Chapter 9 : Awaken

LUNA’S POV

The shadow lunges again, faster than my mind can process. Its black mist lashes toward me, curling around the shards of crystal and frozen water. My silver eyes flare without warning, and my wolf inside me roars, answering the challenge.

I raise my hands—and instinctively, the water rises. Not gently. Not slowly. It twists and spirals, forming jagged spears of ice and silver light. The shadow screams as it crashes into the barrier, recoiling, mist spraying like smoke from burning steel.

I gasp for air. My chest aches. My heartbeat is a drum in my ears. My wolf—my power—is awake. And it is hungry.

“Luna! Focus!” Kaelen’s voice slices through my panic. He’s on his feet, claws flashing, blocking the shadow’s retreat. His golden eyes burn with fire. “Your blood can control the Veil! You can trap it!”

“Trap it?!” I yell. “I barely know how to walk without dying!”

“Then stop thinking! Feel it!” His hands hover near mine, guiding without touching. His wolf is inside me too—calming, protecting, urging me forward.

I close my eyes. Breathe. Feel the cavern. The crystals. The water. The silver-blood pulsing in my veins.

The shadow screeches again, sensing the power rising. Its black mist lashes at me—but I don’t flinch. I command the water. Shards rise like soldiers, forming a cage of light around the creature. It thrashes, shrieks, then howls in rage—but it cannot escape.

I stumble back, shaking. My wolf’s voice echoes in my mind: “Yes… yes… this is yours. Own it.”

Kaelen steps closer, voice low but urgent. “Luna… there’s more you need to know. About your family… about the throne.”

I blink, still catching my breath. “What… more?”

He swallows, eyes flicking to the trapped shadow. “You are not just Silver-Blooded. You are the last heir of the Moon Empress.”

My knees nearly buckle. “Heir… what?”

“The throne your blood can unlock—the dormant Moon Throne—was meant for you. Not him, not the King. You.” Kaelen’s hands brush the air as if feeling threads only he can sense. “They’ve hunted you all your life because he fears your power, Luna. Because you are stronger than anyone alive… including him.”

My head spins. My silver eyes flare brighter, reflecting the cavern’s shattered crystals. “I’m… supposed to be royalty? But I’m just… me!”

Kaelen steps closer, close enough that his breath brushes my hair. “No. You’ve always been more than ‘just you.’ The Moon Empress’ blood flows through your veins. And now… the prophecy is real. You can save the werewolf race… or destroy it.”

The shadow shrieks again, pounding the silver cage, black mist seeping through cracks in the light. It growls a voice—sickly familiar, chillingly human.

“Luna… it knows your name.” Kaelen’s voice is sharp. “And it knows your weakness.”

I glance at it. Mist curls into a face—familiar. A face I recognize from nightmares, from whispers in my dreams, from the night my family disappeared.

“No…” I whisper. My stomach drops. “It’s… him.”

Kaelen growls, claws digging into the cavern floor. “The King sent his right-hand Feral after you. He wants you alive… or dead. And he wants your power. Now.”

My wolf growls inside me. I feel it—a hunger, a rage, a need to protect. I raise my hands again, silver light erupting stronger than before, wrapping the shadow in a cage of pure moon energy. It thrashes, screams, but cannot escape.

Kaelen’s eyes lock on mine. “You are ready. But you must control it. Breathe. Feel the power. Let it flow.”

I do. I close my eyes. Let the silver-blood guide me. The shadow shrieks, smoke curling into screams of rage. Then, slowly… the creature falters, dissipating into shards of black mist that scatter across the cavern like ashes.

Silence.

The cavern trembles, then settles. Water drains back, light dimming to a soft silver glow.

I collapse to my knees, trembling, chest heaving. My wolf inside me growls softly, satisfied.

Kaelen kneels beside me, brushing a strand of damp hair from my face. “You did it. You… survived your first real test.”

I glance at him, silver eyes still glowing faintly. “This… was just the beginning, wasn’t it?”

Kaelen’s jaw tightens. He stares at the shadows of the cavern entrance. “No. The King knows you are awake. And now… he will come himself.”

I swallow, feeling my blood run cold. “H-he’s… coming? Now?”

Kaelen rises, pulling me up with him. His golden eyes blaze with fire, determination, and something unspoken—a promise.

“Yes. And we won’t wait for him. We fight him where he cannot touch anyone else.”

My heart pounds in my chest. Fear, adrenaline, and a strange surge of power swirl together.

Then… from the shadows at the cavern’s mouth, a figure steps forward. Tall. Clad in black. Masked. A presence that fills the room with death before it even moves.

Kaelen growls low in his throat. “Luna… he’s here.”

My wolf growls. My silver eyes flare brighter than the cavern itself.

And I know… this battle will be nothing like anything I’ve ever faced.

The King has come.

To be continued..