<h4>Chapter 182: Last fight</h4>


    <strong><i>*~Cayden’s POV~*</i></strong>


    Caspian and Hazel had just left—not long ago. <i>And honestly... he was right.</i>


    I am the Alpha. I have a lot to deal with. Responsibilities. A pack to lead. I shouldn’t be roaming around restlessly, chasing ghosts.


    But still... my thoughts were crashing down like a million bricks.


    How? When? How did Cyrius return? How did he resurrect from the graveyard, I personally sealed shut and buried?


    <i>None of it made sense, I rushed to Aurora’s room. </i>She was on the floor, her clothes soaked with blood.


    "Aurora... are you okay?" I asked, panic clear in my voice.


    She looked up at me, her face pale but calm. "I’m fine," she breathed. "I just need to limit my use of dark magic for a while. It’s... draining me."


    "Yes, you need to stop," I said firmly, my eyes scanning every inch of her for fresh wounds.


    She gave a weak smile. "Why are you here?"


    I hesitated.


    She wasn’t in the best state, but I had no time for soft approaches.


    "How did Cyrius resurrect?" I asked. "He should still be buried in the graveyard with the rest of the vampires. And the Crescents... where are they? Where’s Lilith?"


    I clenched my jaw. "Something feels off. Really off. I can’t shake the feeling that something big ising, Aurora. Something bad."


    For the first time, I admitted the truth out loud.


    "I feel... helpless."


    She looked into my eyes, her expression softening.


    "I understand," she said gently. "And I don’t know what’s happening either. But the moment I can stand—" her voice hardened, "I will find out."


    "I know what’s happening." The voice was weak, strained... but full of certainty.


    We all turned toward the doorway—and there she was.


    Lilith....Barely standing. Her body bruised, blood crusted on her temple. She looked even worse than Aurora. So bad that Aurora immediately tried to rise from the bed to help her, but I stepped in, guiding her back down.


    I approached her. "Lillith, what happened to you? What’s going on?"


    She exhaled shakily, gripping the doorframe like it was the only thing keeping her upright.


    "Danger," she rasped. "There’s dangering. Where’s Hazel? And the babies? They need to be hidden. Now. Do you have any safe spots? Anywhere?"


    "Hazel’s gone to France," I said, my heart already sinking. "She went to find the babies. Cyrius took them."


    Her eyes widened in horror. "What? Hazel isn’t here? The babies are missing too?"


    She stumbled inside. "No, no, no. This is bad. Very bad."


    "What kind of danger, Lilith?" I asked.


    She looked at me.


    And then she whispered a name.


    "Dahlia."


    My blood ran cold. Ragnar howled deep inside me. My stomach twisted like something acidic had poured into it.


    "Dahlia?" I repeated, barely able to say it aloud. "That’s impossible. She’s dead. You said so yourself—you took her to Hell and burned her there."


    "I did," she said quietly. "But she’s back."


    Aurora gasped, sitting upright despite her injuries.


    "And somehow," Lilith continued, "she’s gotten control of the Crescents. They’re angry. Jonathan’s dead—their Alpha is gone. And Dahlia, their creator, has manipted them. I don’t know how, but she’s leading them now. And that’s not all..."


    She paused, her voice barely a whisper.


    "The vampires... or something worse... may also be awake."


    I blinked, a single name slipping past my lips. "Cyrius."


    Lilith avoided my gaze.


    "He’s the one who took Hazel’s babies," I said.


    She didn’t deny it.


    "No, no, no..." I muttered, pacing. "They’re nning something. This is more than just stealing babies. This... this feels like the end."


    Lilith nodded.


    "This is it, Cayden. The final war. If we win—maybe we get peace. But if we lose... we die. All of us."


    Silence fell like a hammer.


    "Oh my God..." Aurora whispered. "That exins the babies crying. Right before I left Hazel toe meet you. They were screaming so hard. It was like they knew."


    I turned sharply.


    "So the babies were dropping signs too?"


    I clenched my fists.


    "We need to contact Hazel. Tell her toe back. With or without the babies—we need her. Now. She’s the natural-born Crescent. The only one who can get through to them."


    Lilith nodded. "She must be Alpha. Of the Crescent. It’s the only way we can remove Dahlia from power and prevent a full copse."


    I froze. "Alpha? Hazel?"


    "Yes. If she leads them, maybe they’ll follow. If Dahlia continues to lead... this entire supernatural world will crumble."


    "Do you have any way to contact them?" Aurora asked urgently.


    "I’ll send word to France," I said immediately. "I’ll tell them toe back. Now."


    I was about to leave when Lilith stopped me.


    "Wait. There’s more I need to tell you." Her voice had dropped to a dark whisper.


    I turned slowly. "What now?"


    She looked at me with hollow eyes.


    "The babies... they might need to die."


    My entire body went cold.


    "What?"


    "Think about it," she said. "They are werewolves. Crescents. Witches. Vampires. Through them... a new species has been created. One that has never existed before. Nature is trying to amodate them—but it can’t. The babies are everything. And nature wasn’t made to bend to them."


    She stepped closer.


    "If nature continues to adjust itself for these babies... the rest of us might have to die to make space for them. Or—we kill them first, so the world doesn’t copse."


    I couldn’t breathe.


    Aurora’s voice broke the silence.


    "Maybe... that’s what Cyrius meant. When he told Hazel either the babies die, or she and everyone she loves does."


    "No!" I shouted. "No, no, no! This is bullshit! Complete bullshit!"


    I mmed my fist into the wall.


    "My babies cannot die. I won’t die either. Whatever twisted logic you’re using to justify this—I don’t care. You’re talking about sacrificing innocent children!"


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    "They’re not just your babies," Lilith said coldly. "They’re my grandchildren. The ones you tried to sacrifice—not once, not twice. So don’t question my loyalty."


    "And I still don’t think you’ve ever loved Hazel properly."


    "ENOUGH." I snapped. "No one touches my babies. We’ll figure another way. Even if I have to die—I’ll die. But they’ll live."


    I turned to Aurora, desperate. "Tell me this is wrong."


    She hesitated, tears in her eyes.


    "It feels wrong... but I can see it too, Cayden. The power inside those babies... it’s unnatural. Nature doesn’t know how to contain it. They’re rewriting the bnce."


    "Then we rewrite it again." I growled. "But they will live."


    I stepped toward the door again.


    "I’ll send for Hazel. We bring her back. Make her the Alpha. Break Dahlia’s grip. Whatever it takes."


    Then a red haired figure steps in, looking exactly like Aurora.


    "Sister...?"