Chapter 133

Giana's POV

Reports poured in through our communication network like water through a broken dam. Every territory. Every puppet we'd placed so carefully. Every manipulation we'd spent months orchestrating, all of it crashing down at once.

"The Swift River Alpha's demanding answers about his recent decisions."

"Moonrise Pack's Luna remembers being coerced into trade agreements."

"Three council members are investigating memory gaps during crucial votes."

I stood in our command tent surrounded by maps and intelligence reports that had become absolutely worthless overnight. Years of careful infiltration destroyed by one desperate woman with more guts than sense.

But David remained mine.

My mate paced beside me like a caged predator. Once a shy but ambitious young man, deeply unsure of himself.

I had managed to twist his sadness into a purposeful rage. Whispering and nurturing his delusions of rejection and disrespect. I'd spent months encouraging that pain, feeding his hatred, keeping him laser-focused on revenge against the system that could never work with him, and therefore could only serve under him.

The magical conditioning had failed everywhere else. But David's motivation ran deeper than any spell. His love for me burned white-hot.

His fury at believing himself to have been rejected by werewolf society had festered into something beautiful and terrible. His desire to remake the world according to our vision gave him purpose that no broken artifact could touch.

"Aurora destroyed everything we built, darling," I said softly. My hand found his arm, offering comfort while stoking the fire inside him. "She has to pay for interfering with destiny."

David's eyes burned with hatred that couldn't be dispelled by breaking a few magical trinkets. This ran deeper than magic—it was personal vendetta refined into pure, crystalline purpose.

"She thinks breaking some magical baubles saves anyone." His voice carried the authority of someone who'd commanded armies. "She has no idea what real power looks like."

I smiled with predatory satisfaction. Let Aurora celebrate her pathetic little victory. She'd only delayed the inevitable while making this deliciously personal.

"The network was useful for subtle control," I continued, stroking David's ego while redirecting his fury. "But we never needed magic to conquer territories. Your military genius is legendary."

David's shoulders straightened with pride. Even exiled, he remained one of the most dangerous military minds in werewolf society. His tactical expertise was exactly why I'd chosen him as my mate originally.

"How long until our forces reach Blood Moon?" he asked. His voice took on the crisp efficiency of a general planning war.

"By dawn," I replied, consulting our latest intelligence reports. "Three thousand fighters. Professional soldiers, not the ragtag rogues Aurora expects."

The thought of her shock when she realized what she was really facing absolutely delighted me. She'd broken our magical network thinking that ended the threat. Instead, she'd simply forced us to reveal our true strength.

"And Aurora herself?" David's desire to make Aurora suffer made me smile.

"Weakened by the magical backlash," I reported with satisfaction. "The ritual nearly killed her. She'll be in no condition to coordinate effective resistance."

David nodded grimly. His strategic mind was already calculating assault patterns and weak points. Blood Moon's defenses were formidable, but they weren't prepared for the professional army we'd been building in exile.

"This assault will send a message to every territory," he said. His eyes gleamed with anticipation. "Resistance is futile. The old order is ending whether they accept it gracefully or not."

I moved closer, letting my scent and presence reinforce the emotional bonds that kept him devoted to our cause. David's love for me was the foundation of everything we'd built together.

"Once we control Blood Moon, the other territories will fall like dominoes," I murmured against his ear. "They'll see the futility of fighting destiny itself."

Aurora's POV

The intelligence reports painted a picture that made my stomach drop. Giana hadn't just escaped—she'd mobilized an entire army.

"Three thousand professional soldiers," Timothy reported from his hospital bed. Still bandaged but insisting on helping coordinate our defense. "Military equipment, siege weapons, coordinated assault tactics."

I studied the defensive maps spread across the war room table. My mind raced despite the magical exhaustion weighing down every movement. The artifact's destruction had drained me more than I'd expected.

"She wants to recapture the territory and use it as her base for the final assault," I said, tracing possible attack routes with my finger. "Blood Moon controls the central pass between territories. From here, she could split the Alpha King's forces and prevent coordinated resistance."

Raymond stood across the table, his expression grim as he absorbed the strategic implications. His mind was sharp again without the magical conditioning, but months of manipulation had left him uncertain about trusting his own thoughts.

"What are our chances?" he asked quietly.

The honest answer would've been demoralizing. We had maybe eight hundred fighters, most still recovering from recent trauma. Giana's forces were battle-tested professionals with superior equipment and numbers that made this feel like David versus Goliath.

"We have advantages she doesn't expect," I said instead, projecting confidence I didn't feel. "Home territory. Defensive positions. And most importantly, our people are fighting for their freedom, not following orders."

Raymond nodded, but doubt flickered in his eyes. He was remembering his own behavior under conditioning, wondering if our fighters would perform any better under pressure.

"I've sent messages to allied territories requesting immediate military assistance," he reported. "But Giana's timing is deliberate. Most available forces are already committed to defending their own territories from similar threats."

"Then we make our stand here," I said firmly, meeting the eyes of every pack member in the war room. "We hold the line until reinforcements arrive. And we trust each other to do what needs doing."

The determination in their faces gave me hope despite our desperate circumstances. These people had endured months of manipulation and torture. They understood exactly what defeat would mean.

Sue, one of the pack members recently freed from the dungeons, spoke up from her position near the window. "Luna, there's something else. Movement on the eastern approach."

I joined her at the window, squinting through the pre-dawn darkness. Distant lights moved with military precision through the forest. Too organized to be scouts. Too early to be the main assault.

"Advanced reconnaissance," I realized with growing concern. "They're mapping our defensive positions before the primary attack."

The siege was about to begin. We were running out of time to prepare.

"Get everyone to battle stations," I ordered. "And send word to the Alpha King. If Blood Moon falls, the central territories become indefensible."

As pack members rushed to carry out orders, I caught Raymond watching me with an expression I couldn't quite interpret. Respect, maybe. Or regret for everything we'd lost.

"You should be commanding this defense," he said quietly. "You're the one who saw this coming. The one who broke their control. These people trust you more than they trust me right now."

It was probably true. But accepting formal command would mean crossing a line we couldn't uncross

"We command together," I said diplomatically. "Your territory knowledge, my strategic analysis. That's how we survive this."

Raymond's smile was sad but genuine. He understood what I wasn't saying—that this would be our last collaboration as partners in anything.

The war for Blood Moon's survival was about to begin. I had the sinking feeling that Giana's assault would test every alliance, every loyalty, every bond that held werewolf society together.