---- Enough to destroy you and seize the cub's power." "you will never succeed," I said firmly, standing in front of Orion. "Oh, really?" she sneered. "Look at your Alpha, your protector." She gestured, and two Northern wolves dragged something onto the summit. It was Kaelen! Covered in blood, barely recognizable, but still stubbornly breathing. "Look at everything he's done for you," Lyra mocked. "How touching. How... foolish." She approached Kaelen, black tentacles coiling around his neck. "You could have had it all, Kaelen. Power, status, my adoration... but you chose her. Chose weakness." Kaelen struggled to lift his head, his gaze cutting through the blood to look straight at me. "Sera... complete... the ritual..." ---- "Silence!" Lyra angrily tightened the tentacles. " You will all die! First you, then her, and finally the cub's blood will open the Fissure and welcome the Master's arrival!" Just as she was about to end Kaelen's life, I felt the amulet suddenly grow hot. Orion let out an unusual cry, and the ancient stone altar erupted in a blinding silver light! The light spread like a wave, hitting Lyra and her followers. The Northern wolves recoiled in pain, while Lyra screamed, forced to release Kaelen. "This is impossible!" she roared, the black matter starting to smoke under the silver light. "The ritual isn't complete!" Irushed to Kaelen's side, trying to drag him into the altar's protective range. His injuries were horrifying, but he still managed to help me move. "Orion..." he asked weakly, "is he okay?" ---- "He's fine," I sobbed. "He's protecting us." Indeed, incredibly, the silver light from the altar seemed to be emanating from Orion. This tiny life, the product of an Alpha and Luna's blood, was displaying power beyond expectation. We had almost reached the edge of the altar when Lyra let out an inhuman shriek. "No! You won't escape!" Her body completely transformed, becoming a cloud of black mist that lunged towards us. "Watch out!" Rhea yelled, but it was too late. The moment the black mist was about to engulf us, Kaelen suddenly broke free from my support and turned to face Lyra's attack. "No!" I screamed. "Protect Orion," were his last words to me, his eyes filled with endless love. "I love you both." ---- Then, he met the black mist, and he and Lyra vanished together in a blinding flash of light. Amassive shockwave threw me to the ground. The altar's silver light formed a barrier, protecting me, Rhea, and Orion from harm. When the light faded, only the three of us remained on the summit. Kaelen and Lyra were gone, as if they had never existed. "Where... where did he go?" I choked out, unable to believe what I'd seen. Rhea shook her head, tears in her eyes. "He sacrificed himself, taking Lyra into the Shadow Fissure with him." "No..." I knelt on the ground, staring at the spot where they had disappeared. "There must be a way..." But deep down, I knew there was nothing left. Kaelen, to protect us, had made the final, greatest