clung to. He'd betrayed himself - we'd betrayed ourselves - walking blind into this slaughter. I roared inside, a scream that never made it past my lips, my rage thrashing against the bars of my useless body. I wanted to rip free, to sink my claws into that beast and tear it apart, but I was nothing. Helpless.
Leo's struggles slowed, then stopped. His body went limp, a broken thing sprawled in the dirt, blood pooling beneath him, black in the dim light. The werewolf staggered to its feet, unsteady, its hunger sated. It didn't even glance at me as it lumbered out, leaving me alone with the corpse of my brother and the rot eating me alive. The air was heavy, suffocating, thick with death and the metallic tang of his blood mingling with the reek of my own festering skin.
Then, a light sliced through the gloom - soft, white, almost blinding. A woman stepped forward, her dress shimmering like moonlight spun into threads, flowing around her like liquid. I knew her, or thought I did: the Moon Goddess. But there was no warmth in her presence, only a chill that sank into my bones, sharp as a blade. She loomed over me, her face pale and perfect, her eyes glinting with something cruel.
"This is the fate of not listening to me, you impossible child," she said, her voice frosting the air, each word a lash against my rotting flesh. "I have lost patience with you. Your blood is exchanging with wolfsbang. You will die little by little, devoured by your own poisonous blood."
A laugh clawed its way up my throat, low and guttural, spilling out before I could stop it. It startled even me, rough and jagged, echoing in the dead space between us. Her perfect mask cracked, surprise flickering across her face. "What are you laughing at?" she snapped, her tone sharp enough to cut.
I grinned, though it must've looked grotesque with half my face peeling away. "I'm laughing at you for finally falling for it," I said, my voice steady despite the ruin of my body.
Her eyes narrowed to slits, cold and predatory. "What are you talking nonsense about?" she hissed. "How dare you speak to the gods like this?"
"You're not the Moon Goddess," I spat, the words tasting like blood and triumph. "The real Moon Goddess was killed by you in the era of the first Lycan King, wasn't she? Scarlet Witch Magda, you evil spirit of manipulation - reveal your true body."
At that, her illusion shattered. The white gauze of her dress bled into black and red, stained with gore, clinging to her like a second skin. Her pupils swallowed the whites of her eyes, turning them into voids, and when she smiled, her teeth were sharp, jagged things, gleaming with malice. She turned to a cracked mirror on the wall, checking her reflection as if admiring the transformation, then faced me again, her grin a ghost's leer. "You still figured it out," she purred, her voice a venomous caress. "Of course, this is a set-up! To be honest, I'm tired of the routine of this game, Luciana."
I met her gaze, unflinching, though my body was falling apart. "The first Lycan King fell in love with Luciana, the true Moon Goddess," I said, my words steady, cutting through the haze of decay. "You, consumed by jealousy, pretended to be her. You whispered in his ear, told him he had to kill his father to claim power. He believed you—slaughtered his own blood, committed that unforgivable sin, and lost himself to madness. When Luciana tried to forgive him, to pull him back with her kiss, you seduced him again. Made him think she was the enemy. Together, you murdered her."
Magda's smile widened, but I didn't stop. "That's why every record of the first Lycan King was erased. If I hadn't resurrected the direwolves, I'd never have uncovered the truth. For millennia, you've worn her face, toyed with the Lycan family like they were your playthings. But you didn't count on this: in every reincarnation, the Moon Goddess finds her destined mate, and the memories of the first King live on in them. That's why you've spent every life tearing us apart, stealing my mate's heart, severing my bond with Lucas."
Her laughter was a cold, hollow thing, ringing in my ears. "Stop dreaming, Luciana," she sneered. "Open your eyes and see."
With a flourish, she flung the curtains wide. Beyond the window, the world was a wasteland - jagged shadows and crimson light, the ground crawling with zombie werewolves, their flesh hanging in tatters, their howls splitting the night. "My army is unleashed," she crowed, her voice dripping with pride. "These vicious warriors rampage through the Kingdom, killing everything in their path. Their blood fuels my power. And you, poor Luciana, will melt into your own veins, my proudest sacrifice. I'll find you in every life, and this game will always end with my victory. What makes you think this time is different?"
I smiled, though my lips were cracking, half my face a ruin. "Because you miscalculated," I said, my voice low, defiant. "In this life, I'm not alone. I have a father who loves me, who'd burn the world to save me. A batair who gave up his mate to shield me. A mate who endured shame and ripped out his own heart to protect me. A brother, strong as steel, sent to the human world to keep me safe. And more - ancient lines, humans, allies you never saw coming."
As I spoke, her smug grin faltered. The sky erupted with sound - rotors chopping the air, a swarm of helicopters blotting out the stars. From them, massive direwolves dropped like shadows, their snarls shaking the earth. In the bloody moonlight, Lycidas led the charge, his assault team of werewolves and direwolves tearing into the zombie horde with relentless fury. Claws flashed, flesh ripped, and the air filled with the wet crunch of bone and the shrieks of the damned.
Through the chaos, Seth's voice crackled in my earpiece, rough and familiar. "Oh, boss, you're right. This shit is totally out of my league."
Then Liam cut in, his tone tight with nerves. "Leah, I don't know why you suddenly wanted me to buy so many planes. I've got a real bad feeling about this, but as usual, Seth won't tell me a damn thing. If you just wanted a gang fight with your ex-husband, this many planes feels a bit much."
Seth snapped back, "Come on, Liam, you're so cheap. I'm kinda busy here - stay away from my control panel! You shelled out for over four hundred planes; that doesn't give you combat command. Also, boss, don't you ever knock me out again. It hurts like hell."
Their bickering washed over me, a lifeline in the madness, and I felt the ghost of a smile tug at my ruined mouth. Magda, though, wasn't laughing. "Impossible!" she roared, her voice a thunderclap. "This is absolutely impossible! You..."
Her tirade died as footsteps echoed through the room - heavy, deliberate, achingly familiar. My breath caught, a ragged hitch in my chest. It couldn't be. The rhythm of those steps, the scent on the air - pine and smoke and something wild - it was him. Impossible, but undeniable.
Lucas.