Lyanna's POV
The dead warrior's blood was still wet on my hands.
I stood in the Alpha Council's main chamber, my silver eyes burning as I faced the three accused Alphas. Behind me, Caelan's presence was like ice—cold, steady, protective. Dante and his wolves watched from the side, their expressions tense.
Everyone wanted to see if the new Moon Judge could actually deliver justice.
Or if I'd fail on my very first case.
"Moon Judge," Elder Marcus called from his seat on the Council. His voice dripped with false respect. "These three Alphas stand accused of serious crimes. We trust you'll be... fair."
The way he said "fair" made it sound like a challenge.
I took a deep breath and activated my Judgment Sight. Silver light flooded my vision, and suddenly I could see everything.
Alpha Marcus Ironjaw stood in the center, his massive frame radiating arrogance. Around him swirled shadows—dark, twisted things that whispered of guilt. I saw flashes of memory: him standing over dead pack members, planting evidence to blame rogues, laughing as he stole from his own people.
Guilty.
Alpha Vera Nightsong stood to his left, beautiful and cold. Her shadows were even darker—images of her killing her own mate when he discovered her abuse of omega wolves, then crying false tears at his funeral.
Guilty.
Alpha Cole Riversong stood apart from the others, young and terrified. His shadows were different—lighter, struggling against dark magic that wrapped around him like chains. I saw him trying to report the other two Alphas' crimes, saw Vera cursing him to keep him silent, saw Marcus and Vera planning to use him as their scapegoat.
Innocent.
The truth blazed in my mind, clear as moonlight.
"I have seen the truth," I announced, my voice steadier than I felt. "Alpha Marcus Ironjaw, you murdered three of your own pack members to hide your theft from the pack treasury. You blamed their deaths on rogue attacks."
Marcus's face turned red. "That's a lie!"
"Alpha Vera Nightsong," I continued, not backing down despite my racing heart. "You killed your mate when he tried to stop you from hurting omega wolves. You pretended to grieve while his blood was still on your hands."
"You can't prove any of this!" Vera shrieked.
"I don't need proof," I said quietly. "I see the truth. That's what the Moon Goddess chose me for."
I turned to the youngest Alpha. "Cole Riversong, you're innocent. These two cursed you to keep you from exposing their crimes. They planned to frame you for everything."
Cole's eyes widened. He tried to speak, but the curse held him silent. Dark magic crackled around his throat like invisible chains.
"My verdict is final," I declared, raising my hands. Divine power flooded through me, silver light blazing from my palms. "Marcus Ironjaw and Vera Nightsong, I strip you of your Alpha powers. I transfer your authority to pack members who will lead with honor instead of cruelty."
The light shot forward like arrows.
Marcus and Vera screamed as the divine magic wrapped around them. I felt their wolves thrashing inside them, fighting against my judgment. It was like trying to hold back a river with my bare hands—their power pushing and pushing against mine.
This is harder than the Moon Goddess made it look.
Sweat dripped down my face. My hands shook. But I held on, pouring more divine energy into the judgment.
"Cole Riversong," I gasped, struggling to maintain control. "I break the curse that binds you and restore your—"
"NO!" Vera's scream shattered the air.
She shifted into her wolf form mid-scream—a massive white beast with red eyes. Marcus followed, his brown wolf covered in the same dark shadows I'd seen around his human form.
But something was wrong.
The curse wasn't breaking. Instead, it was feeding on my power, growing stronger.
"Lyanna, stop!" Oracle Mira's voice rang out. "The curse was designed to feed on divine energy! It's a trap!"
I tried to pull back my power, but it was too late.
Dark magic exploded from Marcus and Vera like a bomb. The blast threw me backward. I hit the floor hard, my head spinning.
When I looked up, both wolves had transformed into something worse—bigger, stronger, wrapped in shadows that seemed to eat the light. Their eyes glowed blood-red, and their fangs dripped with dark magic.
"The witch planned this," I whispered, horror flooding through me. "She wanted me to use my power on them."
Caelan moved to stand between me and the cursed Alphas, his own power crackling around him. "Fall back, now!"
But there was nowhere to go.
Marcus and Vera attacked together, moving impossibly fast.
Caelan caught Marcus mid-leap, the two massive wolves crashing into the wall. Thorne grabbed me, pulling me out of Vera's path as her claws raked the air where my head had been.
Then I saw it.
More Alphas in the watching crowd. Their eyes beginning to glow red. Dark shadows starting to writhe around their bodies.
One. Two. Five. Ten.
How many Alphas are cursed?
"It's spreading!" Zara screamed from somewhere in the chaos. "The curse is activating in all of them!"
The cursed Alphas turned toward me as one, their red eyes locked on their target.
Me.
"The Moon Judge must die," they chanted in voices that weren't their own. "The false judge must fall."
Caelan fought his way back to my side, bleeding from a wound on his shoulder. "We need to get you out of here!"
"I can't run," I said, even as fear made my voice shake. "If I run, they win. If I show weakness, every Alpha in the wolf world will know I'm not strong enough."
"Better alive and doubted than dead and proven right," Thorne growled, forming a protective circle around me with other loyal warriors.
The cursed Alphas advanced, their number growing every second. Twenty cursed wolves now, maybe more, all focused on killing me.
I raised my hands again, calling on my divine power. But Oracle Mira's warning echoed in my mind: The curse feeds on divine energy.
If I use my power, I make them stronger. If I don't use my power, they'll kill me and everyone here.
"What do I do?" I whispered, looking at Caelan.
His ice-blue eyes met mine, and for the first time since I'd met him, I saw fear there. "I don't know."
The cursed Alphas charged.
And in that moment—as twenty corrupted wolves rushed toward me with claws and fangs ready to tear me apart—I realized the horrible truth.
This wasn't just about judging guilty Alphas.
This was about discovering that the corruption went deeper than anyone knew. That the enemy had planned for the Moon Judge's awakening. That every move I made might be exactly what the dark witch wanted.
The first cursed wolf was three feet away when the doors to the chamber exploded inward.
A figure stepped through the smoke and debris—someone I'd never seen before, radiating power that made even the cursed Alphas hesitate.
"Well, well," a woman's voice purred, smooth as silk and cold as death. "The Moon Goddess finally chose her little judge. How... disappointing."
The woman stepped into the light, and my heart stopped.
She was beautiful in a terrifying way, with midnight-black hair and eyes that glowed purple with dark magic. Power rolled off her in waves—power that felt wrong, twisted, like the opposite of everything the Moon Goddess had given me.
"Allow me to introduce myself," she said with a smile that promised pain. "I'm Seraphina Nightshade. And I'm the one who's been cursing all these Alphas, waiting for you to arrive."
She gestured to the cursed wolves surrounding me.
"These are just the beginning, little judge. I've cursed fifty Alphas across the territories. And when the lunar eclipse comes in three days, I'm going to absorb all their power at once." Her smile widened. "Unless you stop me. But how can you fight me when every time you use your divine power, you make my cursed wolves stronger?"
My mind raced, trying to find a solution, a way out.
There was none.
"So here's my offer," Seraphina continued. "Surrender yourself to me now, and I'll let everyone else in this room live. Refuse, and my cursed Alphas will slaughter them all while you watch, helpless, knowing your power can't save them."
She raised one hand, and all twenty cursed wolves tensed, ready to attack on her command.
"You have ten seconds to decide, Moon Judge. Will you sacrifice yourself to save them? Or will you let them die to preserve your own life?"
"Ten... nine... eight..."