<h4>Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Power of Choice</h4>


    The forest blurred around ra as she ran with Ronan, twigs snapping beneath their feet. The east border cave loomed ahead, a dark mouth in the hillside.


    "Inside," Ronan urged, checking over his shoulder. "Quickly."


    The cave was cool and smelled of damp earth. Ronan led her deep inside, where moonlight couldn’t reach.


    "We should be safe here until morning," he said, catching his breath. "No one uses this cave anymore."


    ra hugged herself, shivering. "That’s exactly why your father will look here first."


    Ronan frowned. "You’re right." He moved closer, his warmth afort in the darkness. "Why didn’t I think of that?"


    "Because you act on instinct," ra touched his arm. "It’s not a bad thing."


    A howl echoed outside, closer thanfort allowed.


    "They’re already searching," Ronan growled, his eyes glowing amber in the darkness.


    ra’s heart raced. "We can’t keep running. There has to be another way."


    "There is."


    They spun around. Darian stood at the cave entrance, silver moonlight outlining his silhouette.


    "How did you find us?" Ronan demanded.


    "I know my brother’s hiding spots." Darian stepped inside. "And so does Father."


    ra backed away. "Are you here to take me to him?"


    "No," Darian’s voice softened. "I came to show you this."


    He pulled out an old leather-bound book, its pages yellow with age.


    "What is it?" ra asked.


    "The pack history." Darian opened it to a marked page. "And the full prophecy."


    Ronan peered over his shoulder. "Where did you get this?"


    "Mother’s secret collection." Darian handed it to ra. "Read it."


    ra’s hands trembled as she read the faded text: "When the cursed blood divides three brothers, only the rejected one will lead. The omega who is not an omega must choose freely, or darkness will consume the pack for another hundred years."


    "Choose freely," ra whispered, looking up. "That’s it!"


    "What?" both brothers asked.


    "Your father’s n won’t work." Excitement filled her voice. "The prophecy says I must choose freely. Being hunted and imed as a prize isn’t freedom of choice."


    Understanding dawned on Ronan’s face. "You’re right."


    Darian nodded slowly. "That’s why Mother was so worried. Father’s forcing a choice that must be freely made."


    "Then we stop the hunt," Ronan dered.


    "No," ra stood taller. "We face it head-on."


    Both brothers stared at her.


    "What do you mean?" Ronan asked.


    "I’m tired of hiding," ra said, a new strength in her voice. "I’m not a prize to be won. It’s time I made that clear."


    "You want to confront Father?" Darian looked worried. "That’s dangerous."


    "More dangerous than being hunted?" ra challenged.


    Sudden voices outside made them freeze.


    "Guards," Ronan whispered.


    Darian moved to the cave entrance. "You two go deeper. I’ll distract them."


    "No," ra grabbed his arm. "No more running. No more hiding."


    A smile—small but genuine—crossed Darian’s face. "You’re braver than any omega I’ve known."


    "That’s because I’m not just an omega," ra said. "Am I?"


    Before Darian could answer, guards burst into the cave. Leading them was Beta Rivers, Celeste’s father.


    "Found you," he sneered. "Alpha Marcus wants the girl brought to the clearing immediately."


    Ronan stepped in front of ra. "Touch her and die."


    The Betaughed. "Bold words from a boy about to lose everything."


    "Enough," ra pushed past Ronan. "I’ll go willingly."


    "ra, no!" Ronan grabbed her wrist.


    She met his eyes. "Trust me."


    The walk back to the pack house was tense. Dawn painted the sky pink as they emerged from the forest. In the clearing, the entire pack had gathered, surrounding a raised tform where Alpha Marcus stood with Kael and Celeste.


    Whispers spread through the crowd as ra approached, nked by Ronan and Darian.


    "The hunt begins early," Marcus announced, his voice carrying across the clearing. "My sons have until sunset to catch the omega. Whoever ims her first will be named my sessor."


    "And if she doesn’t want to be caught?" Kael asked, surprising everyone.


    Marcusughed. "She has no choice in the matter."


    "Actually," ra stepped forward, "I do."


    The crowd fell silent. Even Marcus looked stunned at her boldness.


    "The prophecy requires me to choose freely," ra continued, her voice growing stronger. "Not to be hunted like an animal."


    "What prophecy?" someone called from the crowd.


    "The Luna Prophecy," Luna Evelyn’s voice rang out as she pushed through the crowd. Her face was bruised, but her eyes zed with determination.


    "Silence!" Marcus roared.


    "No," Evelyn climbed onto the tform. "They deserve to know the truth. You’ve hidden it for too long."


    Murmurs spread through the pack as Evelyn faced her mate.


    "The curse that has weakened our bloodline for generations can only be broken by her," Evelyn pointed at ra. "But only if she chooses freely."


    Marcus’s face darkened. "This is pack business."


    "It’s my life," ra dered, climbing onto the tform. She faced the crowd, heart hammering but voice steady. "I stand before you today not as a prize, but as a wolf with a choice."


    The triplets watched her with varying expressions: Ronan with pride, Darian with interest, and Kael with growing respect.


    "I reject this hunt," ra announced. "I reject being won like a trophy. Any wolf who thinks they can im me throughpetition doesn’t deserve to be my mate."


    Gasps rippled through the crowd. No one had ever spoken to Alpha Marcus this way—certainly not an omega.


    "You forget your ce," Marcus growled, stepping toward her.


    "My ce?" ra didn’t back down. "My ce is wherever I choose to be."


    Something shifted in the air. The mate bond pulsed within her chest, stronger than before.


    "She’s right," Kael said suddenly, joining her on the tform. "The prophecy speaks of choice."


    Ronan and Darian moved to stand beside their brother, creating a wall between ra and Marcus.


    "What are you doing?" Marcus demanded.


    "Choosing," Kael replied simply.


    Celeste pushed forward, her face twisted with rage. "This is madness! An omega cannot be Luna!"


    "She’s not just an omega," Tobias’s voice called out. The mysterious rogue stepped from the shadows, holding a small wooden box. "Tell them, Marcus. Tell them what you did to her parents."


    The Alpha’s face paled. "Guards! Seize him!"


    "No!" ra shouted, power surging through her voice. Everyone froze, shocked by themand in her tone.


    Tobias opened the box, revealing a silver pendant. "This belonged to your mother, ra. The true Luna of the Silver Moon Pack—before Marcus destroyed them all."


    The pendant glowed as Tobias approached, reacting to ra’s presence.


    "It can’t be," Evelyn whispered.


    "What does it mean?" ra asked, reaching for the pendant.


    Before Tobias could answer, Marcus lunged forward with supernatural speed. He grabbed ra’s arm, ws digging into her skin.


    "Enough games," he snarled. Blood—her blood—dripped onto the tform.


    The triplets moved as one, but they were toote. Marcus raised his bloody hand to the rising sun.


    "Blood taken," he intoned. "The curse will end."


    A tremor shook the ground. ra fell to her knees, pain shooting through her body.


    "No!" Ronan cried, reaching for her.


    "You fool," Tobias yelled at Marcus. "The blood must be freely given!"


    The tremors grew stronger. Cracks appeared in the earth around the tform.


    "What have you done?" Kael demanded as darkness gathered in the sky.


    Marcusughed, his eyes wild. "I’ve started the final stage. When the moon rises tonight, everything changes."


    ra clutched her bleeding arm, feeling something awaken inside her. Something powerful and ancient.


    "The prophecy," Darian whispered, kneeling beside her. "It’sing true, but not how Father nned."


    The pendant in Tobias’s hand glowed brighter, floating toward ra of its own ord.


    "Take it," Tobias urged. "It’s your birthright."


    As her fingers closed around the pendant, visions flooded ra’s mind—her parents, her true pack, and the terrible night Marcus destroyed them all.


    Her eyes snapped open, glowing not omega gold or alpha red, but a brilliant silver that lit up the entire clearing.


    "I am not your prize," she dered, her voice echoing with power. "I am your reckoning."


    The triplets stared in awe as light pulsed from ra’s body. The ground beneath Marcus’s feet began to crumble.


    "What is she?" Celeste whispered in fear.


    Evelyn answered, her voice filled with wonder and dread. "She is what the prophecy foretold. The one who will either save our pack—or destroy it."