Chapter 78 : Beneath the Surface

The air crackled with tension as Alex faced Luna—or whatever she had become now. His heart pounded in his chest, not from the strain of the fight, but from the chilling realization that the woman before him was no longer the same. Her eyes, once warm and full of life, were now pitch black, an abyss devoid of recognition, devoid of anything that could anchor him to the person he had fought so hard to protect. Luna was no longer the goddess he once revered, nor the mortal he had begun to care for; she was something far darker, something twisted."Luna, stop," Alex said, his voice low but edged with desperation. He couldn't bring himself to raise his weapon against her—not yet. His entire being ached with the need for answers. What had happened? Was it truly her standing before him, or was it a shadow of the woman he once knew?But Luna didn't respond. Her movements were unnatural, predatory, and though she was still fighting to retain control, Alex could see the battle raging within her. The dark energy coursing through her veins—energy stolen from the rogue forces—had consumed her, warping her mind and body. It was no longer a simple struggle of will; it was a constant, suffocating tide that clawed at her, threatening to drown the remnants of her humanity.She was barely hanging on. The sliver of control she still held was consumed with suppressing the last remnants of the rogues inside her—their taint twisting every part of her. But that one rogue—the one that had been the most powerful of them all—was pushing her to the edge. She had fought it all night, but with each passing moment, she felt her strength slip away. And now, as Alex stepped into her path, the fear of hurting him was overwhelming her, eroding what little remained of her control.Her darker side, the side she had long kept at bay, surged forward with a hunger that would tear everything apart. The more she feared losing herself to it, the stronger it became, and Alex could see the fear in her eyes—fear not of him, but of what she might become. In that fleeting moment, he realized just how much she was suffering, how much she was struggling to hold onto whatever light she had left. The fear that if she let go, if she allowed herself to succumb, she might lose everything—him, herself, and her humanity—tore at her from the inside.And Alex... his heart broke for her.The suffering in Luna's eyes was fleeting, vanishing almost as quickly as it had appeared. In that brief moment, Alex saw the desperation, the anguish of a soul fighting to remain tethered to the woman he once knew. But then, just as swiftly, it was gone—replaced by a cold, ruthless emptiness. The Luna standing before him was not the one he had fought to protect. This version of her—darkened, consumed—was someone unrecognizable. And with that final, unmistakable shift, she attacked.Her every movement was charged with an unnatural, predatory energy. Her strikes came fast, fierce, and relentless, each one a blur of power and fury. Alex's instincts screamed at him to fight back, to protect himself—but not against her. Not against Luna.He dodged her slashes, barely managing to avoid the sharp edge of her fury. Each one came so close, so dangerously close, that his wolf instincts were on edge, urging him to retaliate. But he held himself back, every fiber of his being straining not to hurt her, not to add to the chaos she was already battling within herself.This was not the Luna he knew. The woman who once exuded grace, strength, and kindness was gone, replaced by something wild and untamable. She was violent, unpredictable, her every movement a manifestation of raw, untapped power. The woman who had once been his ally, his companion, was now a force of destruction—a storm he couldn't escape.Alex's muscles burned with the effort to stay in control, to play defensive and avoid making any rash moves. He had to keep her safe, even if it meant putting himself in harm's way. The weight of his decisions crushed him, knowing that every dodge, every step back was a concession—one he couldn't afford to make, yet had no choice but to.But even with his restraint, he couldn't avoid all of her attacks.Her fist slammed into his side, the force of the blow sending him stumbling back. He grunted, the shock of the hit reverberating through his ribs, but it was the sting of her power—her dark energy—that cut the deepest, stripping away his defenses with each passing second. He could feel her strength tearing at him, and yet he couldn't bring himself to strike back. Not like this. Not with her so lost.Before he could regain his footing, she lunged again, this time grabbing a jagged piece of broken wood from one of the fallen rogues. The makeshift weapon cut through the air and into his shoulder with brutal force. The pain exploded through him like a bolt of lightning, and he couldn't hold back a sharp hiss as the blood flowed freely, staining both his skin and hers. Her hands, covered in his blood, trembled for the briefest moment—an almost imperceptible sign of hesitation.For a heartbeat, Luna stood still, her breath ragged, as she stared at the blood dripping from her fingers. Her face twisted with something dark, something unfamiliar, and Alex knew then that she was slipping further away from him. His blood, her hands—the sight of it seemed to feed the darkness inside her, pushing her even further into the abyss.The pain in his shoulder was intense, but Alex forced himself to breathe through it. His blood seeped down his arm, mixing with hers, and for a moment, he was just... frozen. Helpless.Then, from the edge of the forest, a low growl echoed through the air, cutting through the tense silence. The sound was primal, feral—and it froze them both in their tracks.Alex's eyes snapped to the source of the growl, his pulse pounding in his ears. For a brief, agonizing moment, Luna seemed to hesitate, the dark cloud of her fury flickering in her eyes. She was still in there, somewhere—but was it too late? Would she even recognize him when she came back? Or had she already crossed a line that could never be uncrossed?