CHAPTER 76: CHAPTER 76: ELARA’S SACRIFICE

The Void swallowed them whole, but instead of nothingness, Elara found herself standing in a twisted version of the Blackwood land. Everything looked wrong—the trees grew upside down, the sky was beneath their feet, and the moon hung like a broken mirror in what should have been the ground.

"Where are we?" Celeste whispered, her voice echoing weirdly. "Between worlds," Tobias answered grimly. "The space where the Void Walker has been hiding." The pack stood together in a tight circle, their joined hands still glowing with silver light. But the light was fading fast, and with it, their strength. "The unity bond won’t last long here," Marcus warned. "This place feeds on division and mistrust." As if his words were a trigger, the twisted scenery began to shift around them. Suddenly, they weren’t standing together anymore. Each person found themselves alone in a different version of their worst experience. Elara stood in the old omega rooms, watching a younger version of herself being mocked by other pack members. But this time, the memory was worse—instead of just cruel words, they were hitting her, telling her she was useless. "None of it was real," she told herself. "It’s just the Void trying to break me."

But the fake memory felt totally real, and she could feel doubt creeping into her heart. Maybe she really was just a weak omega who didn’t deserve to be Luna. "Stop fighting it," a familiar voice said behind her. She spun around to see Marcus walking toward her—not the broken, guilty Marcus from the real world, but the confident, powerful Alpha he used to be. "This isn’t real either," she said, backing away. "Isn’t it?" Marcus smiled, and his presence felt warm and safe in a way the real Marcus never had. "Look around, Elara. Your mates aren’t here to save you. Your pack isn’t here to help you. It’s just you and me, like it should have been from the beginning." "What do you mean?" "I mean I’ve been an idiot," Marcus said, his voice gentle and loving. "Fighting against the mate bond, trying to control everything, making deals with dark forces. When the answer was so simple." He held out his hand to her. "Join with me freely, and I’ll use my Alpha power to send your mates back to the real world safely. They’ll live full lives, find other loves, be happy." "You’re lying," Elara said, but her voice trembled. "Am I? Look." The twisted landscape changed, showing her images of Kael, Ronan, and Darian trapped in their own nightmare memories.

Kael was reliving the moment he first refused her, but this version was crueler—he was telling the entire pack that she disgusted him. Ronan was watching himself fail to protect everyone he cared about, over and over. Darian was surrounded by whispers telling him he would always be the least important brother. "They’re suffering," Marcus said softly. "Every second we waste here is pain for them. But if you take my offer, they’ll be free." "And what happens to me?" Marcus’s smile turned sad. "You become my Luna, as it should have been. The mate bond was always meant to be between you and me, not my kids. The Moon Goddess made a mistake when she tied you to three people instead of one." "That’s not true." "Isn’t it? Think about it, Elara. One mate, one tie, one simple love story. Wouldn’t that be easier than trying to love three different people who all want different things from you?" Despite herself, Elara felt tempted. It would be easy. No more jealousy between the boys, no more complicated emotions, no more feeling like she had to choose between them. "I can give you the uncomplicated love you’ve always wanted," Marcus added. "No politics, no pack drama, no ancient predictions. Just a man who thinks you’re perfect exactly as you are." He stepped closer, and she didn’t move away.

"Your mates will thank you for setting them free. Deep down, they know this bond is strange. Three people can’t truly love one person without anger." "They don’t resent me," Elara said weakly. "Don’t they? Kael resents sharing you with his brothers. Ronan resents that you sometimes choose logic over emotions. Darian resents that he’ll never be your first choice." Each word hit like a physical blow because part of her had worried about these exact things. Late at night, when she couldn’t sleep, she’d thought if the triplets would be happier without the complicated bond. "I can take all that pain away," Marcus said, reaching out to touch her face. "For all of you." In the distance, she could hear the triplets screaming her name, but their voices sounded far away and faded. "They’re dying," Marcus said quickly. "The Void is devouring their memories, their souls, everything that makes them who they are. In minutes, they’ll be gone forever." "But if I agree to bond with you—" "They’ll be brought back to the real world, alive and whole. My Alpha power combined with your Luna skills can break them free from this place." Elara closed her eyes, tears running down her face. "You swear they’ll be safe?" "I swear on my honor as an Alpha." She opened her eyes and looked at him. "And you’ll never hurt them again?" "Never. They’ll be free to live their own lives, make their own choices, love whoever they want."

The screaming in the background was getting weaker. Soon, there would be nothing left of Kael, Ronan, and Darian but empty shells. "Alright," she whispered. "I accept." Marcus smiled with real relief and joy. "Thank you, Elara. You won’t regret this." He held out his hand, and silver light began to glow between them as she reached toward him. The moment their skin touched, power burst outward, washing over the twisted landscape. But instead of the warm, safe feeling Marcus had promised, Elara felt something else entirely—a trap snapping shut around both of them. Marcus’s eyes widened in shock. "What did you do?" "I set a trap," Elara said quietly, her tears disappearing. "Just like I planned." The fake landscape crumbled away, showing the truth. They weren’t in some quiet memory—they were standing in the heart of the Void Walker’s power, and Marcus wasn’t the kind, caring Alpha from her vision. He was still the desperate, power-hungry man who had betrayed his own kids. "You knew," he gasped. "You knew it was an illusion." "I figured it out when you said the mate bond was a mistake," Elara responded. "The real Marcus might be mean and selfish, but he’s not stupid. He knows the Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes." Around them, the real Blackwood Pack was still trapped in their nightmare memories, but now Elara could see the silver threads connecting all of them—the ties of family, friendship, and love that the Void Walker was trying to break.

"By pretending to betray them, I got you to reveal your true plan," she continued. "You’re not Marcus at all, are you?" The fake Marcus began to change, his features changing into something horrible and familiar. "Very clever, little Luna," the Void Walker said, its real form revealed at last. "But you’ve still given me exactly what I wanted—your willing assistance. The bond you just formed with me is real, and now I can use your power to escape this jail forever." "Actually," Elara said with a smile that made the thing step back in fear, "you can’t." "What?" "Because I didn’t bond with you. I bonded with him." She pointed behind the Void Walker, where the real Marcus stood with silver chains wrapped around his wrists—chains that now connected directly to Elara. "When you pretended to be Marcus, you forgot something important," she said. "A Luna’s bond can only form with someone who truly loves her, even if that love is warped or selfish. The real Marcus does love me, in his own broken way. You? You’re incapable of love." The Void Walker screamed with rage as it realized the trap. By impersonating Marcus, it had allowed the real Alpha to get close enough for Elara to make a binding. "Now, Marcus," she ordered. Marcus raised his chained hands and spoke words in the old language. The silver links blazed with light, wrapping around the Void Walker like a net. "This won’t hold me long," the thing snarled. "It doesn’t have to," Elara responded. "It just has to hold you long enough for my real mates to wake up." Behind her, three familiar voices called her name—not in pain this time, but in recognition and love.

The triplets had broken free from their dreams. But as they rushed toward her, the Void Walker played its final card. "If I cannot have this realm," it screamed, "then I’ll drag all of you into the space between spaces, where not even death exists!" The ground beneath their feet began to crack, showing an endless fall into true nothingness below.