It was getting dark again.  The battle has been going on for twenty-four hours now and the warriors are  exhausted.  The best warriors among the packs were already tired and  wounded.  The beast is unstoppable and it has immeasurable strength. The Alphas themselves had engaged in the fight and even their incredible fighting skills are no match to that of the beast. This is expected to a celestial beast, only that,  it's power is too overwhelming. Now that the weapons were exhausted and the moon powder gone,  they were solely relying in their strength and battle prowess.  But the pack is also a formidable foe,  as stubborn and vicious,  they are also united. Team work may be their ultimate weapon against their celestial opponent. Good thing that the news about the beast has spread, more reinforcements has arrived bringing with them more firearms, weapons and manpower.

The Grand Alpha has decided to chunk the moon stone in half which made the Black Moon Great Elder angry as it is a defilement to the Moon Goddess' gift to their kind.  But having no more options,  he just consented but it went through a series of arguments before he finally was convinced.  They will have to deal with the consequences later. 

Not a single building was left in the town.  Houses,  buildings, establishments were all blown to pieces as if a bomb was dropped on it.  The children, old and disabled, including the wounded has to be evacuated in the nearest town of the Golden Moon pack.  The town is now a battlefield. The ground zero of chaos. 

Bill having been injured by the beast's attacks never stopped  from trying to talk to his daughter.  Something is manipulating her and the must help her. No matter how many times he was whacked,  thrown, and torched by its fireballs,  he will never give up.  He will continue to reach for her. Bill now realizes those times when Mona was just a child who was trying to reach out to him, please him with her little achievements in school,  and the way her eyes speaks affection for him only to be takenfor granted.  Those times when he beats her for being the child who took his wife away,  the child he neglected for sins she had no idea of and for being a reminder of the vow he broke the moment Claire died.  This must be how Mona felt during those times. To be ignored no matter how many times you reach out for that one person. To be unnoticed no matter how much effort you give. To be unheard even if you are running out of voice calling for them. Indeed, the feeling is not funny. Now, he understands how it felt. Bill felt warm tears gushing in his face,  bitter and angry tears for himself. 

"Mona! Wake up! Please.... " Bill begged crying,  hugging the beast's gigantic leg.  It stomped  and stomped until Bill has lost his grip, he fell flat on the ground.  With it's giant paw, it crushed Bill, forcing the life out of him.

William saw Bill in the brink of death,  being crushed by the beast's giant paw as if a bug.  He saw a fallen spear,  still emitting a pinkish glow, bathe in moon stone powder.  He took it and pierced through the beast's leg, it let out a scream, releasing Bill who was now as limp as wilted eggplant,  blood dripping from his mouth,  eyes wide open and dazed.  Tristan helped him to move Bill away and give him away to the medical team. 

William is terrified, the hard truth sinking in.  Now that Bill is spent,  who else can stop the beast?? 

The wolves exhibit their agility, agitating the beast because it can't seize them. Firearms are shot to the beast , slowing its movements.

"Don't let them frighten you, sweetie. You have the upper hand now,  you have power beyond imagination and none of these weaklings can match you. This time, they will bow at you. They will recognize your power and they must accept their defeat!" Claire nudged her again.

"You are not a beast. You are one of us. Remember what you are!" a voice amplified in Mona's head. A voice she had known all her life, and she the one she had been missing.

"Granny?" she stopped and listened tl its echoes. It's Josephine's voice.

"Don't let the beast control you! Fight it!" another voice spoke, it was rather ragged and in much difficulty as if being trapped somewhere. She knows the whose voice it was.

"Thalia??" for the first time in a long time, she heard her. What happened to her? Why is she reaching out just now?

"Is that you? Thalia? Talk to me..." Mona pleads, hoping she is not just hearing and imagining things.

A puff of fog gingerly encircled her. The form of which was that of her wolf.

"Thalia??"  she repeated.

"It's me Mona. It's me your wolf, Thalia..." Thalia spoke softly.

"What happened to you? Why did'nt you reached out to me? I thought you abandoned me..." Mona kneeled in front of her wolf.

"I will never do that. I will be with you always..." Thalia said, breathing heavily.

"Then what's wrong? Why  can't I  shift to your form and why have you stopped talking to me?" Mona demanded, her voice irritated.

"I was restricted and imprisoned. I was bound within. The power that bind me was so strong I can't break free..." Thalia explained sadly.

"Who bind you?" Mona asked quizzically, still not believing to what she's hearing. Is it possible that her own powers restricted her wolf from coming out? As she grew up, she knew she was different. The development of her senses and agility was beyond anyone in their generation though she had not used much of it. Has she developed another kind of power?

"The beast contained me Mona. The Celestial Beast."  Thalia answered directly.

"What?!" Mona was surprised. That is impossible! How could she have such a beast in her?

"The beast wakes up after the rejection of our mate. It has been gaining power eversince. Taking power from your miseries that was buried deep in your heart. I can't overpower him. He is much, much stronger than me..." Thalia explained. Mona was still in shock.

"And it is ravaging the town. It has taken over you, feeding in your hatred. Destroying everything in its path." Mona shook her head in  disbelief.

"My mom... She..." Mona cannot finish her words.

"She is a fake." a casual yet loving voice said. Now her puff of smoke of a wolf turned to another form that of Josephine.

"Granny!" Mona exclaimed and reached out to her, but as soon as she touched the fog it deformed like a placid water when disturbed.

The beast stopped moving as if contemplating, like a toy car that has ran out of batteries. The pack warriors waited for its next move, but it had not moved a muscle. Realizing that the beast is not in itself, the wolves took their chance to attack it and bound its feet in giant silver chains, the moon powder glowing on it. As soon as it was chained, he directed the warriors to stop attacking. Spears and  arrows sticking all over its body. Lashes and wounds oozing with purple light evaporating to the heavens.

Tristan moved near to the beast's feet. He slowly touched it and as soon as he felt the beast's fur in the palm of his hand, something carried his soul somewhere, as if it was sucked out of his body. But his conciousness is intact though he feels drifting. He is lifted upwards until he stopped and saw himself in a long hallway. Both walls looked differently. The one in the right has bright and warm paint, the other on the left is dark with  peeling paint,  purple smoke hovering above. At the end of the hall is an old door, a bright light emanating from it. As he walked towards the door, the walls showed images as if a slide show. Images of days gone by, like muted video clips. The images were familiar but it was not his. Then he realized that the images were Mona's memories.

"She's a fake. It is the beast's way of controlling you. It makes use of your greatest desires and using your mother, as you can see is very effective. Don't let it control you Mona. You are more than that..." Josephine spoke clearly.

"I- I don't understand..." Mona said confusely. It means her mother was just an illusion created by the beast to manipulate her? She believed that finally she have someone to defend her, protect her and give her refuge. Realizing they were lies.

"Your mother has died Mona. She's never coming back. Remember that. There is no way she can be with you..." Josephine said firmly.

"Then what about you? Why are you here then? You're dead too. If what you said were true, then you must not be showing yourself to me. Are you ...some kind of a trick?" she said accusingly.

"I am not a trick, Mona. But I am not real as well. I am just a figment of your memories. You have known me all through your life. You loved me and I am here in your heart. Unlike your Mom, though you love her. You were not able to interact with her. You never seen her alive. She can't be part of your memories. And I, I am here in your heart. As I said, the beast used your Mom and your desire to meet her inorder to manipulate you..." The old woman explained gently, like a  loving mother to her toddler who was throwing a tantrum.

"Don't believe her!!! She is a liar!!" Shouted Claire, who appeared out of the blue, standing behind Josephine.
She clawed at the it hastily until Josephine's form turned to wisps of fog. 

"She is deceiving you! Remember your revenge!" Claire said angrily.

A wisp of fog swirled near her ear leaving one last whisper before it vanished.

"Listen to your heart... Remember who you truly are...."

Tristan walked slowly, looking at each of the frozen moments on the wall. All of it were Mona's. From when she was a little girl up to now. He saw when she was beaten by her Dad who was so drunk. He smashed a vase on Mona's head, broken pieces scattering around, her head bleeding profusely. Little Mona  retreated under the table to evade her father's wrath. Soon,  an old woman came out removing the child away from her father who seem to have gone mad. Another was when her classmates were picking at her. Little Paula and Myrtle, pulling Mona's hair simultaneously, Burris were scattering  the contents of Mona's bag. Excluding her in group works, avoiding her as if she's carrying a contagious disease. He noticed that these memories in the dark wall were her bad memories. She was consistently shoved, pushed aside or down to the mud, thrown with things, made her clean up other's mess and she just let them do it. Another was when Henry rejected her. She was totally broken although she managed to eventually accept all of it and keep on putting her brave face on. She stifles a cry but after will stand up and wipe her tears away. She is a very strong girl and he admire her for that.

On the other side of the wall, Tristan saw Mona smiling. He rarely see her smile, except one time and he thinks that it was the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. Her eyes smiles too when she smile, so charming, delightful and pure. How could he so blind? He saw her laughing with her Granny Josephine, tending the flowers, helping her in household chores,celebrating her birthdays with Josephine and later with Troy, or just plainly sitting with her. Tristan saw it all. She's happy too in her solitude. When she's sketching, running in the woods, gathering plants and insects, spending the night looking up at the moon with hopeful eyes. Memories of young Mona until she was her age now. She had her happy moments and this wall contains all of it. He stopped on two frame of  memories that outshines the rest,  one was when her father has finally begged for her forgiveness and started making amends. It was a rare and beautiful sight indeed. Another includes him and his heart suddenly went crazy. It was one of her precious memories. It was when he kissed her for the first time in the clearing. He can feel the rush of delight in his body, the very same as he felt during that time. He's elated knowing that his gesture made her happy. He moved on, the door a meter away from him. On the opposite wall another shining sad or bad memory loomed and he stopped on his tracks. He saw Mona, his mother and Bruce who were brutally torturing her until she lay crumpled on the floor, bloody and her spirits bent. His mother looking very evil, he had not thought she'll be able to do it to her. He can't watch any longer, it pains him to watch her that way and he is furious with his Mother. And then Mona transformed into a white ball of blinding light and from it emerged the celestial beast.

An ear-splitting scream coming from behind the door echoed through the hallway. Tristan tensed up and reached for the doorknob.