CHAPTER 83: CHAPTER 83: THE TRUE ALPHA EMERGES

The woman with silver hair stepped fully into the light, and Elara gasped. This wasn’t just any mom. Power radiated from her like moonbeams, and her eyes held the wisdom of ages. "Luna Sophia," Marcus whispered, dropping to one knee. "But you died twenty years ago." "Death is just another door," she said with a gentle smile. "And some doors can be opened when family needs you most." The First Dark snarled, its red eyes blazing with fury. "Another ghost! Do you think the dead can stop me?" "Watch and learn," Sophia said quietly. She raised her hand, and suddenly the Void wasn’t empty anymore. Spirits began appearing all around them - dozens of them, then hundreds. Every Blackwood who had ever died, every Luna who had ever served, every pack member who had given their life for others. "You’re not alone," Sophia told Elara and the boys. "You never were." But even as hope filled their hearts, the scene on Earth got worse. Possessed Celeste was moving on the helpless pack members, her claws dripping with dark energy. "Choose now!" the First Dark yelled. "Your pack dies in thirty seconds!" That’s when Kael did something no one expected. He stepped away from his brothers and mates, walking straight toward the First Dark. "Kael, no!" Elara screamed. "What are you doing?" Ronan demanded. But Kael’s eyes were blazing with purpose. "I’m being the Alpha I was born to be." He stopped right in front of the First Dark, close enough that its shade fell over him like a blanket of ice. "You want to make a deal?" Kael asked. The creature’s red eyes gleamed with attention. "I’m listening." "Take me instead," Kael said simply. "Let my family go back to save the pack. I’ll stay here and fight you alone." "Kael!" Darian shouted. "That’s suicide!" "Maybe," Kael said without turning around. "But that’s what Alphas do. We give ourselves for our pack." The First Dark laughed, a sound like breaking bones. "How brave. But why would I accept when I can have everything?" "Because," Kael said with a cold smile, "you can’t resist a challenge. And I’m daring you to single combat. Winner takes all." Elara felt her heart stop. "Kael, please don’t do this." He finally turned to look at her, and his eyes were soft with love. "I have to. It’s the only way to save everyone." "No," Marcus said strongly. "I won’t let you sacrifice yourself for my mistakes." "Your mistakes?" Kael’s voice was sharp. "Father, you’ve been protecting us our whole lives. Every hard word, every cold look - it was all to make us stronger." Marcus’s eyes filled with tears. "I never wanted you to think I didn’t love you." "I know you love us," Kael said softly. "That’s why I can do this. Because you taught me what it means to be an Alpha." The First Dark grew restless. "Enough! Do we have a deal or not?" Kael nodded. "We do." "Kael, wait!" Elara rushed forward, but invisible walls sprang up around him and the First Dark. "The challenge is accepted," the thing said with glee. "But let’s make it interesting. If you lose, I don’t just take your life. I take your soul and use it to kill everything you love." "And if I win?" Kael asked. "You won’t." The First Dark began to change, its shadow form solidifying into something huge and terrible. It grew claws like swords, teeth like daggers, and its red eyes blazed like twin suns. But Kael didn’t back down. He closed his eyes and reached deep inside himself, finding the Alpha power that had been building his whole life. When he opened them again, they were glowing with pure golden light. "I am Kael Blackwood," he said, his voice carrying across the Void. "Son of Marcus, grandson of Sophia, future Alpha of the strongest pack in the world. And I will not let you hurt my family." The battle began. The First Dark struck first, its claws slashing through the air fast enough to cut reality itself. Kael dodged, his barriers of light deflecting the attacks that came too close. "You can’t win!" the creature roared. "I am eternal darkness!" "And I am eternal love," Kael shot back, his power flaring brighter. He attacked, beams of golden light shooting from his hands. Where they hit the First Dark, it screamed in pain and rage. Outside the battle, Elara watched in fear. She could feel Kael’s determination through their mate bond, but she could also feel his fear. He was strong, but the First Dark was older than creation itself. "There has to be another way," she whispered. "There is," Sophia said quietly. "But it requires all of you to trust each other completely." "What do you mean?" Ronan asked. Sophia pointed to the battle. "Look closer. What do you see?" Darian used his truth-sight, and his golden eyes widened. "The First Dark isn’t just facing Kael. It’s feeding on his feelings - his fear, his anger, his desperation." "Exactly," Sophia nodded. "The creature gets stronger from negative feelings. But what if Kael felt something else?" Understanding dawned on Elara’s face. "Love. If he felt completely loved and supported..." "The First Dark would weaken," Marcus ended. "But how can we reach him through the barriers?" "The mate bond," Elara said suddenly. "And the family bond. They’re stronger than any barrier." She grabbed Ronan and Darian’s hands. "Think about Kael. Think about how much we love him, how proud we are, how we believe in him." The three of them closed their eyes and poured every positive feeling they had through their bonds to Kael. Inside the battle, Kael tripped as their love hit him like a wave of warm sunshine. The First Dark’s next attack missed, and for the first time, the thing looked confused. "What’s happening?" it snarled. Kael smiled, and his golden light grew brighter. "I’m remembering who I really am." He wasn’t just an Alpha. He was a brother, a mate, a son, a grandson. He was part of something bigger than himself, something that could never be killed. The First Dark attacked again, but this time Kael was ready. He caught its claws with his bare hands, and where they touched, the creature’s darkness began to burn away. "Impossible!" it screamed. "Nothing’s impossible," Kael said, his voice calm and strong, "when you have family." The battle turned. Every attack the First Dark made was weaker than the last, while Kael got stronger with each passing moment. Soon the thing was backing away, fear replacing anger in its red eyes. "This isn’t over!" it roared. "Even if you beat me, there are others! Darker things than me waiting in the space between worlds!" Kael pressed his edge, his golden light surrounding the First Dark like a cage. "Then we’ll face them too. Together." The creature made one last desperate attack, putting all its remaining power into a strike that could shatter mountains. But Kael was ready. He opened his heart fully, letting all his love for his family flow through him. The golden light exploded outward, and the First Dark’s scream of rage turned into a wail of loss. Its form began to vanish, darkness peeling away like old paint. "You think you’ve won," it gasped with its dying breath. "But the real enemy isn’t me. It’s the one who sent me. And she’s already on Earth." With that, the First Dark crumbled to nothing, leaving only empty Void behind. The barriers around Kael faded, and Elara ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck. "You did it! You actually did it!" But Kael’s face was grim. "Did you hear what it said? About someone who sent it?" Darian nodded, his truth-sight already looking for answers. "There’s something else coming. Something worse." Marcus stepped forward, his face pale. "We need to get back to Earth. Now." "But who could be worse than the First Dark?" Ronan asked. Sophia’s face was troubled. "There’s only one being I can think of who would have that kind of power over the First Dark." "Who?" Elara asked. Before Sophia could answer, the Void around them began to crack like broken glass. Through the cracks, they could see Earth - but not the Earth they knew. The sky was black, the moon was blood red, and standing in the center of the Blackwood area was a figure that made everyone’s blood run cold. A woman in a flowing black dress, with silver hair and eyes like stars. She looked exactly like the Moon Goddess, but wrong somehow. Dark instead of light, cruel instead of kind. "The Shadow Goddess," Sophia whispered in horror. "The Moon Goddess’s twin sister. I thought she was locked away forever." The woman on Earth raised her hand, and every sick rogue fell to their knees. Even possessed Celeste bowed her head in respect. "Hello, little wolves," the Shadow Goddess said, her voice carrying across worlds. "Did you really think beating my pet would stop me? I’ve been waiting eons for this moment." She smiled, and her teeth were black as midnight. "Time to collect what’s mine."