Chapter 27: The Final Confrontation
671words
"I've been waiting for this day for too long." Karen sneered, "Do you know? I spent ten years researching the Dark Moon Stone, just for this moment."
Rayne shielded Lyra behind him: "Why are you doing this? The Greyson Family has never mistreated you."
"Mistreated?" Karen's voice was filled with resentment, "Your father chose you as the heir, not me! We have the same bloodline, but he chose you because of that damn 'soul compatibility'!"
Lyra suddenly understood: "You're Rayne's cousin. You believe the Alpha position should have been yours."
Karen laughed maniacally: "Clever Luna. Yes, that position should have been mine! And you, Lyra, you've returned from death twice, twice obstructing my plans. This time, I won't give you another chance."
He raised the Dark Moon Stone high, and dark energy surged out like a tide, rushing toward Lyra and Rayne. Rayne quickly pulled Lyra behind him, using his body to block most of the energy impact.
"Rayne!" Lyra exclaimed, seeing him painfully fall to his knees.
"Don't worry about me..." Rayne said through gritted teeth, "I'm fine..."
Karen approached smugly: "Can you feel it? The power of the Dark Moon Stone. It can distort memories, corrode souls, and even strip werewolves of their healing abilities. You've already lost."
Lyra watched Rayne struggling in pain, anger burning in her heart. She took off the Moon Laurel Tears pendant from her neck and gripped it in her hand: "No, Karen, you've lost. You forgot who I am."
She closed her eyes, concentrated, and awakened the Silver Fern power within her. A silver energy surged from her body, merging with the Moon Laurel Tears to form a dazzling light.
"Impossible!" Karen backed away in terror, "How can you control the power of the Silver Fern?"
Lyra opened her eyes, silver light flickering in them: "Because I am the daughter of the Sterling family, the true Luna, and Rayne's soulmate. And you, Karen, are just a pitiful person blinded by jealousy."
She stepped forward, and silver energy surged toward Karen like a tide. Karen raised the Dark Moon Stone to resist, and the two forces collided in the air, emitting a piercing sound.
"Rayne, now!" Lyra shouted.
Rayne endured the pain, got up from the ground, and while Karen's attention was drawn by Lyra, he quickly circled behind him and snatched away the Dark Moon Stone.
"No!" Karen cried out in despair, but it was too late.
Rayne held the Dark Moon Stone high: "Laurel, please accept this lost soul, and purify this dark power!"
A beam of silver light shot out from the center of the maze, striking the Dark Moon Stone. The black stone trembled in Rayne's hand, then shattered into countless fragments, dissolving into silver specks that dissipated in the air.
Karen let out a piercing scream, falling to his knees: "You've ruined everything! Ruined my plans!"
Lyra walked up to him, looking down at him: "No, Karen, you ruined yourself. Your hatred and ambition blinded you."
Just then, the walls of the maze suddenly disappeared, and they found themselves standing in the center of Moon Shadow Valley, with a gigantic silver tree—the Moon Laurel Tree—towering before them. Beneath the tree, Eileen was being restrained by several Wolf Clan warriors, her face filled with terror.
"It's over." Rayne walked to Lyra's side and held her hand, "We won."
The branches and leaves of the Moon Laurel Tree swayed gently, and a gentle voice resonated in their hearts: "Welcome, true soul mates. You have passed my test, proving that your soul connection cannot be destroyed by dark forces."
Lyra and Rayne smiled at each other, fingers tightly interlocked. However, at this moment of victory, Karen suddenly leaped up from the ground, somehow holding a silver dagger in her hand, and lunged toward Lyra!
