Chapter 28: Goddess's Bargain
The world fell apart around Liana. When she closed her eyes, red moonlight shone in. It felt like her body had no weight and was floating in the empty space between life and death. When it touched her chest, the pendant felt very cold.
"Open your eyes, child." Liana did what she was told. She was in a place that didn't seem real. Silver mist spun around her feet, and even though the Blood Moon was shining, stars were still beating in the sky. A woman made of moonlight stood in front of her. Her face shifted constantly - sometimes young, sometimes old, always beautiful and terrible at once. Goddess of the Moon. "You called to me with such force," the goddess said, her voice like wind through trees. "Such desperation." "Jace is dying," Liana said bluntly. "I can't lose him." "Yet you heard the warning. The choice between one life and many."
"There has to be another way." Liana's hands curled into fists. "There's always another way." The goddess tilted her ever-changing head. "Perhaps. But every road has its price." "Name it." "So quick to bargain?" The goddess smiled, showing teeth like stars. "You don't even know what I'll ask." "I don't care. Whatever it takes to save him and finish the prophecy." "Very well." The goddess stepped closer, her form hardening slightly. "I can save your mate and maintain the ritual. But you must give part of your power - permanently." Liana didn't pause. "Done." "You didn't let me finish." The goddess's eyes glowed brighter. "Not just any power. The ancient strength you inherited. Selene's gift. Half of what makes you special will burn away forever." "I said done." Liana met the goddess's eyes without flinching. "Power means nothing if the people I love are gone." The goddess studied her for a long moment. "You truly mean that." "Test me." "I believe I will." The goddess reached out, touching Liana's face with one ethereal finger. "The ritual needs blood from all three brothers mixed with yours. Under the Blood Moon's peak, you must join your life forces." "How?" "You'll know." The goddess began to fade. "But understand this - once started, the ritual cannot be stopped. And the price will be paid whether it wins or fails." "Wait!" Liana called out. "What about the prophecy? The real meaning?" The goddess's voice echoed as she vanished. "You've already begun to understand. True change takes sacrifice. True power needs unity. True love needs choice." Liana gasped, crashing back into her body. The red moonlight felt solid, heavy. Jace lay still beside her, the black poison nearly at his heart. "Liana!" Kael grabbed her shoulders. "What happened? You were gone for-" "No time." She pushed past him, kneeling by Jace. "I know what to do." Elder Mira stepped forward. "Child, whatever you're planning-" " The Moon Goddess offered a deal." Liana pulled out the silver dagger, making everyone gasp. "Blood from all three brothers, mixed with mine. That's the key." "You'll kill him!" Rowan protested. "He's already dying." Liana's voice stayed steady despite her rushing heart. "Trust me."
She made a small cut on her hand, then held out the dagger. "Kael first." The biggest triplet stared at her, then at his dying brother. Understanding flickered in his grey eyes. He took the blade and cut his palm without delay. "Now you, Rowan." The smallest triplet's hand shook as he made his cut. "If this doesn't work-" "It will." Liana sounded more sure than she felt. "Because it has to." She pressed her bloody hand against Kael's, then Rowan's. The moment their blood mixed, the pendant burst with light. Not silver this time - deep red, like the moon above. "Now Jace." Liana gently took his limp hand, cutting his palm. The black poison hissed when the blade touched it. Four hands joined in a circle. Four families becoming one. The ground shook. Wind howled through the clearing. The Blood Moon beat like a giant heart. "Look," Talia whispered. "Their blood..." The mixed blood didn't drip down. Instead, it flowed upward, making strange symbols in the air. Ancient words Liana somehow understood. "The ritual's starting," Mira breathed. "After all these centuries..." Pain shot through Liana's brain. Not just physical - something deeper. She felt part of herself burning away, just as the goddess warned. The wild strength that had always set her apart began to fade. But something else took its place. Three voices echoed in her mind - not through the mate bond, but somewhere deeper.
She could feel Kael's steady strength, Jace's fierce desire, Rowan's quiet wisdom. And they could feel her. "What's happening?" Kael gasped. "The true bond," Mira said in awe. "I've only read about it in the oldest books. When four souls join completely..." The symbols burned brighter. Liana felt information flooding her mind - not just Selene's memories, but something older. The first wolves. The basic pack. Before ranks and orders, when all wolves were equal. "That's what we lost," she whispered. "That's what the promise means. Not choosing between mates, but deciding to restore what was broken." "Kael represents strength," Talia said, her seer's eyes wide. "Jace represents fire. Rowan represents wisdom." "And Liana represents change," Mira finished. "Together, you are the four pillars of the new world." The black poison in Jace's veins began to flee. His gray skin warmed. But Liana felt herself getting weaker as her power drained away. "Hold on," Kael said through their new link. She felt his strength flowing into her. "We've got you," Rowan added, his knowledge soothing her fear. The ritual reached its peak. The marks burst into flame, then settled into their joined hands like tattoos. The Blood Moon's light focused on them like a torch. Liana felt the last of Selene's old power leave her. But she didn't feel empty. Instead, she felt complete - connected to something bigger than herself. Jace's eyes fluttered open.
"Did someone get the number of that truck?" he croaked. Liana laughed and cried at the same time. "You're alive." "Apparently." He tried to sit up, then froze. "Wait. Why can I hear you all in my head?" "The ritual," Liana explained. "It linked us. All four of us." "Permanently?" Kael asked. Before anyone could answer, a howl split the night. Then another. And another. "The pack," Mira said quickly. "They felt the ritual's power. They're coming." "So is Darius," Talia said, her eyes going white. "And Celeste. They know what you've done." Liana stood, helping Jace up. She felt different - not weaker exactly, but changed. The raw power was gone, replaced by something steady. "Let them come," she said. "But your power-" Rowan started. "I don't need ancient strength anymore." Liana looked at each triplet. "I have you three." Through their new bond, she felt their feelings - love, determination, fear, hope.
Four brains thinking as one. "The old ways are ending," Kael said, understanding rushing through their link. "This is what the prophecy really meant." "A new kind of pack," Jace added. "Where power isn't about dominance." "Where every wolf matters," Rowan finished. The screams grew louder. Hundreds of wolves racing toward them, pulled by the ritual's call. "Ready?" Liana asked. Three voices replied in perfect unison - both aloud and in her mind. "Always." The Blood Moon bathed them in crimson light as they faced their fate together. But deep in the forest, something else stirred. Something old. Something that had slept since the first dogs walked the earth. And it was hungry.