CHAPTER 98: CHAPTER 98: FACES WE CAN’T FIGHT

The lead wolf stepped closer, and Elara’s heart stopped beating. Her father’s voice came from its mouth.

"Why did you let me die, sweetheart? Why didn’t you save me?"

"No," she whispered, backing away. "You’re not real." But the wolf looked exactly like her dad when he changed. Same gray hair with the white patch on his chest.

Same kind brown eyes that used to read her bedtime stories. Except now those eyes glowed silver like moonlight. "I waited for you," the wolf continued in her father’s gentle tone.

"I called your name as the rogues tore me apart. But you never came." Tears burned Elara’s face. She knew this wasn’t really him.

Her dad died three years ago defending the pack borders. She’d been only fifteen, too young and weak to help. But seeing his face made all that pain come rushing back.

"Don’t listen," Kael said sharply, ice forming around his hands. "It’s the trial. They’re not real." But then another wolf emerged from the darkness.

This one had Kael’s mother’s face from before she died giving birth to the triplets. "My son," the fake Luna Blackwood said sadly. "You think you’re strong enough to be Alpha? You couldn’t even save me.

How will you protect your mate and children?" Kael’s ice broke. His face went white as snow. "Mom?" he breathed. More silver-eyed dogs surrounded them.

Ronan’s best friend who died in a hunting accident. Darian’s mentor who taught him to handle his truth powers. Even Elara’s grandma who passed last winter.

"This is sick," Ronan growled, flames dancing around his body. "Using our dead against us!" "But we are your dead," said the wolf wearing his friend Marcus’s face. "We’re unhappy in you, Ronan.

You always said you’d punish us. Instead, you’re playing house with some omega." "Shut up!" Ronan’s fire burst outward, but the flames passed right through the creatures.

"Violence won’t work here," Darian said quietly, though his voice shook. His truth skills were going crazy, unable to tell if these wolves were real or fake. "This trial is about something else."

The dog wearing Elara’s father took another step forward. "Come home, baby girl. Join us where you belong. Stop pretending you’re something special." "I’m not pretending," Elara said, but her voice cracked.

"Aren’t you?" her grandmother’s voice asked from another dog. "You’re still that scared little girl who hid while others fought. Still weak. Still useless."

The words hit harder than any physical attack. Elara had spent years believing exactly those things about herself. "She’s not weak!" Kael stepped in front of her, ice weapons forming in his hands.

"Elara is the strongest person I know!" "Then why couldn’t she save any of us?" her father asked sadly. The silver-eyed wolves began circling them like hawks. There were dozens now.

Every person they’d ever lost. Every face that haunted their dreams. "We have to fight," Ronan said desperately. "There’s no other way out." "I can’t," Elara sobbed. "I can’t hurt them."

"They’re not them!" Darian shouted. "My truth sight sees through the illusion, but my heart won’t let me attack." That was the trick.

Their brains knew these creatures were fake, but their hearts couldn’t tell the difference. How do you fight the face of someone you loved? The wolf wearing Kael’s mother padded closer. "You always were too soft, son.

Your father was right to doubt you. Maybe your brothers should be Alpha instead." Kael’s ice turned black with rage. "Don’t talk about my father." "He never loved you," the fake mother continued.

"None of us did. You’re cold and heartless, just like your skills. No wonder Elara will leave you for your brothers." "That’s not true!" Kael charged forward with an ice spear. But at the last second, he stopped.

Even knowing it was fake, he couldn’t stab his mother’s face. The wolf smiled with Luna Blackwood’s gentle look. Then its teeth lengthened into fangs. "Big mistake," it hissed, jumping at Kael’s throat.

Ronan pushed his brother out of the way, both of them rolling in the dirt. The fake mother wolf landed where Kael had been standing, its silver eyes now burning with hunger. "They’re getting stronger," Darian warned.

"The longer we hesitate, the more real they become." More wolves crept closer. Elara’s father. Her mom.

Teachers from her youth. Every person whose death she’d mourned. "Please," she begged them. "Don’t make me do this." "You already did it once," her father said softly.

"You let us all die. What’s once more?" The guilt was crushing. Elara fell to her knees, tears running down her face. She’d always blamed herself for not being strong enough to save people.

For being born an omega instead of something great. "I’m sorry," she whispered. "I’m so sorry I failed you." "Sorry doesn’t bring us back," her grandmother said coldly.

"Sorry doesn’t undo your weakness." The wolves moved closer, feeling her surrender. Their silver eyes gleamed with success. But then Kael’s words cut through her despair. "Elara, look at me."

She raised her head. Kael knelt beside her, ignoring the fake mother wolf breathing down his neck. "These aren’t the people we loved," he said strongly.

"The real versions would never hurt us like this. They’d want us to be happy." "But what if they’re right?" Elara sobbed.

"What if I am too weak?" "Then why did the Moon Goddess choose you?" Ronan asked, flames protecting them from three coming wolves.

"Why would she pick someone weak to birth the future?" Darian’s truth skills suddenly flared brighter than ever before. "I see it now," he gasped. "The real test isn’t fighting them. It’s forgiving ourselves."

"What do you mean?" Kael demanded. "They’re feeding on our guilt," Darian stated. "Our sorrow about not saving people.

But we were kids! We couldn’t have stopped those deaths even if we tried!" The wolves snarled, feeling their power weakening.

"Your father died protecting the pack," Darian told Elara. "That was his choice, not your mistake. You were fifteen and helpless. No one expected you to fight trained rogues."

"He’s right," Ronan said suddenly. "My friend Marcus died because he took a stupid risk. I told him not to hunt alone, but he didn’t listen.

His death wasn’t my fault." "And my mother..." Kael’s voice broke. "She died bringing us into the world. That’s not something I could have avoided. I wasn’t even born yet."

The silver-eyed wolves began to flicker like dying fires. "No!" Elara’s fake father growled. "You ARE responsible! You could have saved us!" But his voice was changing, becoming less recognizable.

The illusion was breaking down. Elara stood up slowly, wiping her tears. "You’re not my father," she said with rising strength.

"My real dad would be proud of who I’ve become. He’d want me to live, not die from guilt." "The people we loved are gone," Kael added, his ice skills stabilizing.

"But they live on in our minds. And they’d hate seeing us hurt ourselves." The fake wolves let out inhuman screams as their forms started dissolving.

"This trial ends now," Ronan announced, his flames burning brighter than the silver moonlight. But just as the last dog faded away, a new voice spoke from the darkness.

"Very good, guys. You’ve learned to forgive yourselves." A person stepped into view. Tall, beautiful, wearing a flowing silver dress.

The Moon Goddess had returned. "But the real test," she added with a cold smile, "is whether you can forgive each other."

Suddenly, Elara felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She looked down and saw Kael’s ice knife buried in her chest.

Except it wasn’t Kael holding it. It was another Kael, with silver eyes and a twisted grin. "Sorry, love," the fake Kael whispered.

"But only one of us can have you." Behind him stood fake versions of Ronan and Darian, guns drawn and pointing at their real mates.

"Round two," the Moon Goddess declared cheerfully. "This time, you’re fighting yourselves." Elara collapsed as blood poured from her wound, her vision getting dark.

The last thing she heard was her real friends screaming her name as they faced their own doubles in battle. Trial two had just become a nightmare.