The morning after Damian’s departure was a blur of emotions. Selena’s mind felt foggy, as though the entire encounter in the woods had been a dream—until she saw the remnants of the magic that had still lingered in the air, the faint glow of moonlight that hadn’t quite dissipated from the forest clearing.
Her heart still raced from the encounter, each of Damian’s words replaying in her mind. Everything you think you know is a lie. The cryptic tone of his voice haunted her, twisting through her thoughts, making her second-guess everything she had ever been told about herself, about the power she now held.
She had always believed her strength came from within, from her own determination. But what if that wasn’t the whole truth? What if there was something darker, something more dangerous lurking in the shadows, waiting to reveal itself?
Selena couldn’t shake the feeling that she was standing at the edge of something enormous—something that would change her life forever.
At work that day, her usual routine felt like a distant memory. The mundane tasks of answering emails, organizing schedules, and meeting with clients seemed trivial compared to the weight of the revelations she had been forced to confront. She couldn’t focus on anything. Her mind kept drifting back to Damian and his cryptic words. What did he mean? And why did she feel like there was a truth just beyond her grasp, waiting for her to uncover it?
Her phone buzzed, snapping her out of her thoughts. It was a message from Elias, the one person who might be able to answer some of her questions. Meet me at the usual spot. We need to talk. Selena hesitated for only a moment before typing a quick reply. I’ll be there.
She knew Elias might hold the answers she sought, but part of her still didn’t trust him completely. There was something about him—something she couldn’t quite put her finger on—that made her wary. But she had no choice. She needed answers, and if Elias was the only one who could give them to her, then she would take the risk.
The meeting spot was an old café on the edge of town, a place she and Elias had frequented years ago before everything had changed. The dimly lit room, with its old wooden tables and worn leather booths, held a quiet charm. But today, it felt different. The air was thick with tension, and Selena couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to shift.
She spotted Elias at their usual booth in the back, his tall figure slumped against the cushions, his eyes scanning the room as if waiting for something—or someone. As she approached, he looked up and gave her a brief nod.
"Selena," he greeted her softly, his voice carrying the weight of unspoken words. "I’m glad you came." She slid into the seat across from him, the familiar scent of coffee and old books filling her senses. "What is it, Elias? Why did you ask to meet me?"
Elias glanced around the room, as if checking to make sure no one was listening. When he was satisfied, he leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Damian isn’t what he seems, Selena. He’s not just some arrogant wolf who thinks he can control everything."
Selena’s breath caught in her throat. "What are you talking about? He is an arrogant wolf. He’s always been that way."
Elias shook his head, his expression grim. "No. He’s something much worse than that. And I’m afraid you’re too deeply involved now to back out." Selena leaned forward, her pulse quickening. "What do you mean? What’s going on, Elias?"
Elias hesitated, as though weighing his words carefully before continuing. "Damian is part of something much bigger, something far darker than anything you could imagine. There’s a reason he’s been watching you, why he’s been so intent on keeping you in his orbit. You’re not just some random girl, Selena. You’re tied to something ancient, something dangerous." Selena’s heart skipped a beat. "Tied to what?"
Elias’s eyes met hers, his gaze heavy with the burden of the truth he was about to reveal. "You’re a descendant of the Moonborn," he said softly. "A bloodline that has been hidden for centuries, a power that has been passed down through generations. The magic you’ve unlocked—it’s in your blood. It was always there, waiting to be awakened."
Selena sat back in her chair, her mind racing to process the words that had just left Elias’s mouth. Moonborn. It sounded like something out of a fantasy novel, not real life. And yet, something deep inside her stirred—a strange recognition, as though her very soul understood what he was saying.
"Wait," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "What do you mean, always there? How could I have this power and not known about it? Why didn’t anyone tell me?"
Elias’s gaze softened, a hint of regret flashing across his face. "Because the Moonborn bloodline is meant to stay hidden. It’s a curse, not a gift. The magic you possess is powerful, but it’s also dangerous. If it falls into the wrong hands, it could destroy everything. That’s why Damian has been watching you. He’s been trying to control you, to bend you to his will."
"Damian," Selena muttered, her mind reeling. "All this time, he’s been manipulating me?" Elias nodded, his face hardening. "Yes. But what he doesn’t realize is that you’re stronger than he thinks. Hu it."
Selena felt the weight of his words settle over her like a heavy blanket. A prophecy? A world-changing power? It was too much to comprehend, and yet, she couldn’t deny the deep, gnawing feeling in her gut that told her it was all true.
"How do you know all of this?" she asked, her voice trembling. Elias stared at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, with a heavy sigh, he spoke the words that sent a chill through her very bones.
"Because I’m not just a friend, Selena. I’m part of the prophecy too." Selena’s breath caught in her throat. "What? What do you mean?"
Elias leaned forward, his voice dropping to a low whisper. "I’m the one who’s been sent to guide you. To help you unlock your full potential. But there’s one thing I need to tell you before it’s too late."
Selena’s heart raced, her mind spinning with a hundred questions, but the one question that burned the brightest was the one she had to ask.
"What’s the one thing, Elias?" she demanded, her voice cracking with urgency. "What is it?" Elias looked at her with a mixture of sorrow and resolve. "You can’t trust anyone, Selena. Not even me."
With Elias’s cryptic warning hanging in the air, Selena faces the terrifying reality that everyone around her may have their own hidden agendas. Can she trust Elias
, or is he just another player in a dangerous game?
The air is quieter now.Years have passed since the Blood Moon turned red with war and forgiveness. Dark Hollow, once fractured by fear and pride, breathes as one again. The trees have grown back thicker. The sky feels wider. And peace, though hard-earned, has settled into the bones of the pack like a second skin—stitched there through scars and sacrifice.Selena stands beneath the same moon that once watched her burn.The clearing glows with soft light, and the wind carries the scent of pine, earth, and memory. It wasn’t always like this—there were years of silence, of rebuilding walls both inside and out. But now, the land hums with quiet unity. No more divided camps. No more whispered blame. Just the rhythm of life, steady and sure.Her fingers are laced with Damian’s. There’s no crown on either of their heads, no sign of thrones or altars—just two souls who stayed when the world begged them to run. His thumb brushes against hers, grounding her. Around them, the night pulses with pe
The wind over Dark Hollow is no longer cruel. It carries no scent of fear, no tremble of war drums. Instead, it brings warmth—the kind that settles deep in the bones, like the breath of something ancient finally laid to rest. I walk through the ruins of what once was a battlefield, not as a goddess, not as an exile, but as something simpler. As Selena.Around me, the land begins to heal. The ash recedes. The blood sinks into the soil. Wolves gather, their gazes filled with awe, confusion, and something else—something I recognize too well: hope. The Spiral sleeps now, its voice quiet within me, its hunger gone. And in that silence, I finally hear the sound of my own footsteps, steady and free.Damian waits near the altar stone, the same one that once bore the ancient rites of union, now cracked by fire and time. He doesn’t stand tall like an Alpha. He kneels, his head bowed—not in weakness, but in understanding. His wolf does not bristle. It does not fight. It listens, just as he does.
I stand in the space between—where gods cannot walk, where time peels back like paper singed at the edges. The Spiral moves behind me, but it no longer commands. It listens. It waits.The other me steps forward, born of everything I cast away: godhood without love, power without grief. She wears my face, but it is smooth, untouched by the choices that left scars. Her voice is mine—but hollow.“You burned everything for them,” she says softly, tilting her head. “And they will forget you.”I don’t respond. I feel Kael’s name echoing somewhere behind me like a fading heartbeat. That alone is enough.“You could still ascend,” she says, circling. “Take your place. Rule them better than the gods ever did.”“No,” I say. My voice is steady. My hands don’t tremble. “I didn’t come here to rule.”“Then why are you here?” Her smile sharpens. “You gave up the Spiral’s power, and yet it followed you. You left the gods behind, but they wait at the edge of your silence. You burned, and still you brea
The Spiral had quieted—but not stilled.Ashes no longer fell from the skies, yet the ground beneath Elthara’s feet was warm, pulsing with roots that did not belong to any world she remembered. Life stirred in unfamiliar patterns: wolves whose eyes shimmered with stardust, rivers that ran uphill in defiance of memory. The war was over. But the world did not return to what it was. It became something entirely new.She walked the edges of this reborn land with Kael at her side, their steps light, their hearts heavier than silence would admit. Villages once burned now bloomed with spectral flowers. Children born of peace—and of forgetting—played beneath trees no longer named. The Spiral had released its hold, but its echo still shimmered in the air, in the bones of those who survived. Some remembered the gods. Others remembered only her silence.“Do you think they know?” Kael asked quietly, his eyes tracing the distant mountains. “What you became for them?”Elthara shook her head. “They
The gate pulsed before her like a living scar in the world, neither open nor sealed. Its edges shimmered with the Spiral’s dying magic—threads that once bound gods to order, and wolves to fate. Now, it trembled, awaiting the touch of the one who had broken free.Selena stood still, her hand suspended inches from the light. The question still echoed, low and haunting: What are you willing to become… to never belong again?She looked down at her fingers—once calloused by survival, once marked by rejection, once soaked in the blood of wars that were never hers. Now, they glowed faintly with something unnamable. Not divine. Not monstrous. Something deeper. Choice.Behind her, the battlefield raged in silence. The lock thrashed against its unraveling. The flame-being roared without fire, sensing its end. Kael had fallen to one knee, blinded by the light radiating from her body.But Selena did not waver. Not this time.“I was never yours,” she whispered, not just to the Spiral, but to every
The world was moving without her. Not slowly, not in mourning—but frantically, as if trying to patch the tear her absence had left. Across distant territories, skies dimmed and surged, rivers reversed their course, and wolves woke to dreams not their own. Packs whispered in tongues forgotten by time. Selena, once the Spiral’s chosen flame, felt none of it. She stood outside the weave of fate, watching a world try to remember itself… without her in it.Above the ruined Temple, the lock and the flame-bound guardian circled in rising fury. Without her as their tether, both began to unravel. Fire struck through sky like cracks across glass, while shadows bled from earth as if trying to swallow the flames whole. Kael stood between them, his body trembling from the weight of their pull. “She’s not lost,” he growled through gritted teeth. “She stepped beyond you.” But the Spiral had no balance anymore. Not without its chosen.Deep in the shifting void, Selena wandered past echoes of her fo