The Forgotten Alpha

Chapter 25 – The Forgotten Alpha

The words echoed through the night.

"He's here."

Elena's frightened whisper spread across the Alpha Manor like a curse.

Within seconds, Liam was already moving.

The bedroom door burst open as he rushed inside, Lia closed behind him.

"Ethan!" Liam shouted.

No answer.

Lia's heart lurched.

The room was empty.

The window stood open, the curtains swaying gently in the cold wind.

"Ethan..." she breathed, panic creeping into her voice.

Outside, Ethan stood frozen in the training grounds.

The hooded stranger hadn't taken another step.

He didn't need to.

His presence alone felt overwhelming, pressing down on the air until every breath became difficult.

Kaiden stood protectively in front of Ethan, his muscles tense, his silver eyes fixed on the mysterious figure.

"You shouldn't have come," Kaiden said through gritted teeth.

The stranger's deep laugh echoed across the courtyard.

"You still speak to me as though you have a choice."

Ethan frowned.

"Who is he?"

Kaiden never looked away from the hooded figure.

"His name has been erased from history."

The stranger slowly lifted a hand and lowered his hood.

Moonlight revealed a face untouched by age.

Long silver hair framed sharp features, and glowing silver eyes burned with ancient wisdom and terrible power.

A crescent-shaped mark glowed faintly on his forehead.

"My name," he said calmly, "is Alpha Noctis."

The earth trembled.

Even the oldest trees bowed as though recognizing their first master.

Inside the manor, Victor staggered backward as soon as he heard the name carried on the wind.

"It cannot be..."

Seraphina's face turned pale.

"The First Alpha."

Ryan looked between them in confusion.

"I thought he was only a legend."

Victor slowly shook his head.

"No."

"He was the beginning."

Noctis smiled as Ethan stared at him.

"You carry your father's courage."

His eyes shifted toward the manor.

"And your mother's heart."

Ethan's fists tightened.

"You know my parents?"

"I knew their ancestors."

Silence fell.

I watched kingdoms rise."

"I watched kingdoms fall."

"I watched wolves become divided by greed."

His gaze softened.

"And now... I have come to see whether the Moon Heirs will repeat history... or change it forever."

A powerful gust swept across the courtyard.

Liam landed between Ethan and Noctis in a single leap.

His Alpha aura exploded outward.

"No one threatens my family."

Lia arrived moments later, standing beside Ethan while pulling him gently behind her.

Elena hurried after them, still shaken by the vision.

Noctis studied the family quietly.

Then, to everyone's surprise...

He smiled.

"A family willing to stand together."

He nodded once.

"Good."

Liam frowned.

"You didn't come to fight?"

"I did not."

"Then why are you here?"

Noctis looked toward the Blood Moon hanging above Mooncrest.

"Because something far older than Magnus is awakening."

The courtyard became silent.

Kaiden's expression hardened.

"What do you mean?"

Noctis turned toward the distant mountains.

"There are forces that feed on the hatred between Alpha packs."

"They slept while wolves fought one another."

"But peace..."

His glowing eyes settled on Ethan and Elena.

"...has awakened them."

The words hung heavily in the air.

Lia exchanged a worried glance with Liam.

"So ending the war wasn't enough?" she asked quietly.

"No," Noctis replied.

"It was only the first step."

He slowly reached into his cloak and removed a small crystal unlike anything they had ever seen.

It glowed with soft silver light, almost like captured moonlight.

"This is the Heart of the Moon."

Elena gasped.

"I've seen it."

Everyone turned toward her.

"In my visions."

Noctis nodded.

"It has been calling to you."

Liam stepped forward cautiously.

"What is it?"

"The only relic capable of sealing the darkness before it consumes every territory."

Silence.

Then Ryan asked the question everyone was thinking.

"If you have it..."

"Why not use it yourself?"

For the first time, sadness crossed Noctis's face.

"Because its power no longer answers me."

He looked directly at Ethan and Elena.

"It answers only to the Moon Heirs."

Before anyone could respond, a deafening roar echoed from deep within the forest.

The ground shook violently.

Birds burst into the sky in frightened flocks.

A second roar followed.

Closer.

Much closer.

Ryan immediately drew his sword.

"That's no ordinary wolf."

Victor's expression darkened.

"No..."

He whispered.

"It's something much worse."

Noctis slowly closed his eyes.

"They found us sooner than I expected."

Liam's voice became steady and commanding.

"Warriors, form a defensive line around the manor! No one leaves the children unprotected!"

The courtyard exploded into motion as guards raced to their positions.

Ethan stepped beside his father.

"I'm staying this time."

Liam looked at him for a long moment.

Then, instead of arguing, he placed a firm hand on Ethan's shoulder.

"Then stand with your family."

Ethan nodded proudly.

"I will."

Lia took Elena's hand.

No matter what emerged from the darkness...

They would face it together.

Far beyond the outer wall, two enormous crimson eyes slowly opened between the ancient trees.

They did not belong to a wolf.

They belonged to something that had hunted wolves long before the first Alpha was ever born.

Its deep growl rolled across the forest.

And Mooncrest realized that the greatest battle of its history had not yet begin.