The Howling

Chapter 20 (K's POV)

I risked a glance. Luna's face glowed with an expression of triumph that I didn't understand-it was the expression an angel of destruction might wear while the world burned. Beautiful and terrifying. Heli said, "My friend would like me to ask you something. But first, if we drop our shield, your vampires must not attack." Dardan said, smiling cruelly, "Well, of course."

Luna dropped her shield in that instant and stepped forward, letting the monster take control. She said, her wolf-eyes shining, "I, Luna the Lady Death, challenge you, Dardan the First Vampire, to a duel. To the death." Gasps of fear and alarm echoed throughout the vampire army at the mention of Luna's name. I fought back the rage that tried to claw its way up my throat and snarl out my defiance.

Luna smirked and said, "And your magic won't work on me. Demon essence, remember? Unless you're too scared to fight without it, of course." Dardan snarled for the first time now and said, "Fine. I accept. No one else may move, just this girl and I." With that, Luna stepped forward.

The fight began. Not quite circling, cause Luna was not allowing Dardan to position himself closer to Sooha or the younger wolves. He sashayed back, moving from side to side, trying to find a hole in her defense. She shadowed his footwork lithely, stalking him with perfect concentration.

Luna began to move just a fraction of a second before he moved, reading his intentions in his thoughts. He shook his head, fast and jerky, fighting her diversions, and tried to duck around her, but she was in place to block him as soon as he'd thought of the plan. His face contorted in frustration, and then he shifted lower into his crouch, a lion, and stalked deliberately forward. Luna shifted, too, as they closed on each other, and it was lion versus lioness.

The fight increased in tempo. It was like Luna and Nicholas in the meadow, a blurred spiraling of movement, only this fight was not as perfectly choreographed. Sharp crunches and crackings reverberated off the trees whenever someone slipped in their formation. But they were moving too fast for me to see who was making the mistakes....

In a split second, the fight broke violently apart. Dardan had flown out of the blurred formation and smashed into a tall spruce about halfway up the tree. He dropped back to the ground, disoriented. Simultaneously, Luna-all but invisible with speed-had twisted backward and caught the unsuspecting Dardan by the arm. It had looked like Luna planted her foot against Dardan's back, and heaved-. The place was filled with Dardan's piercing shriek of agony.

He seemed to realize that he was losing. He began to back away from Luna, frenzied disappointment blazing in his eyes. Luna said, her voice low and hypnotic, "No, don't go... You'll never get another chance like this.... Don't go....". Dardan threw Sooha one short, agonized stare of longing, and then he started to retreat faster.

He wheeled and fled toward the refuge of the forest like an arrow from a bow. But Luna was faster-a bullet from a gun. She caught his unprotected back at the edge of the trees and, with one last, simple step, the fight was over. Luna's mouth brushed once across his neck, like a caress. And then the platinum blonde tangle of hair was no longer connected to the rest of Dardan's body. The vampire army crumbled to dust.

Luna was in motion again. Swift and coolly businesslike, she dismembered the headless corpse. I could not go to her-I could not make my feet respond; they were bolted to the ground beneath them. But I scrutinized her every action minutely, looking for any evidence that she had been harmed.

My heart slowed to a healthier rhythm when I found nothing. She was lithe and graceful as ever. I couldn't even see a tear in her clothes. She did not look at me-where I stood frozen, horrified-while she piled the quivering, twitching limbs and then covered them with dry pine needles. Luna pulled a silver rectangle from her pocket. She flipped open the butane lighter and held the flame to the dry tinder.

It caught at once; long tongues of orange fire licked rapidly across the pyre. And then the raging fire was sending a pillar of choking purple toward the sky. The thick smoke curled up slowly, looking more solid than it should; it smelled like burning incense, and the scent was uncomfortable. It was heavy, too strong.

And then I found that I could move again. I launched myself forward, hugging Luna tightly and burying my face in her hair. I demanded, "Are you okay? Did she hurt you at all?". Luna chuckled and said, "More than fine. I'm very pleased with myself, in fact." I pulled away to look around at the others. The wolves transformed back. And then it hit.

Cheers erupted. Deafening howls filled the clearing. Jino pounded Solon on the back. Nicholas and Shion hugged-long and excitedly. Fuma and Jo were locked in a hug, as were Jakah and Jaan. EJ held Maki and Yuma in a tight embrace. Harua stood very close to Noa and Taki, their arms around each other. Heli picked Sooha up off the ground and swung her around in a circle, both laughing.

Luna's arms were still around me. We had forever. And we would all be together. Happiness expanded like an explosion inside me-so extreme, so violent that I wasn't sure I'd survive it. Luna said softly, "Forever."

I couldn't speak anymore. I lowered my head slightly and kissed her with a passion that might possibly set the forest on fire. I wouldn't have noticed.

The End

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I personally really enjoyed writing this story. And I hope you enjoyed reading it as well.

Thank you so much for the constant love and support! <3

Author-nim out!