INICIAR SESIÓNThe stranger descended the ridge at a leisurely pace, while thousands of wolves remained frozen in the snow, as if an invisible weight had settled upon their shoulders. He carried no weapon, wore no armor, and displayed no emblem, yet the Founders’ Guard watched him with a fear usually reserved for an approaching army.Luna rested a hand against Aurora’s neck. The white wolf was still standing, but just barely. Her legs trembled beneath her, and every few seconds her head dipped before she forced it upright again. “Aurora, don’t hurt yourself fighting,” Luna said softly. Aurora could no longer respond in Luna’s mind, but her golden eyes shifted toward Luna with an expression that needed no magic to be understood. She was going to fight anyway.Beside them, Onyx was doing the same. His claws dug deep into the snow as he resisted whatever pressure was forcing the other wolves down, while Darius stood close without touching him. Fenrir had already knelt. That frightened Luna more than an
The man under the white banner stayed on one knee, snow dusting his shoulders. Behind him, hundreds of soldiers mirrored his pose, so still it unsettled Darius more than any charging army. Onyx stood silently beside Darius, his tense posture and low growl speaking volumes. Darius felt it too.“Stand,” he commanded.The soldiers rose instantly, every single one. Darius’s expression shifted, and Luna noticed. “You didn’t mean to command them all.”“No.” Fenrir watched from a distance, his red eyes sharp with curiosity. Yet, they had obeyed.Darius turned to the man who had spoken. “Your name?”The stranger removed his gloves, revealing an old scar across the back of his right hand. “Gideon Vale.”Silas reacted instantly. “Vale?” Luna looked at him.Silas stared at Gideon. “That bloodline ended.”Gideon smiled faintly. “According to whom?”“The Circle’s records.”“Then perhaps you should have learned by now not to trust everything the Circle preserved.” Silas’s jaw tightened, but he said
Darius didn't move right away. He stayed by Onyx's side, Luna's hand still clasped in his, as he faced Fenrir. Even though what the ancient wolf was saying sounded completely unbelievable, too many impossible things had already turned out to be true under this mountain for him to just dismiss it because he wished it wasn't so."The Circle was waiting for me," Darius repeated, his voice surprisingly steady, though Luna could feel the tension building in his shoulders.Fenrir's red eyes stayed locked on him. "Not you specifically, Darius Blackwood," he clarified, "but what generations of your bloodline were meant to become."Luna squeezed Darius's hand tighter. Their mate bond was still broken, so she couldn't sense his anger or fear through magic. But she didn't need a bond to recognize that dangerous calm that came over him when something threatened the people he loved."Explain it," Darius commanded.Silas took a hesitant step forward. "Darius, maybe we should consider if Fenrir is t
Fenrir gawked at Luna and Aurora, like they’d somehow broken the laws of nature. The magical link, the silent channel for thoughts, feelings, and even pain, was gone. Yet, Aurora stayed close to Luna, a deliberate choice.Across the vast cavern, Darius stood with a hand resting on Onyx’s neck. He couldn’t feel the black wolf’s emotions anymore, and Onyx couldn’t hear Darius’s unspoken thoughts. Still, neither of them moved away from the other.Fenrir’s red eyes flickered between them. *Impossible.*Nyra stepped back from the shattered platform, wincing as she favored her injured shoulder. "Only to someone who believes connection needs a chain," she murmured.Fenrir snarled. "They will leave.""Maybe," Luna replied.Darius glanced at her, his eyes sharp, but Luna kept her focus on Fenrir. "Maybe Aurora leaves me someday. Maybe I disappoint her, maybe she changes, or maybe I do. I don't know what will happen ten years from now, and neither do you."Fenrir’s claws scraped against the sto
The broken platform kept crumbling long after Fenrir’s claws ripped through it. Rocks tumbled into the darkness below, silver chains snapped against the cavern floor, and black mist billowed upwards, obscuring Nyra who stood between them and the opening.Darius yanked Luna behind him as another chunk of rock exploded outward. “Stay close,” he ordered.“Don’t worry, I’m not planning on wandering off,” Luna retorted.He chuckled, a bit grimly. “That would be way more reassuring if I’d ever known you to actually stick to that plan.”Luna almost shot back a reply, but a sound from beneath the platform silenced her. Breathing. Deep, colossal breaths filled the cavern, each one carrying a scent Aurora recognized even before Luna did. Wolf, blood, damp earth, and something so ancient it sent every instinct screaming inside her.Onyx moved, slinking beside Darius, his body low and ready to pounce. Nyra snarled at him. Don’t challenge him.Darius frowned. “Why?”Because he wants you to.Anothe
Another howl echoed from somewhere below the chamber, deeper this time. Aurora's response inside Luna was so fierce that Luna stumbled. Darius caught her, an arm wrapping around her waist, while Onyx stood rigid beside them, his black fur bristling. “Aurora,” Luna whispered, her hand pressed to her chest. “Talk to me.” For a few moments, only raw emotion came through. Recognition, fear, longing, and something entirely new flooded their bond. Grief. Then Aurora finally answered, "I remember her scent." Luna's breath hitched. "Your mother?" "I thought I remembered losing her." Ash moved closer, Caelan’s borrowed face suddenly tight with tension. “What did she say?” Luna looked at him. “Aurora remembers her mother’s scent.” Ash’s expression shifted instantly. “Then we need to move.” Darius blocked his path. “You’re going to explain that first.” “The pups Evander took weren’t chosen randomly,” Ash explained. “He was looking for specific bloodlines, especially females wh







