INICIAR SESIÓNThree days later. Peace felt strange. Suspicious. Like a trap waiting to spring. Moonhold had survived the war, but barely. Entire sections of the fortress remained damaged. Stone walls lay shattered. Watchtowers leaned at dangerous angles. The scent of smoke still drifted through the mountain air. Yet somehow life continued. Wolves rebuilt. Children laughed again. Hunters and warriors carried supplies through the courtyards. The world moved forward. As if centuries of war had ended with a single breath.Maybe they had. I stood on the highest balcony of Moonhold and watched the sunrise paint the mountains gold. The mark on my wrist glowed softly beneath my sleeve. Different now. Calm. Silent. No pain. No visions. No fragments. Just me. For the first time in what felt like forever, my mind was my own. A knock sounded behind me. I didn't need to turn around. The bond gave him away instantly. Kael. His presence always arrived before he did. Annoying. Comforting. Mostly annoying. A smile
I took a step forward. The void trembled. The Hollow Queen watched me. Hope and fear warred in her eyes. Lyra stood silently beside her. Moonlight gathered around her like a living halo. Both waited. Neither moved. Neither spoke. Because they already knew. The choice belonged to me. Not to prophecy. Not to destiny. Not to gods. Me.The realization felt strangely freeing. For so long everyone had been telling me what I was. Hunter. Human. Moon Queen. Chosen one. Vessel. Savior. Monster. Every answer came with another chain. Another expectation. Another role I was supposed to play. I was tired of it. Tired of being everyone else's solution. Tired of being everyone else's prophecy. The Hollow Queen extended her hand again. "Choose." The word echoed softly. I looked at her. Really looked at her. Not the power. Not the darkness. Not the threat. The pain. I saw it now. The loneliness. The abandonment. The centuries of grief. The endless hunger to become whole. For the first time, I understo
Darkness. Not the peaceful kind. Not sleep. Not unconsciousness. This darkness breathed. It watched. It waited. And somewhere within it, I was falling. The sensation stretched endlessly. No ground. No sky. No up. No down. Just emptiness. Then came the voices. Thousands of them. Whispers drifting through the void. Fragments of memories. Fragments of lives. Fragments of a soul shattered long ago. Lyra's laughter. Auren's voice. The cries of ancient wolves. The screams of dying kingdoms. Centuries of memories crashed together around me. I covered my ears. It didn't help. None of it stopped. None of it belonged to me. Yet all of it wanted me. Wanted to consume me. Become me.The darkness rippled. A figure emerged. The Hollow Queen. Silver eyes glowing. Moonlight twisting through her hair. For the first time, she looked calm. No anger. No rage. No hatred. Only certainty. "It's easier if you stop fighting." Her voice echoed softly through the void. I glared at her. "Not happening." The Holl
The eyes opened fully. Gold. Ancient gold. Brighter than moonlight, brighter than fire, brighter than anything mortal should have been capable of holding. The cavern froze. No one moved. No one breathed. Even the mountain seemed to fall silent, waiting, watching, listening. The enormous eyes blinked once, slowly, and a pressure unlike anything I had ever experienced swept through the ruins. It wasn't power. Not exactly. Power could be resisted, fought, endured. This was authority. The kind woven into the bones of the world itself.The Hollow Queen stumbled backward. Fear flashed across her face. Genuine fear. For the first time since her arrival, she looked uncertain. The sight should have comforted me. Instead, it terrified me. Because if something could frighten her, then we were dealing with something far beyond our understanding. A low growl rolled through the cavern. The sound shook every stone. Silver lakes erupted. Ancient columns cracked. The mountain groaned. My wolf immediat
"My final piece." The words echoed through the ruined cavern. Every instinct inside me screamed: run, fight, hide, do something. Yet I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't look away. The woman standing before us looked like a nightmare crafted from my own reflection. She wore Lyra's face. My face. Silver hair cascaded over her shoulders. Moonlight flowed through her veins. Ancient power radiated from every inch of her. But there was no warmth in her eyes. No humanity. No mercy. Only hunger.The Hollow Queen smiled, and the mountain trembled. The force of her presence alone made the cavern groan. Cracks spread across the floor. Silver lakes erupted into violent waves. Even the air seemed to recoil. Beside me, Kael immediately moved. His body shifted between mine and hers without hesitation. Sword drawn. Golden eyes blazing. Protective. Always protective. The bond surged, strong enough to steal my breath. _Mine._ The thought flashed through both of us simultaneously. The Hollow Que
"For me." The words echoed through the cavern long after Auren fell silent. Thea. Not Lyra. Not the Moon Queen. Not some ancient soul reborn. Me. Yet somehow that wasn't comforting. Because every path still seemed to end the same way. Disappearing. Being consumed. Becoming someone else. The silver mark on my wrist pulsed painfully. Once. Twice. Then again. Each pulse sent strange images flashing through my mind. A silver crown. Moonlit gardens. A pair of hands that weren't mine. Memories that didn't belong to me. The fragment was growing stronger. I could feel it. And judging by the expressions around me, everyone else could too.The Moon Goddess looked troubled. Auren looked afraid. Kael looked furious. That last one surprised me. The Alpha's golden eyes never left my wrist. The glowing mark reflected in them. His jaw tightened. A muscle ticked beneath his cheek. Dangerous. Protective. Terrified. The bond carried every emotion directly into me. And for the first time, I didn't push i







