The New Gate Light Novels & Stories

With clear eyes, Dax led his people, his allies, those who had been rescued, and their prisoners to the gates of his domain. At the gate, Dax and all those behind him who could move, knelt. Everyone, except Dax, was on two knees. There were no guards at the gate. A position that never had fewer than seven Lightmoon shifters on watch. There were also no shifters, no living creatures of any kind, around the perimeter. This was the first gate. The one that marked Lightmoon’s territory. A full minute passed before the gate opened. The group knelt in silence. No one spoke or asked any questions.

I watched the numbers climb in silence, the lobby falling away beneath us, the city expanding through the glass panel on the elevator's rear wall. Floors of ordinary noise and ordinary light disappeared one by one. By the time we reached fourteen the world outside the windows looked different, more quiet. The doors opened. The executive floor was everything the lobby had promised and then some. It was long and wide and almost entirely black-and-white, all charcoal and gray and the particular shade of white that cost money to maintain. The carpet was thick enough to absorb footsteps entirely. There were no fluorescent lights up here. Just recessed fixtures that gave everything a clean, even g

He angled the screen toward himself, but I leaned forward, trying to see too. ‎ ‎He shifted it away. ‎ ‎“Zayden,” I hissed, grabbing his arm before I could stop myself, “show me the damn phone.” ‎ ‎He hesitated for maybe half a second before lowering it enough for me to see. ‎ ‎I wish he hadn’t. ‎ ‎It was the front of my house. ‎The gate. ‎The driveway. ‎The expensive security lights that always made my father brag. ‎ ‎Only now… every light was off.

“Good.” The front gate alarm sounds. One short tone, the signal for a single vehicle. Caden’s lawyer, arriving early. And then immediately a second tone. A second vehicle. And then Mara appears from the entrance hall with an expression I have not seen from her all week, something beyond surprise, and she says, “Selene. There is a third car at the gate.” She holds out her phone. The gate camera feed. Dark vehicle. Eastern territories plates. And on the passenger side, visible through the window as the car slows at the gate, a face I have never seen before.

Lucien said as he slammed his foot down on the gas and the speedometer needle jumped into the red zone while the metal fence loomed out of the dark like a wall of teeth. "Don't worry about the gate because I just sent a remote signal to the electronic latch that will force the solenoid to pop open the moment we reach the impact zone, so just keep the speed high and stay ready for the shooters the second we cross the threshold," I yelled as I entered the final bypass code and watched the gate latch turn green on my screen.

Then another tree moved. Then another. The forest itself was opening. A hidden path appeared where none had existed before. At the end of the path stood a massive stone gate nearly forty feet high. Its surface was covered with frost. At its center was an empty keyhole shaped exactly like Adrian's brass key. Above the gate, ancient letters slowly glowed with blue light. Adrian read them aloud. "Only the one who carries the First Light may enter." Before anyone could move... A child laughed. Soft.

“So Frostfang thought the route was clear.” “Yes.” Rowan spoke from behind Evelyn. “But it wasn’t.” Vale looked at him. “No.” Thunder rolled somewhere beyond the mountains, low and distant. Warren crouched closer. “How did it get through the gate?” Vale’s eyes flicked to the map pinned to the shed wall. “Eastern gate runs on layered confirmation. Visual flag from outer ridge. Radio code from patrol. Then approach pattern. Vehicles stop at three points before the gate opens.” Caleb’s voice came softly from outside the shed door. “That sounds… organized.”

Then something unexpected happened. The gate spoke. Not with words. With music. A single note. Soft. Beautiful. Ancient. The sound drifted through the silent streets. Across empty bridges. Between crystal towers. The city answered. Lanterns brightened throughout Lumora. Dozens. Hundreds. Lights awakening one by one. Not fully. Just enough. As though the city had opened one sleepy eye. The crew stood motionless. Watching. Listening. Waiting. Then golden letters appeared across the face of the gate.

As she reached an intolerable peak of excitement, Lara sank her teeth into his shoulder and was flung over the edge into quivering, whimpering fulfillment at the same time as he was. His breathing pattern roughly audible, Christophe dealt her a shattered glance and slowly lowered her limp body to the floor again, glittering golden eyes still pinned to her. Christophe dropped a kiss on to her eyebrow and began rearranging her dress with hands that were uncharacteristically clumsy. “We’d better get out of here…” He indicated the red light flashing behind the open control panel, readjusting whatever he had previously put out of place at speed. “In a matter of seconds, security will be here.”

I replied calmly, "Got it." Darren paused, clearly caught off guard. Then, he found his words again. "The eighteenth of next month is a day blessed by the Moon Goddess. That's the day for our big ceremony." There was an unusual softness in his voice, something I had not heard from him before. Before I could even respond, a sultry moan crackled through the phone. It was Betty. They were together, even as he talked to me. A dull ache spread through the wolf inside me. With the pain, tears started to spill over.