Luna Aurora (Alpha Fenrir)

Chapter 347

Elyra's forces limped through the dense forest, the night shrouding them in an oppressive silence. Every step was heavy, every breath labored. The aftermath of the ambush at Riverstone weighed on them all, and Elyra could feel the despair in their ranks like a tangible thing. Cassian supported an injured warrior, his face grim and streaked with dirt. "We lost too many," he muttered, not looking at Elyra. His words cut deeper than any wound, but she said nothing. She couldn't.

Selene walked beside her, her silver hair dimmed by soot and blood. "You need rest," she said softly. "You've pushed yourself too far."

Elyra didn't respond, clutching the shard tightly in her hand. Its faint glow pulsed unevenly, as though it shared her exhaustion. The ambush replayed in her mind-the explosion of light and shadow, Dain's haunting words, and the look in his eyes just before he disappeared.

You're a fool. You can't save them. You can't save me.

Her chest ached, but it wasn't just from the fight. It was the realization that Dain was slipping further from her grasp, and she didn't know how to pull him back.

As they reached the safety of a hidden glade, the group collapsed into uneasy rest. Cassian began tending to the injured, his movements sharp with frustration. Selene leaned against a tree, her eyes scanning the dark horizon.

Elyra sat apart from them, staring at the shard in her hand. Its once brilliant light was now dull, the surface cracked like fractured glass. She felt its weight, not just in her palm but in her soul.

"You're thinking too much," Fenrir's gruff voice broke the silence.

She looked up to see him standing over her, his arms crossed and his golden eyes hard.

not?"

boy you remember, Elyra. He's becoming something else something you might not be able to bring back." Elyra's throat tightened. "You think

don't think you accept it," Fenrir countered. "You're clinging to the idea of saving him because it's easier than admitting he might already be

hit her like a blow, and she looked

We're bound by something stronger than

softened, but

if you keep hesitating, you're going to lose more than just him. You'll lose

do you suggest I do? Kill him? Watch him fall deeper into the darkness while I do nothing?" "Fight," Fenrir said simply. "Fight for him if you must, but don't let him drag you down with him. If you want to lead, you have to make the hard choices." She opened her mouth to argue, but a faint whisper

enough to

she looked down at the shard in alarm. Its glow pulsed faintly, the whisper echoing again, this time louder. You're not strong enough to

distant as she stared

filling her mind with

surrounded by shadow, his eyes cold and unrecognizable. Her hand shook as the shard

her arm, snapping her out of

on the shard loosening as she looked at

his gaze darting between her