CHAPTER 213: LUNA’S UNEXPECTED HELP

LUNA POV

The fake Elder Iris laughed as chaos burst around us. I stood frozen, watching shadow things fight real pack members while Caleb died in Brock’s arms. Hope’s golden glow was fading fast as she prepared to sacrifice her strength.

"Stop!" I screamed, shocking everyone including myself. "This isn’t about who gets to be Luna anymore!"

The fake Elder Iris turned those terrible black eyes on me. "Ah, the jealous beta speaks. Tell me, child, are you finally ready to admit you never deserved to lead?"

Her words hit like poison arrows, hitting every insecurity I’d carried for months. Part of me wanted to shrink back, to let someone else handle this mess. But then I saw Hope’s scared face and felt something change inside my chest.

"You’re right," I said, stepping forward. "I never deserved to lead through birthright alone. But that doesn’t mean I can’t earn it now."

Real pack members and shadow copies fought everywhere, but many wolves stood confused in the middle, unable to tell which was which. The returned pack members who’d broken free from shadow control were too weak to fight successfully.

I could fix this. All those years of diplomacy training, all those lessons in reading people and situations - they weren’t useless just because I’d been selfish before.

"Pack members!" I called out, using every trick I’d learned about projecting power. "Look at their eyes! Shadows have no soul light! Real pack members have silver or gold in their eyes!"

Immediately, the chaos began clearing. Wolves could see the change now that they knew what to look for. Real pack members had warm light in their eyes while shadows had only empty blackness.

"Rally to me!" I continued, pointing to safe places. "Betas, protect the elders! Alphas, guard the children! Omegas, tend the wounded!"

Pack members started moving with purpose instead of panic. But the fake Elder Iris just smiled wider.

"How touching," she said mockingly. "The spoiled beta thinks she can save everyone."

"Maybe I can’t," I admitted, avoiding a shadow creature’s claws. "But I can try. And trying is better than hiding."

I grabbed a fallen tree branch, using it like a staff to direct pack moves. "Mrs. Peterson! Get behind the supply shed! Johnson family - move left toward the treeline! Everyone with children, form a protective circle!"

My diplomatic training kicked in as I organized retreat points and safe zones. The pack began responding to my orders, and I felt a rush of pride. Not because they obeyed me, but because I was actually helping.

The fake Elder Iris snarled as her shadow army became less effective against our planned defense. "You cannot stop what’s already begun, foolish girl."

"Watch me," I snapped back.

I ran toward the weaker pack members who’d returned from shadow control. They looked tired and confused, but they were fighting to stay themselves.

"You’re safe now," I told them, helping Mrs. Peterson to her feet. "The shadows can’t take you again if you remember why you’re fighting."

"Luna?" Mrs. Peterson looked shocked. "You’re helping us?"

"Of course I am," I said, meaning it fully. "We’re all Silver Peak pack."

Through my new link to the pack, I felt their surprise. They’d expected me to run or hide when real danger came. Instead, I was deciding to stand and fight beside them.

But the fake Elder Iris wasn’t finished. She raised her hands, and the lingering shadow creatures began to glow with deadly energy.

"If I cannot have the child’s power through manipulation," she vowed, "I’ll take it through force."

Hope’s golden light flickered weaker as her strength drained away. She was still trying to save Caleb, but the effort was killing her.

"Hope, stop!" I called out. "There has to be another way!"

"There is no other way," the fake Elder Iris laughed. "She saves her uncle and loses everything, or she keeps her power and watches him die. Either choice serves my purpose."

That’s when I understood. This wasn’t wild chaos - it was a carefully planned trap. Someone had been manipulating events to force Hope into an impossible choice.

"Who are you really?" I asked, moving between the fake elder and Hope.

"I am what your pack created," she replied. "Centuries of putting alphas above betas, betas above omegas. Centuries of believing some lives matter more than others. I am the shadow of your inequality, grown strong enough to take form."

The truth hit me like a punch to the stomach. All our pack’s old prejudices, all the unfairness I’d both suffered from and participated in - it had somehow made this monster.

"Then I can unmake you," I said, understanding rushing through me.

"Impossible," the thing hissed. "I am too strong now."

"Not if I prove you wrong," I answered, turning to face the pack. "Everyone listen! This thing feeds on division! It gets stronger when we treat each other as less than equal!"

I looked straight at the omega families I’d looked down on for years. "I’m sorry. I thought being beta made me better than you. I was wrong."

My apology sent waves of shock through the pack, but I wasn’t finished.

"Hope showed us the truth," I continued. "Alpha, beta, omega - we’re all just different parts of the same family. When we forget that, we create monsters like this one."

The fake Elder Iris began to flash as my words reached the pack. Several wolves nodded, understanding starting to dawn.

"Shadow feeds on hate," I said louder. "But we are choosing love!"

The thing shrieked as more pack members joined hands across rank lines. Alphas stood beside omegas. Betas protected everyone equally. The shadow thing began to lose its solid form.

But just as victory seemed possible, the fake Elder Iris smiled with pure evil.

"You think this changes anything?" she laughed. "I am not the only shadow you created. There are dozens of others, hidden throughout the supernatural world, all working toward the same goal."

My blood turned to ice as her meaning sank in.

"Every pack with unfair hierarchies, every coven that excludes certain magic users, every supernatural community that believes in ’pure blood’ - they’ve all created shadows like me. And tomorrow, under the eclipse moon, we will all strike at once."

The fake Elder Iris began to dissolve, her task complete even in defeat.

"Enjoy your small victory," she whispered as she faded away. "It will be your last. When the eclipse comes, every supernatural community on Earth will face their shadows. And unlike you, most will not have a Triple Moon child to save them."

As the creature vanished completely, the immediate danger stopped. The shadow gates closed. Caleb’s wounds began to heal as Hope’s gentle power touched him. Our pack was safe.

But her closing words echoed in my mind with terrible certainty. We hadn’t won a war - we’d only survived the first fight.

And tomorrow night, when the eclipse moon rose, every supernatural group in the world would face their own shadow army.

"We have to warn everyone," I said quickly. "Every pack, every coven, every supernatural group."

Hope looked up at me with eyes that held both baby innocence and ancient knowledge. "Will they listen to warnings from a pack that just learned these lessons ourselves?"

I stared at her, realizing the impossible task ahead of us. We had less than twenty-four hours to convince thousands of supernatural groups to change centuries of prejudice.

Or watch the world burn under shadow forces of their own creation.

"We have to try," I said, even though I knew it might already be too late.