LOGINThe chamber remained frozen. Nobody spoke. The crimson words burned across the surface of the Moon Throne. THE CROWN HAS BEEN FOUND. Lyra stared at them, unable to breathe. Her father's face had gone completely pale. Elara slowly stepped toward the throne. Her eyes remained fixed on the glowing message. “No,” she whispered. Lyra turned toward her. “You know where it is.” Elara stopped. Her silence was enough. Lyra's expression hardened. “Mom.” Elara looked at her daughter. “Tell me.” Her father stepped forward. “Elara.” “No.” Lyra raised her hand. “No more.” The silver light around her fingers flickered. “I asked for the truth. You promised me.” Elara closed her eyes. Then she nodded. “The crown was never destroyed.” Lyra's heart tightened. “Then where was it?” Her father answered this time. “Hidden.” “Where?” “In a place Malachor could never reach.” Lyra looked at him. “And now?” His jaw tightened. “Someone has found it.” A cold feeling moved through the chamber. Selene looked toward
The Moon Palace had gone silent. Not peaceful. Silent. The kind of silence that came after a storm had torn through everything in its path and left the survivors standing among the ruins, trying to understand what had just happened. Lyra stood before the restored Moon Throne, staring at it. Silver light moved across its surface in slow pulses. The crescent moon carved into the throne glowed softly, intertwined with the dark wolf beneath it. Moon and darkness. Her two bloodlines. Her inheritance. Her burden. Her destiny. She still couldn't decide which one frightened her most.Behind her, footsteps approached. Lyra didn't turn. She already knew who it was. "Lyra." Her mother's voice. Elara. Lyra closed her eyes. For twenty-one years, she had dreamed of hearing that voice. For twenty-one years, she had imagined what it would feel like to finally meet the woman who had given birth to her. Now that the moment had arrived, Lyra didn't know whether she wanted to cry, scream, or demand answe
The chamber exploded into chaos. Dark creatures poured through the shattered doors, their bodies twisted beneath black armor and shadow, their crimson eyes burning through the silver light. Their claws scraped against the crystal floor as they charged. Lyra stood at the center of it all. A silver fire burned around her left hand. Crimson energy curled around her right. For one suspended heartbeat, nobody moved. Then the first creature lunged. Lyra reacted without thinking. Her wolf roared inside her. Now. She thrust out her hand, and a wave of silver and crimson power erupted from her body. The creature was thrown backward with such force that it crashed into three others, their bodies slamming against the crystal walls and cracking the ancient stone. Lyra stared at her hands. She had done that. She hadn't even known she could. Another creature charged from her left. Kael moved first, his sword flashing beneath the silver light, cutting through the creature's weapon before driving
“The second one... is your mother.” Lyra stopped breathing. For several seconds, she could hear nothing. Not the trembling palace. Not the distant howls. Not even the roar of the creature beneath the throne. Only those words. Your mother. Her eyes remained fixed on Selene. “My mother is dead.” Selene didn't answer. Lyra's voice rose. “You told me she died twenty-one years ago.” “She did.” “Then how can she be here?” Selene's face tightened with pain. “She died as a woman.” Lyra frowned. “What does that mean?” Selene looked toward the darkness beneath the broken throne. “She was never buried.” A violent tremor shook the chamber. The second pair of crimson eyes opened wider. Something enormous shifted beneath the palace. Kael moved closer to Lyra. “Selene, explain.” But Selene wasn't looking at him. She was staring at Lyra. “Your mother wasn't killed.” Lyra's heart pounded. “She was sealed.” The words barely left Selene's mouth before Lyra staggered backward. “No.” Her wolf stirred une
The first thing Lyra felt was heat. Not the warmth of the Moon Throne. This was different. It was suffocating, violent, almost alive. Kael's arms were still wrapped around her as the floor continued to shake beneath them. Pieces of crystal rained from the shattered throne, exploding against the marble floor. The silver flames that had once surrounded the chamber had vanished, replaced by darkness that crawled upward from the enormous crack beneath the throne.Lyra stared into the abyss. Two crimson eyes stared back. They were impossibly large. Ancient. Hungry. Her wolf went completely silent. For the first time since Lyra had awakened her, she felt genuine fear from the creature inside her. Run.Lyra swallowed. “Who is that?” Neither Kael nor the Dark Alpha answered. The Dark Alpha stood frozen, his weapon lowered at his side. His face had lost every trace of arrogance. “No,” he whispered.The creature beneath them laughed. The sound rolled through the chamber like thunder. “You still
“Welcome home, little Moon Queen.”The voice echoed beneath the ruined city, and Lyra couldn't breathe. The black mark on her wrist burned like molten iron. She tried to pull her hand away, but the darkness had already spread across her skin, crawling toward her elbow like living ink.“Get it off me!”She clawed at her wrist. Nothing happened.Her wolf growled inside her mind.Don't let him take control.“Who is he?”The one they feared.Another tremor shook the city. The enormous black claw disappeared beneath the ground, followed by a deafening roar that sent waves of dust through the streets.The Dark Alpha grabbed Lyra's shoulders.“Listen to me.”Lyra looked into his crimson eyes.“What?”“You have to reach the Moon Throne before he rises completely.”“Why?”“Because once he leaves his prison, the throne will be the only thing powerful enough to stop him.”Selene stepped forward.“And if she reaches it too late?”The Dark Alpha's expression hardened.“Then the Seven Kingdoms will







