The Wolfless Luna's Revenge: Returning With His Secret Twins-Chapter 295

~Samantha~

"Don’t touch her." Dominic grabbed my arm before I could move forward. "We don’t know who she is or what she wants."

"She’s dying!"

"She could be a trap."

"She’s bleeding silver!" I yanked my arm free. "Silver blood means Silver Claw Clan. Which means she might actually be here to help."

"Or Black Moon sent her to gain our trust." Dominic stepped in front of me anyway, blocking my path. "We wait. See if she wakes up. Then we question her."

"She’ll be dead by then!"

"Then that’s one less problem."

I stared at him. "Are you serious right now?"

"I’m serious about not letting my family get killed by trusting the wrong person." His voice was hard. "We’ve been burned too many times, Sam. I’m not doing it again."

"Dad’s right." Devon’s voice was small. Scared. "What if she’s bad?"

"What if she’s not?" Diana countered. She was staring at the woman with that look she got sometimes. The one that meant she was seeing something the rest of us couldn’t. "Her wolf is dying. I can feel it. It’s crying."

"You can feel it?" I looked at my daughter.

"Yeah. It’s really sad. Like it knows it’s gonna die soon and it’s scared." Diana took a step toward the woman. "We gotta help her."

"Stay back." Dominic’s Alpha command hit hard enough that Diana stumbled.

She turned to glare at him. "Stop doing that! It hurts!"

"Then listen when I tell you something!" Dominic’s control was fraying. I could see it in the way his hands shook. The way his eyes kept flashing between human and wolf. "Everyone just stay exactly where you are until I figure out what’s happening!"

"Figure it out faster then." Killian was crouched near the woman, careful not to touch her but examining the wounds. "These claw marks are fresh. Maybe an hour old. Whatever did this was big. And specifically targeting her face."

"Why the face?" I asked.

"To mark her. To make sure anyone who sees her knows she’s been hunted." Killian’s jaw clenched. "It’s a Black Moon signature move. They did the same thing to the test subjects who tried to escape. Marked them so other packs would know not to help."

The howling from the forest got louder. Closer.

"We need to move." I grabbed the twins, pulling them toward me. "Now."

"We’re not leaving her." Diana twisted in my grip.

"We’re not taking her either." Dominic was already scanning the tree line. "Everyone pack up. We leave in two minutes."

"She’ll die!"

"Better her than us!"

"Dominic."

The woman’s eyes snapped open.

Silver. Bright silver. Almost glowing.

"Don’t leave," she gasped. "Please. They’re coming for the necklace. If you run, they’ll just follow." She coughed and more silver blood spilled from her mouth. "You have to let me help."

"Help how?" Dominic demanded. "By leading them straight to us?"

"By leading them away." She tried to sit up, failed, collapsed back with a groan. "My name’s Lila. Give me the necklace. I’ll take it north. They’ll follow me. You go south with the children. Split their forces."

"And why would you do that?" Dominic moved closer but kept his distance. "What’s in it for you?"

"Redemption." Her voice cracked. "I was supposed to protect the Primordial Luna. Failed. She died. This is my chance to protect her daughter instead."

"You knew my mother?"

"I was her apprentice." The woman’s eyes found mine. "Last one left. Everyone else is dead. Just me. And I’m dying too. But before I do, I can make sure you survive."

"Convenient story." Dominic crossed his arms. "You expect us to believe you’re Silver Claw with no proof?"

"I don’t care what you believe." She coughed again. "But if you want proof," She reached for her shirt with shaking hands. "Help me sit up."

Killian moved before I could. Grabbed her shoulders and pulled her upright. She hissed in pain but didn’t stop him.

Then she lifted her shirt.

Her entire back was covered in markings that looked carved rather than tattooed. Silver lines that caught the light and seemed to move on their own.

Clan markings. I’d seen pictures in my mother’s journals. These were real.

But half of them were wrong.

The silver lines on her left side were turning black. Spreading like ink in water. Corruption eating through the marks, destroying them one by one.

"Satisfied?" Her voice was bitter. "These marks are bonded to my soul. Can’t be faked. Can’t be copied. I’m Silver Claw. And I’m running out of time."

Diana made a small sound. "The black stuff is moving. It’s growing right now."

She was right. As I watched, another silver line turned black. Then another.

"How long?" I asked quietly.

"Days. Maybe less." Lila let her shirt drop. "The corruption reaches my heart, I’m done. But that’s not why I’m here."

"Then why are you here?" Dominic hadn’t moved. Still didn’t trust her.

"Because the necklace can reverse this." Lila pointed at my mother’s necklace still clutched in my hand. "It doesn’t just locate Black Moon’s hideout. It can purify shadow corruption if used at the source. That’s why your mother hid it. Why she made sure it would find you when the time was right."

"The source being Black Moon’s hideout." Killian was putting pieces together. "You want us to take you there so you can use the necklace to cure yourself."

"Not just me. There are others. Silver Claw members who survived the massacre but got corrupted in the process. Five of us left. All dying. All waiting for someone to find that necklace and finish what Elena started."

I couldn’t believe my own ears. "Five people my mother tried to save and couldn’t."

"She saved us from death. Just not from corruption. But she told us about the necklace. Told us if we could hold on long enough, her daughter would find it. Would finish the job."

"By walking into Black Moon’s hideout and activating some magical purification ritual?" Dominic’s voice was heavy with sarcasm. "Sure. Sounds totally safe and not at all like a trap."

"It’s not a trap!"

"You show up bleeding, tell us a convenient story about needing our help, and expect us to just hand over the one thing Black Moon is tracking? No. Absolutely not."

"Then let me prove it." Lila held out her hand. "Give me the necklace for thirty seconds. Let me show you what it does. Then decide."