The Awakening begins

The elder did not speak immediately.

His weathered fingers remained clenched around the parchment bearing the drawing of the Lunar Crest. The cottage fell into an unsettling silence, broken only by the crackling fire in the hearth.

Kaelen stood motionless.

Patience had never been his greatest strength.

“What does it mean?” he asked, his deep voice cutting through the silence.

The elder finally lifted his gaze.

Eyes clouded by age met the Alpha’s piercing golden stare.

“I never thought I would live long enough to see this symbol again.”

Kaelen took a step forward.

“You know it.”

“I know what history tried to erase.”

The elder carefully placed the parchment on the wooden table.

“There was a time when wolves, witches and humans lived beneath the same moon.”

Kaelen frowned.

“That’s nothing more than a legend.”

“So everyone believes.”

The old man gave a bitter smile.

“But legends are often memories dressed as stories.”

He turned toward a shelf lined with ancient scrolls and leather-bound books. Running a trembling hand across their worn spines, he stopped at a small wooden chest carved with crescent moons.

“The Lunar Crest has appeared only once before.”

Kaelen’s expression hardened.

“What happened?”

The elder closed his eyes.

“Kingdoms burned.”

The room seemed to grow colder.

“Entire bloodlines disappeared.”

His voice dropped to little more than a whisper.

“The child who bore the crest was never meant to survive.”

Kaelen remained silent.

“The prophecy claimed the Moon-Born would unite powers that were never meant to become one.”

“Wolf…”

The elder nodded.

“Witch.”

A pause.

“And something far older.”

Kaelen’s jaw tightened.

“Who was she?”

“I don’t know.”

The answer came without hesitation.

“Or perhaps…”

The old wolf sighed.

“I’ve spent decades trying to forget.”

He looked back at the drawing.

“If the Lunar Crest has awakened again…”

His face darkened.

“…then someone lied to history.”

Kaelen folded the parchment and slipped it back into his coat.

“I met the girl.”

The elder’s eyes widened.

“You what?”

“She crossed into Nightbane territory.”

“And you let her leave?”

“I had no reason to harm her.”

“No reason?” The elder rose so abruptly that his chair scraped against the stone floor. “If Thornclaw discovers who she is before you understand what she carries, the balance we’ve kept for centuries will collapse.”

Kaelen’s gaze remained calm.

“They’re already searching.”

The elder’s shoulders sagged.

“Then we have less time than I feared.”

“What do I do?”

The old wolf walked toward the narrow window overlooking the mountains.

“For now…”

He stared at the moonstone pendant hanging from the frame.

“…you protect her.”

Kaelen frowned.

“Without telling her who she is.”

The elder nodded slowly.

“Especially without telling her.”

⸻

The bell above the bookstore door chimed softly.

Aria looked up from the counter as another customer stepped inside.

“Good afternoon,” she greeted automatically.

The elderly man smiled.

“I’m looking for a gardening guide.”

“Second shelf. Bottom row.”

The words left her mouth before she even thought.

The customer blinked.

“I… haven’t even told you what I wanted.”

Aria froze.

Neither had he.

Confused, the man wandered toward the gardening section.

Seconds later, he pulled the exact book she’d unknowingly directed him to.

Across the room, Lina looked up from the stack of novels she was organizing.

A small crease formed between her brows.

“Aria?”

“Hm?”

“How did you know?”

“I guessed.”

Lina laughed.

“No, you didn’t.”

Aria busied herself with the ledger.

“I’ve worked here long enough to know what people usually come looking for.”

“Before they even open their mouths?”

Aria didn’t answer.

Because she didn’t know.

She truly didn’t know.

As she reached for another receipt, a sudden ringing filled her ears.

Then…

A heartbeat.

Slow.

Steady.

Not her own.

Another heartbeat joined it.

Then another.

Within seconds, dozens echoed through the bookstore.

Customers.

Her father in the storeroom.

Lina beside the history shelves.

Each heartbeat carried its own rhythm until they blended into an overwhelming chorus.

Aria gripped the edge of the counter.

The room tilted.

“Aria!”

Lina rushed forward just as Aria staggered.

“Hey… are you okay?”

The heartbeats vanished.

Aria blinked several times before looking up.

“I’m…”

She swallowed.

“…I don’t know.”

The throne room of Thornclaw Keep was silent.

Not because silence was demanded.

Because it was feared.

Dark stone walls stretched toward a vaulted ceiling supported by towering pillars carved with wolves frozen in eternal battle. Crimson banners bearing the Thornclaw crest hung between flickering iron braziers, casting restless shadows across the polished black floor.

At the far end of the hall sat Alpha Draven.

He leaned back in his throne with one elbow resting against the carved armrest, his expression unreadable as his fingers drummed a slow rhythm against the dark wood.

No one dared interrupt him.

A guard pushed open the enormous doors.

Three scouts entered together before dropping to one knee.

“My Alpha.”

Draven didn’t acknowledge them immediately.

Instead, he continued watching the rain beyond the stained-glass windows.

“Speak.”

“The scent appeared again.”

That earned them his attention.

His amber eyes settled on the kneeling wolves.

“Where?”

“In the human town east of the border.”

Draven rose slowly.

The movement alone made every wolf in the room lower their head.

“We tracked it as far as a roadside bookstore.”

He descended the steps one at a time.

“The scent lingered there…”

The scout swallowed.

“…but disappeared before we could identify its owner.”

Draven stopped directly in front of him.

“You lost it.”

The scout kept his forehead pressed against the floor.

“Yes, my Alpha.”

Silence.

Long.

Heavy.

Then Draven smiled.

It wasn’t a pleasant smile.

“Lift your head.”

The scout obeyed.

“I’ll give you one chance to redeem yourselves.”

Relief flashed across the man’s face.

“Thank you, my Alpha.”

“I don’t want guesses.”

Draven’s voice remained calm.

“I want names.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“I want addresses.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“I want every shop owner…”

He paused.

“…every employee…”

Another pause.

“…every regular customer.”

The room grew colder.

“If the scent came from that bookstore…”

His eyes darkened.

“…then someone inside knows something.”

The scouts bowed even lower.

“We’ll return before sunrise.”

“You’d better.”

They hurried from the throne room without another word.

Only after the great doors closed did the silence return.

Draven walked toward the towering windows overlooking the sprawling Thornclaw territory.

Miles of dense forest stretched beyond the cliffs like an endless sea of green.

“So…”

he murmured to himself.

“You’ve finally surfaced.”

Behind him, the chamber doors opened once more.

A young woman entered quietly.

She wore an elegant burgundy gown, though her careful steps suggested she wished she could disappear into the stone walls.

The chamber doors closed behind them with a heavy thud.

Lydia remained where she stood, her hands clasped tightly before her.

She never looked him in the eye unless he permitted it.

Draven crossed the room slowly, removing his gloves one finger at a time.

“You were late.”

“Forgive me, my Alpha.”

He stopped in front of her.

Silence stretched between them.

Her pulse quickened, though her face betrayed nothing.

“Look at me.”

She obeyed immediately.

His expression revealed little, but there was a dangerous edge beneath the calm that every wolf in Thornclaw recognized.

Satisfied by her obedience, he brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“Take that off”

Pointing at her elegant burgundy silk dress while simultaneously seating on the office seat and Lydia understood exactly what that meant.

“Kneel”

He said while unzipping his luxury pants. She kneels and leans over while taking his dick in her mouth and looking up to get an expression and a look of encouragement.

“Ooh”

“Fuck”

He grabs her by both cheeks and drives her head inner allowing her swallow all the length while simultaneously pushing his hips forward to thrust deeper and harder without mercy.

“Ghhkk—ghk… ghk…” Her eyes watered as she gaged continuously.

She pulled away as soon as he loosened his grip to catch her breath.

“Good girl”

“Thanks daddy”

He stood up pulled his trousers completely and

Lifted her to sit on the table legs wide open to accept whatever comes, Draven’s dick hard as ever drives deep into her wet pussy and thrusts violently and all that echoes was moans and orgasm throughout the hallway with the wolves at guard turning deaf ears.

Hours later Lydia woke up from sleep on the bed on the rest area by the office having just a thick curtain demarcating the both sides and wears his shirt and noticed he already left. Then went out the hallway to find that the guard at the door was Kelvin she had a short pause maybe from shock or surprise but tried not to be obvious they took just a short glance and she put down her head and walks down the hallway to the biggest room on the floor. Kelvin seem to have a watery eye but kept it very much hidden and quickly snapped out of it.