The ground trembled beneath my boots, the mountain itself seeming to recoil from the darkness Damon had unleashed. The beast beside him—pure shadow given flesh—towered above us, its eyes twin pits of fire, its maw lined with jagged teeth that dripped with black venom. Kael strained against the silver chains that bound him, blood dripping from his wrists where the metal bit deep. His eyes, wild with fury and fear, locked onto mine. “Elara—RUN!” Run? Not this time. I stepped forward, the Luna Star’s light coiling around me like armor. The air hummed with its power, sharp and cold as a blade. My wolf, my true wolf—the one that had waited so long to be seen—rose inside me, no longer caged by fear or doubt. “I don’t run,” I said, voice like ice. Damon’s grin twisted, savage and dark. “Then die with him.” The Shadow God lunged. Everything slowed. I felt the air tear as its claws came down. I felt the heat of its breath, the stench of rot. But I didn’t move back. I reached—deep, dee
The mist swallowed the world. The pass was silent, except for the ragged sound of my breathing. My heart thundered in my chest, my fists clenched so tight my nails cut into my palms. Kael was gone. Taken. Again. And this time, I wasn’t sure I could get him back. I dropped to my knees, the weight of it all crashing down on me. But even as the hopelessness tried to drown me, another fire burned beneath it—hotter, brighter, wilder. Rage. Pure, unfiltered fury. The Luna Star inside me answered that fury, its light flickering to life, stronger than before. I felt it in my bones, in my blood—the call of something ancient and untamed. I stood, swaying at first, then steady. My eyes lifted to the mountain peak where the Temple of the Moon waited, hidden behind centuries of myths and wards. If there was any hope of stopping Damon, of saving Kael, of ending this nightmare—I’d find it there. Every step up the mountain felt like a battle. The wind howled around me, the cold biting throug
Damon stood at the mouth of the pass, his silver-black cloak whipping in the wind. His eyes glowed with that strange, unnatural light—a molten mix of gold and crimson. Power radiated from him, thick and suffocating, making even the Shadow Pack hesitate on the ridge. “Enough,” he repeated, his voice echoing across the stones like thunder. The wolves froze, snarls dying on their lips. Their heads lowered, ears flattened, as if forced to obey by sheer will. I grabbed Kael’s arm, pulling him closer. “What is this? Damon doesn’t command them—not like this.” Kael’s gaze was locked on Damon, his chest heaving with exhaustion. “That’s not Damon anymore… or at least, not the Damon we knew.” Damon’s smile widened, slow and cold. He took a step closer, his boots crunching on the gravel. “Elara. Kael. I told you I would find you. Did you think you could outrun fate?” “Fate?” I spat. “Is that what you call this? The slaughter, the ruin, the shadow wolves tearing through the land?” He spread
The figure of light stood between us and the creature, a blazing shield against the darkness. The ground trembled beneath its weight, the air crackled with pure energy, and even the shadows that clung to the creature shrank back as if scorched by the very presence of this being. I stared, breathless, clutching Kael’s limp form against me. The fire that had threatened to devour us just moments before recoiled like a tide pulled back by the moon itself. “Who—what are you?” I gasped, my voice hoarse from the raw magic that had burned through me. The figure didn’t turn fully, but I felt its gaze—warm, steady, ancient. A voice answered, low and thunderous. “I am the wolf who guards the Luna line. The first of the blessed. The last of the Starborn. I have waited for this night, Elara.” The creature let out a snarl that echoed across the mountains. “No! You were banished to the void—you cannot stand here!” But the Starborn wolf only lifted its hand, and silver chains formed from starlig
The ground cracked beneath my feet as the creature’s shadows swarmed the clearing. Shapes flickered through the mist—wolves made of smoke, spirits with hollow eyes, beasts I had no name for. And all of them were coming for me. For us. Kael lay barely breathing at my side. His blood soaked the ground, and the silver dart still poisoned his veins. I could feel his wolf, still fighting—but fading. Fading too fast. I had to move. I had to fight. But the creature’s voice coiled through the night, dark and cold. “You are mine, Luna Star. Surrender now, and I may let him live.” “No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “No, you don’t get to take him. Or me.” The creature laughed—a sound like bones snapping, like the world cracking apart. “You think you have a choice? Look around you.” The army closed in, their growls and snarls filling the air. The Blood Moon cast everything in red, like the whole world was bleeding. I gritted my teeth and stood, summoning what magic I had left. My silver
The blade glinted black as Damon’s hand arced toward me, faster than thought, faster than breath. His snarl echoed through the clearing—feral, unhinged, the sound of a wolf who’d lost his soul. I can’t die here. My magic exploded before his blade could find my heart. A shockwave of silver light slammed into him, throwing him backward. He hit a tree so hard the trunk cracked, bark splintering like bone. The dagger flew from his grip, landing in the dirt at my feet. I stared at it—at the jagged edge, still humming with dark energy. The thing that was meant to end me. But it hadn’t. Not yet. “Elara!” Kael’s voice tore through the chaos, ragged with pain but alive. Alive. I turned, my heart surging at the sight of him. Blood dripped from the silver dart that had pierced his side, but he was on his feet, unbroken. His wolf burned in his eyes—wild, protective, mine. “Behind you!” he shouted. I spun again just in time to see Damon charging. But this wasn’t Damon anymore—not really.