Lucian’s eyes filled with tears he did not let fall. "Thank you."
"Don’t thank me yet," Lilith said. "I still don’t know what I’m going to choose. I still don’t know if I can live with any of the options. But at least..." She stopped. "At least now I know I’m choosing for the right reasons. Not because I hate you. But because I love all of you too much to watch you suffer."
Lucian pulled her close and held her like she might disappear if he let go.
And Lilith moved closer and pressed her head to his chest and let herself be held.
Let herself feel the bonds wrapping around her like chains made of silk and starlight.
Let herself pretend, just for a few more minutes that love might be enough to save them all.
Even though she knew it was not.
***
Nicholas’s POV
The training grounds behind the estate had been transformed into something Nicholas barely recognized.
Where pack warriors usually sparred in wolf form, Victoria’s coven had erected ritual circles drawn in salt and blessed silver. Where weapons racks used to stand, shelves now held jars of dried herbs and crystals that hummed with stored magic. And where Nicholas normally ran drills with the Betas, witches and wolves now worked side by side weaving defensive wards that glowed faintly in the morning light.
It shouldn’t work.
Witches and wolves had been enemies for centuries. Their magic was fundamentally incompatible, earth power versus moon power, cultivation versus instinct, structure versus chaos.
But somehow, Victoria’s people and his pack were making it work.
Nicholas stood at the edge of the training grounds and watched Magdalene, the ancient witch Victoria trusted most....guide three young pack warriors through the process of anchoring wards to pack territory.
"Your energy is wild," Magdalene said, her voice patient despite the obvious frustration of the wolves struggling to contain their power. "That’s not a bad thing. But wild energy needs direction. Channel it here...." She pointed to a specific point in the circle. "Let it flow through the pattern instead of against it."
One of the warriors, a warrior named Marcus who had served the pack for fifteen years, closed his eyes and tried again. His silver wolf energy pulsed outward and this time, instead of scattering uselessly, it caught in Magdalene’s prepared channels and wove itself into the protective ward she was building.
The ward flared bright and held.
"Good," Magdalene said. "Now hold it there while I bind it permanent."
She began chanting in a language older than most supernatural bloodlines. Her magic....green and ancient and smelling of deep forests....wrapped around Marcus’s silver energy and fused the two together.
When she finished, the ward was stronger than anything either witch or wolf could have created alone.
Nicholas felt something loosen slightly in his chest.
Maybe they could do this. Maybe they could hold off Thalia’s next attack long enough to figure out how to save Lilith.
Maybe.
"Impressive, isn’t it?"
Nicholas turned to find Callum standing beside him, the eldest Beta’s expression thoughtful as he watched the training.
"Very," Nicholas admitted.
"Victoria’s people know what they’re doing," Callum said. "I’ve been working with them on defensive strategy. Combining our approaches. What they lack in physical strength, they make up for in magical versatility. And what we lack in magical finesse, we make up for in raw power."
"Can we win?" Nicholas asked bluntly.
Callum was quiet for a moment. "Against Thalia’s first attack? We drove her back, barely. Against whatever she’s planning next?" He shook his head. "I don’t know. We found something last night. Evidence that Thalia’s been gathering allies."
Nicholas went very still. "What kind of allies?"
"Come with me," Callum said. "I’ll show you."
***
*Thirty minutes later*
Lilith stood in the center of a training circle with her hands trembling and Victoria watching her with an expression caught between pride and concern.
"Again," Victoria said. "But this time, focus. Don’t just release your power. Direct it."
Lilith took a breath and tried to gather the magic humming beneath her skin. It felt different than it had a week ago.....stronger, wilder, harder to contain. The curse was feeding it, making it grow exponentially with every day that passed.
She raised her hands and pushed.
White light erupted from her palms.....pure Morvaine magic blazing across the training circle. It hit the target Victoria had set up....a wooden post reinforced with protective wards and exploded through it like it was nothing.
The post shattered. The wards dissolved. And the blast kept going, slamming into the stone wall behind it with enough force to crack the foundation.
Lilith gasped and pulled her power back, but the damage was done.
"I’m sorry," she said immediately. "I didn’t mean to...."
"You’re getting stronger," Victoria interrupted, and there was something complicated in her voice. "Faster than I expected. The curse is amplifying your abilities at an exponential rate."
"Is that good or bad?"
"Both," Victoria admitted. She moved to examine the destroyed target. "The stronger you get, the better chance we have of stopping Thalia when she comes back. But the stronger you get, the less control you have. And power without control is dangerous, Lilith."
"I know," Lilith said quietly. "I can feel it. Like there’s something huge inside me trying to claw its way out."
Victoria turned to look at her with sympathy. "That’s the ancestral magic. You’re the first Morvaine in three generations to have this level of power. Your grandmother Elowen was strong, but you...." She stopped. "You’re something else entirely."
"Because of the curse?"
"Partially," Victoria said. "But also because of who you are. Your father was a wolf. Your mother suppressed your magic for twenty years. And now all that compressed power is exploding to the surface at once. Combined with the curse feeding it...." She shook her head. "You’re becoming one of the most powerful witches alive, Lilith. Whether you want to be or not."
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