CHAPTER 49: THE NIGHT BEFORE

Lily POV

The blast knocked me backward into the cave wall, my head spinning as rocks crashed down around us. Through the dust and chaos, I could hear the ancient evil’s laughter getting louder from the crack in the floor.

"Everyone out!" Aiden shouted, grabbing my arm to pull me toward the tunnel opening. "The whole mountain is coming down!"

But as we ran through the falling caves, I realized something terrible. The controlled dogs weren’t following us. They were just standing there, their empty black eyes looking at nothing while rocks fell on them.

"We can’t leave them!" I screamed, pulling away from Aiden. "They’re still pack members!"

"Lily, no!" Caleb reached for me, but I was already running back toward the room.

My healing powers flared to life, making a silver shield above the controlled wolves just as a huge chunk of ceiling crashed down. The shield held, but I could feel my strength draining fast.

"Come on," I whispered to the nearest controlled wolf, a young beta from the River Pack. "You’re still in there somewhere. Fight the dark magic!"

For just a second, something flickered in his black eyes. Hope, maybe. Or fear. But then the shadows took over again, and he turned away like I didn’t exist.

That’s when the ground beneath my feet started sparkling with green light. The old evil was climbing closer to the surface, and every controlled wolf in the cave began walking toward the crack like they were being called home.

I had maybe ten seconds before they all marched straight into the monster’s ready jaws.

Without thinking, I grabbed the Triple Moon mark on my wrist and pushed every bit of healing power I had into it. Silver light burst from my skin, washing over all the controlled wolves at once.

The effort sent me crashing to my knees, but it worked. One by one, the black faded from their eyes as they blinked in confusion.

"Where are we?" the River Pack beta asked, looking around in fear.

"Run!" I gasped, pointing toward the tunnel. "Get out of here!"

As the freed wolves ran for safety, I tried to stand but couldn’t. Using that much power at once had drained me totally. My vision was getting blurry, and I could hear the old evil roaring with anger from below.

Strong arms lifted me up. Brock carried me toward the tunnel opening while Aiden and Caleb helped guide the freed wolves to safety.

We made it out just as the entire cave system fell behind us. For a moment, I thought we’d won. The old evil was buried under tons of rock, and all the controlled wolves were free.

Then the ground started shaking again, harder than before.

"It’s not over," Elder Iris said grimly, appearing beside us with a group of pack fighters. "Burying the thing won’t stop it. The Shadow Wolves have been feeding it power for months. It’s too strong now."

As if to prove her point, green light started seeping up through cracks in the collapsed cave entrance. The old evil was digging its way out.

"How long do we have?" Alpha Marcus asked, coming with more pack members.

"Until tomorrow night’s full moon," Elder Iris answered. "That’s when it will reach full power. After that, nothing will be able to stop it."

My heart sank. We’d saved the controlled dogs, but the real threat was still coming. And I’d used up most of my healing power in the rescue. I could barely stay awake, let alone fight an old monster.

"We need to get everyone to safety," I said softly. "Evacuate the packs. Get as far away as possible."

"And go where?" Luna asked, surprising me by sounding truly worried instead of mean. "If that thing breaks free, it won’t stop with our area. It’ll keep getting stronger until it devours every wolf pack in existence."

She was right. Running wouldn’t save anyone. We had to find a way to stop the old evil here and now.

As the pack leaders argued about fight plans, exhaustion finally won. I collapsed right there in the forest, my body shutting down from magical abuse.

But instead of normal sleep, I found myself somewhere else entirely.

I was standing in a place that looked like the Sacred Grove, but different. Older. The trees were bigger, the moonlight brighter, and the air hummed with old magic.

"Welcome, sister."

I spun around to see a woman who looked like me, but older. She wore simple clothes, and on her wrist was a bright Triple Moon mark just like mine.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I’m Elena, the first Triple Moon bearer," she said with a sad smile. "I’ve been waiting to speak with you."

As she spoke, more women appeared around us. All different ages, from different time periods, but they all had the same mark on their wrists.

"We are all the Triple Moon bearers who came before you," Elena explained. "And we’re here to warn you about tomorrow night."

"Warn me about what?"

An older woman with silver hair stepped forward. "My name is Sarah. I was the Triple Moon carrier three hundred years ago. I fought the Shadow Wolves when they first tried to wake the old evil."

"Did you win?" I asked hopefully.

Sarah’s face darkened. "We stopped them, but at a cost. Every Triple Moon bearer who has faced this thing has had to make the same terrible choice."

"What choice?"

Elena took my hands in hers, and I could feel the sadness spreading from her touch. "To defeat the ancient evil permanently, a Triple Moon bearer must give her own life force. It’s the only way to break the link between the creature and the pack bonds it feeds on."

My blood turned to ice. "You’re saying I have to die?"

"Not just die," said another woman. "Give up everything that makes you who you are. Your healing skills, your connection to the pack bonds, your very soul. It all gets used up in the banishing spell."

I shook my head desperately. "There has to be another way. I just found my mate. I’m supposed to help change the pack. I can’t just throw my life away!"

"We all felt the same way," Sarah said softly. "I had just married my true mate when the trouble came. I wanted nothing more than to live a normal life with him."

"So what did you do?"

"I chose my pack over my own happiness," she replied. "Just like every Triple Moon bearer before you will have to do."

Elena squeezed my hands tighter. "The ancient evil can only be defeated by the full sacrifice of a Triple Moon bearer’s power. But Lily, you need to know something else."

"What?"

"If you make this choice, everyone you save will forget you ever existed. The magic that destroys the old evil also erases all memory of the Triple Moon bearer who cast it. Your friends, your family, your mate – they’ll all go on with their lives as if you never lived."

The words hit me like a physical blow. Not only would I have to die, but no one would even remember me afterward? Caleb would forget we were mates? Aiden and Brock would forget I was their friend? The entire pack would go back to treating omegas like slaves, never knowing I’d died to save them?

"That’s not fair!" I shouted. "Why should I sacrifice everything if no one will even know I existed?"

"Because," Elena said softly, "that’s what it means to be a Triple Moon child. We don’t save people for fame or gratitude. We save them because it’s right."

The other women nodded gravely. Each of their faces showed the same pain I was feeling – the agony of knowing they’d given up everything and got nothing in return.

"I can’t," I whispered. "I won’t. There has to be another way."

"There isn’t," Sarah said definitely. "We’ve all tried to find solutions. Every Triple Moon bearer hopes she’ll be the one to find a different solution. But the magic doesn’t lie. Complete sacrifice is the only way."

The dream world began to fade around the edges. I was waking up.

"Wait!" I called out. "How do I cast the banishment spell? What do I have to do?"

Elena’s voice grew distant as the picture dissolved. "When the time comes, you’ll know. The Triple Moon mark will guide you. But remember, Lily – once you begin the spell, there’s no going back. Choose wisely."

I jolted awake in my own bed back at the pack house. Caleb was sitting beside me, his face tight with worry.

"You’ve been unconscious for twelve hours," he said, relief clear in his voice. "How do you feel?"

For a moment, I wanted to tell him everything. About the vision, about the decision I’d have to make, about how tomorrow night might be the last time we’d ever be together.

Instead, I forced a smile and said, "Better. Much better."

But inside, my heart was breaking. Because now I knew the truth. To save everyone I loved, I’d have to give up my life and accept that they’d never even remember I existed.

The only question left was whether I was brave enough to make that choice.

Outside our window, the sun was setting. One day left until the full moon. One day left to decide if I could save everyone by destroying myself.

And somewhere deep underground, I could feel the ancient evil stirring, getting stronger with each passing hour, waiting for tomorrow night when it would finally break free.

Unless I stopped it first.