Chapter 84: Breaking Point
The forest erupted into chaos as Korvin’s wolves pressed their attack. The boys’ fractured unity made them easy targets.
Rafe fought like a man possessed, throwing himself at every enemy that came near Bella with reckless abandon. His usual careful strategy was gone, replaced by desperate, dangerous moves that left him exposed to counterattacks.
"Rafe, watch your left flank!" Cassian shouted, but Rafe didn’t care.
A gray wolf lunged at him from behind, he barely twisted away in time. The enemy’s claws raked across his shoulder, drawing blood, but he didn’t slow down. He spun and buried his own claws in the attacker’s throat.
"He’s going to get himself killed," Luca growled to Cassian as they fought back to back.
Luca’s own fighting was compromised by the mate bond pulling at him constantly. Every time Bella cried out in pain or fear, his attention split between the enemy in front of him and the overwhelming need to reach her side.
A black wolf took advantage of his distraction, slamming into his ribs and sending him sprawling. He rolled to avoid a deep bite and came up swinging, but his coordination was off.
"Focus, Luca!" Bella called out, slashing at a wolf that had gotten too close to her. "I’m fine, just fight!"
But he couldn’t focus. The bond made it impossible. Every scratch on her skin felt like fire in his chest. Every moment she was in danger made his wolf howl with the need to protect her.
Cassian found himself fighting alone more often than not as his friends battled their own demons along with the enemy. He began to notice details in the midst of combat that the others were missing.
"The letters," he called out during a brief lull. "Killian, check those letters again!"
But Killian wasn’t listening. His attention was split between the wolves attacking them and keeping Rafe away from Bella. Every time Rafe moved to protect her, Killian intercepted him, treating his oldest friend like another enemy.
"Stay away from her!" Killian snarled when he tried to help Bella fend off two wolves at once.
"She needs help!" Rafe shot back, his eyes wild with frustration and hurt.
"Not from you, traitor!"
The argument created a gap in their defenses. Korvin’s wolves exploited that immediately. Three enemies rushed through the opening, forcing Bella to face them alone while the boys fought each other.
Cassian saw the tactical disaster unfolding and tried to fill the gap himself, but he couldn’t be everywhere at once. "This is insane!" he shouted. "We’re going to get us killed!"
That’s when he got close enough to Killian to grab the forged letters from his hands. In the brief seconds he scanned the handwriting more carefully.
"Killian, these letters are fake," he said, blocking a wolf’s lunge with his forearm. "Look at the way the R’s are written. Rafe loops his R’s differently."
"You’re defending him too?" Killian snapped back. "Maybe you’re both working with Maren!"
Cassian’s patience finally snapped. "Are you insane? Look at the dates! This letter talks about Bella’s shifting process, but it’s dated from before she even shifted! How could Rafe know details that hadn’t happened yet?"
But his words were lost in the sounds of battle. A massive brown wolf tackled him to the ground before he could continue his explanation, and the letters scattered in the dirt.
Korvin watched the chaos with satisfaction from the edge of the clearing. "Beautiful," he murmured to himself. "They’re destroying themselves faster than we could kill them."
He gestured to his remaining wolves, directing them to increase the pressure on the fractured group. "Focus on separating them further," he ordered. "Keep Moonblood isolated."
The wolves followed his command, using coordinated attacks to drive wedges between the boys and Bella. Soon she found herself fighting alone again, the boys far away from her.
"Help me!" she cried out, but Killian was still focused on Rafe. Luca trying to reach her but kept getting cut off, Cassian pinned down by two wolves.
Rafe heard her call and made his choice. Despite Killian’s accusations, despite the letters, despite everything, he couldn’t watch Bella die.
"I don’t care if you think I’m a traitor," he said to Killian. "I’m not letting her die."
He broke away from their confrontation and charged toward Bella, ignoring the wolves that tried to intercept him. His claws found their mark again and again as he carved a path through the enemy ranks.
"Rafe, no!" Cassian shouted, seeing what was about to happen.
Korvin had been waiting for this moment. As Rafe reached Bella and began fighting the wolves surrounding her, he struck from the shadows.
Korvin’s massive form slammed into Rafe from behind, his claws extended like daggers. They punched through Rafe’s chest, emerging bloody from the other side.
Rafe gasped, his eyes going wide with shock and pain. But instead of falling, he grabbed Korvin’s wrists and held on, preventing the enemy leader from withdrawing his claws for a second strike.
"Bella," Rafe whispered, blood frothing at his lips. "Run."
Korvin snarled and tried to pull his claws free, but Rafe’s grip held firm even as his life bled out onto the forest floor.
"You stupid fool," Korvin hissed. "You think dying for her proves your loyalty?"
"It does," Rafe said, his voice getting weaker. "And now... they know... the truth."
The clearing fell silent except for the sound of Rafe’s labored breathing. Even Korvin’s wolves stopped attacking, sensing that something significant was happening.
Killian stared at his oldest friend, the forged letters forgotten at his feet. The rage in his eyes slowly transformed into horror as he realized what had just happened.
"Rafe," he whispered. "Oh God, what have I done?"
Luca and Cassian rushed to their fallen friend, but there was so much blood they didn’t know where to start helping him.
"The letters were fake," Cassian cried desperately. "I tried to tell you, Killian. The handwriting was wrong, the dates didn’t match. It was all a lie."
Killian fell to his knees beside Rafe, his hands shaking as he reached out to touch his friend’s face. "I’m sorry," he choked out. "I’m so sorry. I should have trusted you."
Rafe’s eyes found Killian’s, and despite everything, he managed a weak smile. "Not your fault," he said. "Maren... she’s good at... what she does."
Bella knelt beside them, her own eyes filled with tears. Through their bond, she could feel Rafe’s life slipping away like water through her fingers.
"Don’t you dare die on me," she said fiercely.
"Can’t help it," Rafe whispered. "But at least... you know... I never betrayed you."
Korvin tried again to pull his claws free, but Rafe’s grip somehow held firm. "Let go, boy. You’re already dead."
"Not yet," Rafe said through gritted teeth.
With his last breath, he looked at Bella and said, "Use your power. Save yourself. Save them."
Then his grip went slack, and he collapsed to the ground.
Bella felt something break inside her chest as Rafe’s presence vanished from their pack bond. The connection that had linked all five of them was suddenly incomplete, torn and bleeding like an open wound.
"No," she said, her voice barely a whisper. Then louder, "No!"
Power surged through her, power she had never felt before, power she couldn’t control. Her silver fur began to glow with an inner light, and the air around her crackled with energy.
"Bella," Luca said cautiously, "what are you doing?"
"I’m bringing him back," she said, her eyes blazing with determination and grief. "I don’t care what it costs me."
She placed her hands on Rafe’s chest, right over the wound that had killed him. The Moonblood power flowed through her, wild and untamed, seeking to reverse death itself.
"Bella, stop!" Cassian shouted. "You don’t know what that power will do to you!"
"I don’t care," she said fiercely. "He died for me. I’m not letting him stay dead."
The power built and built, threatening to tear her apart from the inside. She could feel it changing her, marking her in ways that would never heal. But she didn’t stop.
Korvin finally pulled his claws free from Rafe’s body and backed away, his eyes wide with shock. "What is she doing? That power... it’s so old..."
Luca watched in horror, filled with fear at the forces she was unleashing.
The glow around Bella grew brighter and brighter until it was impossible to look directly at her. The power reached a crescendo, and then suddenly released in a wave that washed over the entire clearing.
When the light faded, Bella collapsed beside Rafe’s still form, her silver fur now streaked with white.
"Did it work?" Killian asked desperately.
They all held their breath as they watched Rafe’s chest. For a long moment, nothing happened.
Then, impossibly, he gasped.
His eyes fluttered open, confused and disoriented, but alive.
"What happened?" he whispered, his voice hoarse.
"You died," Luca said simply. "And Bella brought you back."
Rafe looked at Bella’s unconscious form, taking in the white streaks that now marked her fur. "What did she do to herself?"
"We don’t know," Cassian said quietly. "The question is, will she survive it?"