Deception and Identity
That morning was quieter than normal in the packhouse, but it wasn't reassuring. Like the quiet before a storm, it was heavy. I was sitting on the side of my bed when there was a loud, authoritative knock. The door opened and Aiden entered before I could respond. I tried to hide my nervousness by mumbling, "Good morning to you, too." He didn't answer. Rather, his gaze skimmed over me, evaluating. He urged, "Come with me," in a tone that left no space for disagreement. Every step I took echoed in the empty hall as I followed him. He ushered me into a little office that seemed menacing despite its lack of furnishings. Leaning against the door with his arms folded, Aiden shut it behind us. He gestured to the chair across from his desk and said, "Sit." I sank into the seat and obeyed after hesitating. I could feel the weight of his unwavering, penetrating stare bearing down on me. He started by saying, "Let's cut the pleasantries." "What brought you here, and who are you reallyetended to be perplexed and blinked. "As I said, I'm Iris, a renegade seeking refuge. There is nowhere else for me to go. His voice was low yet piercing as he said, "Rogues don't just stumble onto pack territory without a reason." Furthermore, they don't live as long as you say they do. Therefore, let me ask you again: who are you? Despite my racing heart, I maintained a bland demeanor. I said steadily, "I'm not sure what you want me to say." "I've already been honest with you." He leaned forward with his hands on the desk between us as his eyes narrowed. "You're telling lies." The charge lingered, and I made myself maintain my composure. "I'm not." He continued in a softer but no less forceful tone, "You don't act like a rogue." "When someone challenges you, you don't bat an eye. You're not afraid. For someone who has spent their whole life running, it is not typical. I looked him in the eye and shrugged. "Perhaps I'm just more adept than most at hiding it." His jaw was clenched as he regarded me for a long time. “You’re concealing something,” he eventually remarked. "I sense it." I leaned forward a little and whispered hastily, "I'm not a threat." "I promise that I am not here to hurt anybody. All I want is an opportunity to start fresh. He took a while to reply. Rather, he stood up straight and crossed his arms once again. Finally, he responded, "All right." "You may remain for the time being. But be aware that I will be observing you. I answered, "Thank you," but his words seemed more like a threat than a gesture of goodwill. He paused before stepping out after turning and opening the door. "And, Iris?" "Yes?" "Don't make me feel bad about this." I needed to get my thoughts straightened out after the grilling. Aiden's assumptions were way too accurate, and the atmosphere in that room had been oppressive. I moved silently and lightly as I made my way through the packhouse. There were a lot of rooms and halls in the building that I knew quite well. However, it seemed strange to be here as Iris almost like stepping into someone else's memories. I heard sounds coming from the council chamber, so I stopped outside. Curiosity overcame me, and the door was open. When I looked through the crevice and saw who was within, I gasped. Damon and Lyra. Their voices were harsh yet low, and they stood near. I strained to hear what they had to say as I leaned in. With an irritated tone, Lyra said, "She's still sniffing around." "I don't believe her." "Calm down," Damon said with ease. “She’s just a rogue. Soon enough, Aiden will find it out and send her on her way. Lyra narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. Could she be more than a rogue? What if she has some knowledge? "She doesn't," Damon said in a cocontemptuouslyermore, it wouldn't matter even if she did. We have already triumphed. Lyra grinned and eased her stance a little. "You're correct. Yes, we were victorious. Nobody had any suspicions about Nadia's disappearance. My blood boiled as I heard my name on her lips. It was all I could do not to scream into the room as my hands clenched at my sides. “And now, I’m Luna,” Lyra said, her voice brimming with contentment. I am respected by the pack. They come after me. I've won loyalty that Nadia could never hope to command. Damon laughed. "I regret that she was so unsophisticated. made everything too simple. I had heard enough. I couldn't afford to lose control of my wrath, even as it threatened to swallow me. Not quite yet. My foot snagged on the rug's edge as I turned to go, and the sound reverberated across the corridor. "What was that?" I froze at the sharpness of Lyra's voice. I waited while holding my breath. Damon paused, then said. Most likely, just one of the patrols. Don't stress about it. I didn't stick around to hear what they had to say. I hurried back to my room, making sure my footsteps were quiet. Their comments kept coming back to me, and my mind was racing. They believed they had triumphed. They believed they were secure. They were mistaken. The moonlight was now softly shining through the windows, making the passageways darker. I couldn't go directly to my room, even though I should have. My feelings were too erratic and unfiltered. I had to breathe. The fresh wind calmed my racing thoughts as I slipped out a side door and into the cold night. I could see the woodland in front of me, its shadows appealing and deep. How come you're out here? I was surprised by the voice and turned to find Aiden standing behind me. His eyes were keen and inquisitive, yet his face was inscrutable. My heart accelerated as I hurriedly added, "I couldn't sleep." "All I needed was some fresh air." He moved closer and said, "At this hour?" "Yes," I said, refusing to back down. "Is that an issue?" I could feel the weight of his scrutiny from the intensity of his stare. "You've been moving stealthily," he said in a low voice. I started to refute it, but then he was in front of me, backing me up against the wall with his hands on my arms. With a roar, he shouted, "Who are you? Raced in my chest as I gazed up at him. His presence, his fragrance, his cloclonednsensess ovewerewering. I momentarily lost my ability to breathe. My voice trembled as I eventually replied, "I told you." "My name is Iris." He said, his grasp a little tighter, "Don't lie to me." You've been behaving strangely ever since you got here. What do you have to conceal? I met his eyes and emphasized, "I'm not hiding anything." As his gaze swept over mine, I briefly believed I saw a glimpse of something recognition? He re. Stated, "You're lying," but this time, his tone was gentler, almost unsure. I didn’t answer, couldn’t respond. The air was heavy with unsaid facts, and the tension between us was oppressive. His voice was no more than a whisper as he repeated, "Who are you?" We were stopped by footsteps, and Aiden let go of me, taking a step back as one of his patrolmen came up. The wolf nodded politely and said, "Alpha." "A problem exists at the southern border. You are necessary to us. After a last, inquisitive glance at me, Aiden turned to follow the patrol member. With a mixture of comfort and fear, I watched him go, my chest constricted. He was approaching the truth too closely.The air was thick with anticipation, the faint hum of power vibrating through the earth as wolves from every corner of the world gathered in the sacred Circle of Ancients. The ground was etched with glowing lunar runes, pulsing in harmony with the fractured moon above. The celestial body hung heavy and ominous, its silver light fractured into beams of gold and shadow. Iris stood at the center of the Circle, the twin infants in her arms—one bathed in radiant light, the other cloaked in swirling darkness.Aiden was at her side, his hand gripping the hilt of his blade, eyes darting across the circle at the assembled alphas. Damon’s presence lingered like a phantom, his sacrifice still raw in the hearts of those who loved him. Selene’s voice echoed softly in Iris’s mind: “This moment defines all moments. The prophecy lives through your children.”The celestial scribe emerged from the mist—an ethereal being, neither wolf nor human, with skin like parchment and eyes glowing with stars. The
The air in the Silver Moon Valley was thick with a hush that felt almost holy. Every creature—wolf or otherwise—seemed to sense the tremors of destiny unfolding. The great cracked moon loomed above, glowing faintly gold and black, casting an eerie light over the world below. The stars shimmered as though holding their breath, and all life waited for the culmination of prophecies written in celestial blood.Iris lay on a bed of woven leaves and silken furs in the Heart of the Hollow Star temple, her skin slick with sweat, her golden-black eyes glazed but burning with determination. Her breaths came out shallow and labored as her body trembled under the weight of divine forces pressing in from all sides. Damon stood by her head, holding a bowl of glowing silver water, a mark flaring wildly on his wrist. Aiden grasped her hand, his face pale but resolute, alive.“You’re almost there, Iris,” Aiden murmured, his thumb brushing over her knuckles. His voice cracked under the strain of watch
The night sky wept. Silver beams of moonlight fractured through heavy clouds, casting an ethereal glow over the ruins of the battlefield. The air was thick with the stench of blood and ash. Wolves, battered and broken, limped across the clearing, their eyes glistening with grief. The twin marks on their wrists flickered faintly, as if mourning too.Iris stood still in the center of the devastation, her body shaking. The cold wind bit through her thin robe, but it wasn’t the chill that made her tremble—it was the hollow ache in her chest where Damon’s presence had once been. She could still feel the warmth of his last embrace, the weight of his sacrifice pressing against her soul.Her knees buckled, and she fell to the ground, her hands clutching the earth as if it could anchor her in place. The ground beneath her seemed to pulse in time with her grief. Aiden was at her side in an instant, catching her before she could collapse completely.“He’s gone,” she whispered hoarsely, her voice
The battlefield was a chaotic symphony of light and shadow, where screams and snarls tangled with the sound of clashing steel. Wolves darted through the smoke, their fur singed, their eyes wild with desperation. Above it all, the moon—now split between gold and black—bore silent witness, casting down a fractured light that made everything feel like a nightmare painted in silver and ash.Iris stumbled across the shattered ground, her body aching, her soul screaming. The ritual had gone horribly wrong. Nadra’s dark energy pulsed like a living heartbeat in her chest, threatening to devour her from within. Golden vines tried to hold the darkness back, glowing faintly on her arms, but each pulse of Nadra’s power sent searing pain through her.Damon was at her side in an instant, his breathing ragged, his eyes fierce even as blood dripped down his temple. “Iris, stay with me! Don’t let it take you!”“I… I can’t…” she choked out, her knees buckling as the shadows twisted around her legs like
The astral plane stretched endlessly around Iris like a swirling sea of light and shadow. Here, reality and illusion merged, creating a disorienting battlefield where her mind, heart, and soul were laid bare. She floated, weightless yet burdened by a crushing presence, as two other figures materialized before her—Nadra, her corrupted soul fragment, and Lyra, possessed by the Shadow God Vaelor.Nadra's form rippled like a dark mirror of Iris, her golden eyes dulled to smoky amber, her body wreathed in black flames. “You can’t destroy me,” Nadra whispered, her voice hauntingly like Iris’s own. “I am you. The rage you suppressed, the pain you buried. Without me, you are incomplete.”On the other side, Lyra’s possessed form flared with terrible power. Vaelor’s presence emanated from her like a choking miasma. His deep, guttural voice echoed through Lyra’s mouth. “Child of the Moon, you think yourself strong? You are nothing but a vessel. Submit, and I shall grant you mercy. Resist, and I
The air in the sacred grove felt like it was laced with fire. It crackled with an energy so potent it made Iris’s skin crawl. Her breath came in shallow bursts as she stood at the edge of the summoning circle, the runes glowing in angry red and black tones. She gripped the talisman tightly in her palm, feeling its jagged edges cut into her skin. The Soul Reforge Ritual had failed, and Nadra’s laughter still rang in her mind.But that wasn’t the worst of it. Damon’s scream echoed in her ears, and though his body was gone, she felt the sharp void where his essence had been moments ago.Aiden stood at her side, his face pale but his jaw set with unyielding determination. “He sacrificed himself for you,” he whispered hoarsely.Tears stung her eyes. “No,” she said, her voice shaking. “Not like this. Damon can’t—he can’t be gone.”But before either could say more, a deep rumble split the earth beneath them. The summoning circle flared violently, and from the center rose a column of black sm