Defying the Rogue Alpha
Chapter 132: Divine

Chapter 132: Divine

Zoe let out an exasperated groan, half from pain, half from the fact that apparently nobody listened to her anymore. "Do I not speak English? Hello? I said no!"

Missy folded her arms. "Ava hasn’t connected with her wolf yet. And her wolf is the only thing keeping her divine power from overwhelming her. Without that balance..."

"She burns out," Dennis finished. "Or worse."

Missy nodded grimly. "Exactly. Now add the weight of Zoe’s magic..."

Dennis began to pace, muttering every curse word known to man and likely inventing a few new ones along the way.

Zoe watched him, a strange warmth blooming in her chest through all the pain. He was panicking over her. She wasn’t used to that. People didn’t usually panic over her.

Dennis suddenly froze mid-pace. "How about if Ava wears the amulet?" he asked, snapping his fingers.

"It may help," Missy said cautiously. "But I don’t know much about it. It’s old and it doesn’t exactly come with instructions. It’s a chance... but it’s a chance that may be risky to take."

Dennis clenched his jaw, looking down at Zoe. She was shivering now, her body wracked with small tremors, sweat glistening on her brow. And still—still—she tried to smile at him, to be brave for him.

Screw that.

"Keep Zoe comfortable. Do what you can. I’m going to the fortress."

Dennis was out the door, the transformation into his wolf beginning. His first full shift in ten years.

He ran like hell was licking at his heels, his wolf form tearing through the streets, fur glinting in the moonlight. It was still the middle of the night—well past midnight—but time didn’t matter when the woman you loved was dying. If he had to wake the world, punch the moon, and growl down the stars to get help, then so be it.

The fortress loomed as he approached. The guards were instantly alert, and shouting warnings. He shifted back midstride, once they recognised him, they gave way for him to go through. He stormed through the fortress until he got to the Alpha’s building.

The night guards tried to stop him but he ignored them and made his way through.

Lucas cracked open his door, already alert from the thudding footsteps and distant yelling. He moved to the living room.

When he opened the door, he found a fully naked Dennis.

Lucas blinked. "Seriously? You couldn’t grab a change of clothes in your jaw before you shifted and bolted over here? What’s the emergency, or are you just here to model?"

"Zoe’s dying."

Lucas’s teasing dropped from his face. His posture stiffened. He simply turned back inside, already moving to the bedroom to grab a change of clothes for Dennis.

"Start talking," Lucas ordered as he tossed him a pair of pants.

Dennis spoke while pulling them on, his hands shaking with urgency. "It’s her father. He... he did something to her. There’s this... magic. Old magic. It’s sewn into her...into her neck. When she refused to return, it activated. It’s torturing her. If she doesn’t go back, she’ll die."

What the actual fuck?" he exploded. "She’s got a ticking time bomb in her spine and she didn’t mention this earlier?"

Dennis glared. "I didn’t ask questions, Lucas! I just bolted over here!"

"And you want Ava to heal her," Lucas said, piecing it together.

"Missy says Ava can help," Dennis said. It wasn’t a suggestion—it was the last desperate hope of a man watching the love of his life slip through his fingers.

Lucas rubbed both hands down his face. "She can’t," he muttered, shaking his head, pacing the length of the living room like a man in a cage. "That much power... Dennis, it will kill her. Do you hear me? Kill. Her!"

Dennis’s jaw tensed, but he didn’t look away. "She’ll wear the amulet," he insisted. "Missy said it might help keep her strength steady."

"Might?" Lucas snapped, whirling around to face him. "That’s not a plan, that’s a prayer. Dennis... I want to help. I do. But please. Don’t ask this of me. Don’t ask me to gamble Ava’s life just to maybe...maybe...save someone else’s."

Dennis swallowed hard. He looked tired. Not physically but emotionally. Crushed under the weight of choosing who lives and who risks dying.

He stepped back and nodded slowly, shoulders slumping. "I understand," he said quietly. "Sorry I woke you."

He turned to leave, pain darkening his eyes.

"Dennis, wait!" Ava’s voice cut through the room.

Both men turned, startled. She stood by the bedroom entrance.

"I’ll help," she said.

"Ava..."

"She’s in this situation because of me," Ava said, stepping past them both. "Because she chose to protect me."

Lucas tried to speak but the words snagged in his throat.

"Let’s go," she said softly.

*****

The rogue camp was quiet.

Lucas had insisted they bring Lanaya. If something went sideways with Ava, he wasn’t going to stand by and let love become collateral damage.

They all crowded into Dennis’s room where Zoe now lay unconscious, her breathing shallow, lips pale. Her body was curled slightly.

Missy rose from the edge of the bed, cradling something in her hands. "She gave me this," she said gently, and passed it to Ava.

The amulet glinted, a beautifully crafted chain with a red gem the size of a plum. It pulsed faintly.

"She handed it to me before she passed out," Missy whispered.

Ava took it with reverence, as if holding something sacred. She turned to Lucas, and her heart caught. He looked... undone.

"I love you," she said.

Lucas’s face twisted. "Don’t say that," he whispered, shaking his head. "Don’t say it like you’re not going to say it again."

Ava smiled softly as she slipped the amulet onto her wrist, its cool metal pressing against her skin. The moment it clicked shut, a surge of power rushed through her body. Her knees nearly buckled under the weight of it, but she gritted her teeth and straightened. Her eyes fluttered shut, and in the sudden silence of her mind, a voice filled her thoughts.

’Hey, old friend.’

Ava’s heart squeezed. Willow.

’Willow... We’ll catch up later,’ Ava replied, already bracing herself for what she was about to do. ’A friend needs help. She carries black magic in her blood.’

’The ritual to bond you to your divinity is not complete,’ Willow warned. ’But we can try. Hold her hand, steel your mind. Do not let the magic make it through you.’

Ava gave a quick nod, even though no one could see it. "Got it. Don’t let evil magic worm into my soul and destroy me. Easy peasy." Her sarcasm was more for herself than anyone else.

She opened her eyes, now fully golden, glowing. Lucas was tense. Missy hovered nervously, and Dennis looked like he was ready to tackle anyone—or anything—that hurt her. Even Lanaya looked uneasy.

With a breath that rattled in her lungs, Ava stepped forward and reached for Zoe’s hand.

The moment their fingers touched, Ava gasped. It wasn’t pain—it was weight. A heavy, cloying power that seeped from Zoe into her, not just dark but sick. It coiled around her, trying to cling, to take, to infect. She could feel her own power rushing out. But unlike before, her healing wasn’t just giving—it was also fighting back.

Her knees buckled again. Lucas took a half step forward, but Missy held him back with a firm hand on his arm.

Ava gritted her teeth, sweat beading along her forehead. Her whole body trembled as she fought to keep the black magic from seeping into her essence.

’Steel your mind, Ava,’ Willow snapped in her head. ’Don’t let it get through. Imagine you’re a damn fortress. No doors. No windows. Just stone and fury, got it?’

"I didn’t train for this!" Ava mumbled aloud through clenched teeth.

(We are on the golden tickets ranking!!! Keep em coming guys! Can we make it to top ten?)