Their Warrior Luna
Chapter 131

Cassius:

We stepped into a part of Clearwater territory that I knew well. Knox and I found a cave here back when I was still in high school, and we used to sneak out here when s**t got heavy and drink our worries away.

“I know you are in there, you rancid skank. I can smell the fear radiating off of you. No more hiding. Let’s get this over with.” Lennon called out at the mouth of the cave.

“You want to enlighten us on what is happening, princess?” Knox asked softly, taking her hand in his. I could feel the nerves from both of them thrumming through our mate bonds. But both looked utterly calm. Much more collected than even my own storm that was raging in me.

“Silence still filled the air. The only sound other than the rhythmic beating of our hearts was the crickets that sang in the night.

“Ashley. It’s over. I know what you are and what you wanted to do.” At the mention of Ashley’s name, my b***d ran cold. In the clearing, Lennon said she knew where to find Pandora. Is Ashley the person in cahoots with her?

“Alright, red. Let us in on the joke because this isn’t funny.” I murmured, not taking my eyes from the cave.

“Don’t worry, my sweet. I can tell you everything you need to know. Either you reject her and take me as your chosen. Or I will open my pretty little box and destroy everything. It’s your choice. Just know if I can’t have you, no one else will either. Especially not a pathetic human like her.” Lennon’s aura surrounded the forest. Even the cricket’s tune had gone quiet.

“What will it be, Cassius?” She asked me. I stepped in between Lennon and Knox and took them by the hand. I intertwined my fingers, soaking in the blissful tingles that surrounded me. I pulled both in closer to me. I don’t know what will happen, but I don’t want them to be blown away from me when whatever s**t storm blows from that box is released.

“Lennon and Knox are the loves of my life. The goddess created our bond, and it was written in the stars that these two beings would rule at my side and have all my heart. The answer is simple. I choose them. I will always choose them, and that damn pup isn’t even mine.” It was true. Somewhere along the lines, I was attracted to Knox even before the bond was formed. How his eyes ignite has sent me chills for as long as I can remember. The moment I saw Lennon, my life was changed, and I know I was jealous seeing them together. But now… nothing else matters but them. I need them more than I have ever needed anything, and I would be nothing without them. Ashley can go to hell; no matter what, she will go today.

Knox:

Lennon’s magic had awakened the forest. I could hear the animals and creatures moving far away from us. I don’t know how, but she must have warned them of what would come.

“Oh, please. I was never pregnant, to begin with. I just used that as a way to get your mark. You and I could have been a powerhouse of magic. We could have ruled like no other two ever has. But no matter. You made your choice.” I heard the latch that was being used to keep the end contained clanked loose. The grip Cassius had on our hands tightened, and we all took a stance to endure whatever hell fate had brought us. Or I thought that was what we were doing until our little love spoke the words that made my heart leap into my throat, and my stomach fall from my a*s.

“I love you both so much. I want you to know that whatever happens, my love is real, unconditional, and unwavering. You both have all of me. Mind, body, and soul. I belong to you. Okay?” Lennon’s words were soft, but the impact they carried told me she had a plan we weren’t a part of, and before I could speak or act on my newfound fear, her hand ignited in her beautiful light. She tossed an orb in the sky, and as it ruptured, burning brighter than the stars, Cass and I were blown back. I heard a sickening thud when we both hit the ground, but I knew Cass was safe because I could see him moving. Much like myself, he was trying to gather his barrens. I finally recouped enough to look to where we were to see a bubble that engulfed the entrance to the cave and the area around where we once stood.

She had trapped the two of them inside, and as the evils of Pandora’s box engulfed the forcefield she had created, one thing remained in the middle. Lennon. Her light was burning brightly even amidst the darkest of evils. She could be seen in the center with her red hair blowing wildly. She was demolishing one thing right after the other as her light scared away the dark. Neither of us could take our eyes off her despite our efforts to penetrate her bubble. Ashley or Pandora, whoever the f**k she is, cried out in rage. But not our Lennon. Her face was as ethereal as the woman she calls mother, and as she fought for the freedom of every universe and every realm, I could only feel two things. Pride and anger. She shut us out again, and now I may never get the chance to tell her how I adore her despite how proud I am of the person she has become in such a short amount of time. My anger at her burned as brightly as her white eyes.

Lennon:

I couldn’t let them be hurt. I knew they would be mad, but I knew they wouldn’t let me come here alone. This is the only way. After I heard the box being opened, I knew it would be my last shot to tell them I love them, and I knew it would be my only shot to cocoon the world away from the wrath of this jealous b***h. So, I encapsulated the two of us within my power. It will just be her and I and the contents of her precious box, and once I remove every bit of the s**t inside of it, I will take sheer joy in ensuring she never uses, abuses, or harms anyone else again, and now that I know she isn’t pregnant, I will make sure it hurts double for using my Cassius in her scheming.

The moment the orb was in the air, I turned to see them looking at the sky. I took in every feature of their gorgeous faces before the inevitable explosion that would send them to safety. I wanted to memorize the way their eyes lit up in the dark, the way their scents wrapped around me, comforting the nerves raging in me over the decision that I had made.

I planted my feet as the blast took my unexpecting mates to safety. I hadn’t realized I was crying until the wind cooled the burn on my cheeks. I watched them land and begin moving, and knowing they were safe, I swallowed every emotion but rage, and I let it fuel me as the darkness left the cave, swarming around my orb like a bunch of angry wasps. I chuckled when Ashley’s signature fit could be heard despite the chaos. I threw orb after orb letting my skin ignite in a soft glow. The darkness of Pandora’s box sizzled and burned away in the light of my magic. My mind drifted back to the day Harley and Fallon had visions of this exact moment and my meeting with Mother right after.

“Envision whatever ignites your soul, daughter. Use it. Burn brighter than you ever knew possible, and Pandora will not stand a chance. But you must ensure nothing is left in that box before using the remainder of your strength. Stick to small attacks that don’t require much strength when the time is right. You will know.” Now is not the time for that power. It doesn’t feel right.

“Is that the best you got?” I yelled out, knowing she had heard me, when she cried out in fury that I was still standing… still fighting her.

Another wave of sickness rolled from the mouth of the cave, and then it happened. She f****d up. I heard in the distance the sounds of her destroying the box so that the sickness could not be locked away again, and then she stepped out, throwing her hands high in the air. The box’s contents bent at her will, shifting and morphing into high-water waves of destruction. She pointed at me, and the darkness followed her command threatening to swallow me whole. But this still doesn’t feel like the right time. So I ignited myself in a small orb of power and chuckled when the wave she had thrown at me burned out like a wet candle wick.

My guys were beating on the side of my little bubble, separating them from safety and certain death. Do they not see that this is the only way that I can keep them safe? I turned to see them looking upward and beating the side of the bubble down. I looked up too late as a missed wave crashed, pressing me into the warm summer earth. I let my light glow brighter so they would know I was alive and okay. The beating of the side of the forcefield stopped. They knew I was okay. I took a shaky breath before standing. I want this to end, but something in my gut is pushing me to wait. Which I don’t get because the orb is shattering from the incessant swarming of whatever the hell this s**t is.

Knox:

The darkness swallowed her, and when I was ready to turn the world upside down to get inside, her light ignited in the night again.

“What’s going on? We heard an explosion!” Harley and all three of Cass’s fathers, Fallon, Nana, and a man I had never seen but assumed was her friend came through the tree line like their asses were on fire. I couldn’t answer them. I couldn’t tell them Lennon had committed suicide to save us all. So, when Cass spoke, telling them the fear we shared, my lungs exploded from the breath I had been holding since the darkness took her under. My fists were on the side of the forcefield, and when my tears fell, Cass clutched my shirt, turned me, and pulled me flush against me, wrapping me in his arms.

“Why aren’t the two of you in there too? Your girl looks like she’s getting tired, and something tells me the shards falling from that dome of hers means that it isn’t going to last much longer.” Nana’s friends said.

“Don’t you think we want to be in there with her? She blew us out when she put up that f*****g bubble of hell.” I yelled at the man, who wasn’t slightly jarred by my outburst despite the orange of my eyes igniting the darkness in the forest.

“You are Death, boy. Just… go in.” His words made me feel ignorant. I have a translucent spiritual form and can share that magic with Cassius. My eyes had gone wide with the realization. I stretched and morphed until I formed into my ten-foot-tall shape built from fear and anguish. I took Cass’s hand, and my heart rate increased when we both became see-through. We ran into chaos without a second thought. If she goes down, the three of us go down together, the way it was always meant to be.

Lennon:

Something shattered inside me from the fear that swallowed me when I felt their hands on my back. I didn’t have to turn around to know that Knox finally realized he could use his powers as death to penetrate my shield.

“You need to go! The bubble is shattering. You need to get everyone you can into The Nothing; you should be safe there until this universe is in flames.” I yelled out to them. My shaking legs almost dropped me when Cass yelled that they weren’t going anywhere.

“If the Queen goes down, her Kings will be at her side.” And with those words. I ignited it on impulse. The light that I had expected to swallow every inch of the darkness barely broke through the swarms that had picked up since my men entered the shield.

“Something is wrong.” I yelled out. My legs started buckling. How had I expended so much energy?

“It’s okay, princess.” Knox and Cass had been forced to the ground behind me by the weight of the darkness pressing down on us, but their hands never left my back. Knowing they were in danger gave my magic a boost. But even with the adrenaline coursing me. It wouldn’t be enough to save us.

Knox:

Her strength was waning, and Cassius was scared, even if he wouldn’t admit it. So, I did what any good mate would do in my position. With the pressure pushing Cass and me to the ground, I clutched onto them the best I could and fed Lennon. I did as I had when she was hurt so badly when she imprisoned Adoria inside of her. I turned on the tap of the souls I hoard inside full force and fed her. I smiled at Cass when her light began to brighten. After some time, her light was the brightest I had ever seen, but it still wasn’t doing the trick, and now, for the first time since becoming Death, my spiritual reserves were low.

I don’t know what happens when my hoard depletes entirely. But Lennon must be able to sense something is wrong with me because she keeps asking if I am okay, and Cass keeps tapping on my side, ensuring I am awake. So am I dozing off or passing out?… or… can death die?

Lennon’s scream broke through the silence of my tranquil state of mind. Despite my and Cass’s hands never leaving her back, she was also being pushed down. Without a second thought, the metaphorical tap that I had slowed the flow of turned wide open once more. I am theirs despite everything else. Lennon was willing to sacrifice herself for us, and my remaining anger over her decision diminished because I understand now. Now that I am faced with the same choice, it is an easy one. I released myself entirely, giving myself to my mates completely.

Lennon:

Knox slumped against my legs, never letting his hands fall from my back. I knew he was just sleeping. He emptied himself out for me, and I held onto every drop, unwilling to use his reserves until my tank overflowed. What I hadn’t been expecting was to hear Cassius gasp. I kept my arms stretched wide, and I turned to see both slumped behind me. Their clothes had been shredded from the swarms of knife-like beings released from the box. Cass’s hands clutched my shirt, and I was in awe of the darkness painting along the skin underneath the tattered shreds of his shirt. It wasn’t like the darkness swarming us. No, this was a beautiful onyx that colored his chest, and when a soft burning tingle ignited across my chest, spreading all the way across my shoulders, I knew what had happened. Knox’s words from the day I jumped in front of Adoria’s attack for them. The ultimate act of love. He was ready to die for us, and despite him just being asleep, he would have killed himself to keep us safe.

My heart swelled knowing our bond was complete, and with the beating of our hearts syncing to one rhythm raging in my ears like the war drums I used to fuel myself to return to them, I tapped into the reserves Knox had gifted me, knowing this was the moment Mother had spoken of. The moment that I would know was the “right time”…

A shiver tore through me when the lights I had grown used to looking into ignited, blinding even me. The hissing of the hell she had released told me I destroyed them all, and when they exploded in my light, so did my shield, letting shards of soot and my magic fall to the ground like soft rain.

Ashley was standing at the mouth of the cave with her chest heaving and her fists bunched in anger, but whatever b***h fit she was having paled into comparison to the anger fueling me to end her.

My hand raised in her direction, and when I created a fist watching as roots and vines flew through the air, trapping her within an earthen barrier. They wrapped tightly around her until her b***d was coloring the brown of the roots, and her screams trumped the chirping of the nightlife that had returned since the barrier had broken.

“As your queen, I sentence you to death for your crimes against the king and his kingdom.” My voice surprised me, and I knew it had her too because her eyes shot wide, pleading with me despite her inability to speak. I focused on the vines crushing her windpipe, and at my call, they squeezed her neck until her head slid from her body, rolling until it came to a stop at my feet. Cass and Knox fell against the ground, and I turned to them, sitting between the two snoring men. Bless them, they tuckered their little selves out.

“Well, guys, let’s get them home,” Harley told her mates, laughing. She came to stand next to me while her mates picked mine up from the ground.

“Wine?” Harley asked with a cheerful snicker.

“Wine.” I replied with my own laugh. After our day, hard liquor would be a good idea.

One year later.

Lennon:

“Wake up! Damn it.” I hissed as the contractions overwhelmed me.

“What’s wrong, princess?” Knox asked with sleep in his orange eyes. I couldn’t answer him. The contraction was at its peak, stealing my breath away, so I just reached out and rubbed his shaggy hair from his eyes. He reached out to touch my massive pregnant belly with a smile.

Cassius finally stirred at my grunting and shot out of bed like a bat leaving the gates of hell.

“Is it time? Oh! It’s time! I’ll get the bags. I’ll get everything. Knox cut a portal to the pack hospital! We’re having a baby!” Cassius ran into the closet, grabbing the duffels they had packed mere hours ago. I fell asleep some time ago with small contractions I had convinced myself weren’t real. But they knew even when I didn’t that this was the time.

Knox helped me stand as a very excited Cassius ran through the portal. No sooner did my feet hit the floor than my water broke. This is really happening.

“I’m in labor.” I looked into my mate’s eyes with tears of joy and fear burning my eyes.

“Yeah. You are.” Knox chuckled, kissing my forehead. Cassius ran back through the portal, grabbing my other arm.

“I’m sorry, red. I got excited.” His cheeks were flushed red, and his pearly smile lit his handsome face.

We stepped through the portal together, and just a short six hours later, the doctor placed a perfect and healthy little girl in my arms. The three of us gawked at each other in shock. As the law goes, our firstborn will be the next ruler. But we all just knew this child would be a boy. There had never been a firstborn female, and here we are with another of many firsts on our hands.

“Hello, Ivy Jane. My sweet girl.” I kissed her little forehead and chuckled when her little face scrunched up. We had spent weeks picking through names that sounded like they would fit a strong boy. Never once had we looked at or thought of girl names. Jane is my mother’s middle name, and it feels fitting.

“Alpha Ivy Jane Grimm, Queen of Creatures… I like it.” Cassius said.

“It does have a very nice ring to it.” Knox reached his finger out, rubbing her face so softly. When we tried to find a boy’s name in those weeks, we also tried to help Knox remember his last name. At some point, he decided just to take Cass’s… and so did I.