Chapter Thirty: Last Stand

Chapter Thirty: Last Stand

The air was thick with tension, crackling electrically with a raw power that seemed to hum below Ava's skin. Standing beside Damien, she watched as the rogue wolves - along with their mystery leading lady - closed in on them. The woman was suffocating, her dark magic pressing against the edges of Ava's mind, squeezing tight.

"Damien," Ava whispered, her voice barely above a whisper over the wind that seemed to cut across the clearing. "What is she? Who are they?

Damien's wolf form was taut, every muscle coiled and ready to spring into action. His golden eyes never left the woman, and his growl reverberated through the trees, a warning to anyone who dared approach. "They're not just rogue wolves," he said, his voice a low rumble that carried a hint of disbelief. "She's something much worse. A witch. A blood mage."

Ava's breath caught in her throat. Blood magic. She had heard the whispers of such dark arts but had never imagined they could be this real, this dangerous. The woman standing before them was no ordinary enemy; she was something older, something connected with the very forces Damien and the pack had been fighting against for so long.

The witch-the blood mage-smiled, a cruel shine in her eyes. "You really thought you could control the Bloodstone, didn't you, Alpha?" she taunted, her voice silky and cold. "You thought it would be enough to protect your pack, to keep your little human by your side." She looked at Ava with disdain, her gaze burning through her. "But you're all just pawns in a much larger game."

Ava's heart skipped a beat. The Bloodstone. It was more than just an artifact-it was a key. A key to something powerful, something that could tip the balance in favor of the wrong hands. And right now, it seemed like those hands belonged to the woman standing before them.

"You won't win," Damien growled, his body shifting as he prepared for battle. His eyes, burning with a mix of determination and fury, locked onto the blood mage. "I won't let you use the Bloodstone to destroy everything I've built. This pack-my people-are mine to protect."

The woman's smile widened, and a cruel, predator glint came into her eyes. "Protect them? You have already failed, Alpha. This pack will fall. You will fall. And with you, the Bloodstone will be mine.

Before anyone could react, the woman raised her hand, and the air seemed to thicken with an otherworldly force. The trees around them groaned, bending as though they were being pulled toward her. Ava could feel the magic swirling around her, tugging at her, as if the very earth beneath her feet was trying to pull her into the darkness.

Damien sprang forward in his enormous wolf form, a blur of fur and muscles hurtling at the blood mage, and Ava watched with bated breath. She, however, didn't sit around doing nothing. Her hand shot out instinctively for the Bloodstone at her neck, and within that moment, she had felt energy surge through her.

It was as if the Bloodstone itself knew the danger, and thus reacted to the threat before her. The magic resting inside of it, the magic that had coursed through her since the very moment she first touched it, now rippled outwards, pushing against the dark magic of the blood mage.

Ava gasped, her sight blurring as the world around her seemed to turn. It was too much power; she could feel the weight of it bearing down upon her. She felt connected into the very heart of the earth, the lifeblood of the pack itself, and she was that conduit to decide their fate.

Damien's voice cut through the chaos, urgent and fierce. "Ava! You gotta focus! Don't let it control you!"

The blood mage's laughter, a sound like a sharp and mocking bell, rang out across the clearing. "She's too weak," she jeered. "With the Bloodstone, she is but a fragile human; she cannot fight me without power to back her.

But Ava wasn't listening anymore. She was focused entirely on the Bloodstone, feeling its energy thrumming through her veins, merging with the power that Damien had always carried as an Alpha. It was like the two forces were colliding, working together to form something greater than either alone.

The magic flew back with a scream that seemed to emanate from the earth beneath their feet as Ava forced it. With a brilliant light pulsating from it, for one eternal moment, everything seemed to hold still-the forest, the wind, even the wolves-apparently in astonishment at the power that swirled around Ava now.

The blood mage recoiled, her hands rising in an attempt to block the force, but it was too late. The magic that had tried to tear them apart now turned against her. With a blinding flash, the witch was thrown backward, slamming into the trees with a force that cracked the trunks and sent them splintering into the air.

For a moment, Damien stood frozen, his eyes wide in shock as he watched Ava, the girl he had once thought of as vulnerable, now wielding the power of the Bloodstone with unmatched intensity. The power she had unlocked was not just magical; it was the bond between them, the connection forged in blood, in trust, and in love.

The rogue wolves, seeing their leader fall, hesitated. They were still dangerous, still poised to fight, but the shift in the air was undeniable. Ava had shown them something that would be impossible to ignore. She wasn't just human anymore—she was a force, a key to something much greater than they had anticipated.

The power bucked through Ava, making her knees wobble, but she held her stance, clasping the Bloodstone tightly. The rogue wolves seemed to realize that this was turning out very badly for them as their assurance faltered, looking to the blood mage, who struggled to rise from the ground.

Damien stepped forward, now shifting back to his human form, his eyes never leaving Ava. "You did it," he said, his voice low with awe.

But Ava wasn't done yet. She knew this wasn't over. The rogue wolves were still a threat, and the blood mage—though wounded—was far from defeated.

"I won't let them take that away," Ava said, firm-voiced. She still felt the echoes of the magic coursing through her veins, but with them, too, the promise: she would never let any being tear asunder the world she and Damien had managed to build together.

Right on cue, the rogue wolves growled and shifted into their wolf forms, their eyes ablaze with fury. The blood mage, still reeling from the force of Ava's magic, lifted her hand in preparation to strike back.

But Ava was no longer afraid. She had the power of the Bloodstone, the power of the pack, and most of all, the love and loyalty of the Alpha at her side.

The final battle was upon them.

And this time, Ava was ready.