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Chapter 33 - The Goddess’s Wrath

The earth trembled when their hands met.

For a moment, the world forgot how to breathe. Wind tore through the trees, the moonlight splintered, and the sky itself cracked like glass. Aria felt the new bond ignite between their palms — not warm and golden as before, but silver, wild, untamed. It roared through her veins, ancient and alive, as if the universe itself were re-writing its laws to make room for them.

Damian's breath came ragged. "You're real."

"I told you I'd come back."

He laughed — a sound that was half relief, half disbelief. His hand rose to her face, trembling, tracing the line of her cheek as if she might vanish again. But she didn't. Her skin burned like moonfire beneath his touch.

Then, the heavens opened.

Thunder split the sky, shaking the ground beneath them. The light around the rift pulsed — once, twice — before collapsing inward, leaving only a swirling wound where heaven and earth had collided.

From within that rift came a voice. Soft. Cold. Infinite.

> "You dare defy me, my child?"

Aria froze. The sound wasn't of this world. It vibrated through her bones, sinking into the spaces between her thoughts. She knew that voice. Every creature born of the moon did.

The Goddess.

Damian stepped in front of her instinctively, his stance protective, his wolf flashing in his eyes. "Stay behind me."

"Damian—"

But the air erupted. A figure emerged from the collapsing rift — a woman made of silver light, her form shifting between beauty and terror. Her eyes were galaxies; her hair flowed like liquid starlight. Every wolf in the realm felt the weight of her presence. The trees bowed. The wind stilled. The moon itself dimmed.

The Goddess had descended.

"You were created to balance my will," she said, her voice echoing like a thousand bells. "Not to break it."

Aria stepped forward despite the tremor in her legs. "I was created to live. To love. You cannot command that."

"You think your love outweighs the law that binds creation?" The Goddess's eyes turned toward Damian, unblinking, cold. "And you, Alpha — you who were granted power beyond men, and still you bite at the hand of heaven?"

"I protect what's mine," Damian growled.

Lightning flashed, splitting the ground between them.

"What is yours?" The Goddess's tone sharpened, the air trembling around her. "Everything you claim has been granted. Every strength you wield, borrowed. I made the first wolves to serve, not to challenge. And yet here you stand — ready to ruin my design for a single mortal heart."

"She's not mortal anymore," Damian said through his teeth. "You made sure of that when you cursed her."

The Goddess's gaze flickered to Aria. "You carry divinity not meant for human blood. You were never meant to return."

"Then you should not have given me a soul," Aria said softly. "Because a soul will always fight its cage."

For the first time, the Goddess looked almost… human. A flicker of surprise crossed her celestial face. "You speak as if you understand eternity."

"I understand pain," Aria whispered. "And pain teaches faster than eternity."

Damian moved closer to her, the scent of pine and storm clinging to his skin. "She's not your pawn anymore."

The Goddess extended her hand. The air bent. Damian dropped to one knee, choking, a force pressing down on him like gravity itself. His wolf snarled, but couldn't rise.

"Do not speak of what you cannot comprehend, creature," she hissed. "You are bound to flesh. I am bound to forever."

Aria's anger flared. The silver flame beneath her skin surged, her aura brightening until the shadows retreated.

"Let him go."

The Goddess turned to her again. "You would command me?"

"No," Aria said, stepping forward. "I would defy you."

---

The world cracked open.

Aria raised her hand — light pouring from her palm like liquid moonfire. It struck the Goddess's barrier with a blinding flash, shaking the valley. Damian staggered to his feet, coughing, his eyes wide.

"You'll destroy yourself," he rasped.

"Maybe," Aria said. "But at least I'll die free."

The Goddess's laughter was beautiful and terrible. "You still do not understand. I cannot be killed, only resisted — and resistance comes at a price."

"Then I'll pay it."

"Aria!" Damian shouted, his voice breaking, but she was already moving — fire blooming around her in spirals of silver. The ground beneath her burned with runes, ancient and forgotten.

The Goddess raised her hand again, and the sky rained light. Beams of divine energy slammed into the earth, carving canyons through stone and soil. Wolves fled for miles, their howls echoing across the mountains.

Damian ran toward Aria, shielding her with his body as one of the strikes hit nearby, the explosion throwing them both to the ground. His back burned, blood mixing with dust, but he didn't let go.

"Don't you dare," he whispered against her hair. "Don't you dare give up now."

Aria pushed herself up, trembling, silver tears streaking her cheeks. "I'm not giving up. I'm giving her a reason to fear."

And with that, she screamed — not in pain, but in release.

The mark on her collarbone reignited, not as a symbol of the Goddess's power, but as her own. A phoenix sigil, molten and alive, spread across her skin. The silver flame surged upward, striking the heavens like a beacon.

The Goddess recoiled, momentarily blinded by her creation's light.

"You… dare create your own mark?" she hissed.

Aria's voice was steady now, filled with something beyond defiance — destiny. "You said I was born to balance you. Maybe balance isn't obedience. Maybe it's rebellion."

---

The battle raged in silence — power against power, light against light.

Each strike of the Goddess's wrath splintered the earth. Each surge of Aria's flame stitched it back together, reshaping the world. Damian could only watch — helpless, awed, terrified — as the woman he loved faced divinity itself and refused to bow.

When it was over, the air was thick with smoke and moonlight. The Goddess stood at the edge of the crater they had created, her form flickering, her voice trembling with fury.

"This is not the end," she said. "You have declared war on heaven itself."

Aria, breathing hard, lifted her chin. "Then let heaven tremble."

The Goddess vanished in a storm of silver dust, the echo of her power fading into the wind.

---

Silence.

The ground still glowed faintly where their battle had scorched it. Damian moved closer, catching Aria before she collapsed. Her skin was fever-hot, her pulse faint but steady.

"Hey," he whispered, brushing her hair from her face. "You did it."

Her lips twitched faintly. "You're heavy."

He laughed quietly, tears streaking the dirt on his cheeks. "You terrified me."

"Good," she murmured. "Maybe you'll finally listen when I say I can fight too."

He held her tighter. "I'll listen to anything you say, moonlight."

For the first time since the curse began, the night felt alive. The stars shone brighter. The forest breathed again. But above them, the moon bled — darker, deeper — as if mourning what had begun.

Because somewhere beyond sight, the Goddess watched… and waited.

And the war between heaven and the wolves had only just begun.

---

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