I woke in the middle of the night. My room was quiet, but something inside me was unsettled. The wind slipped through the cracks of the window, carrying the scent of wet earth—and something sharper. Something that made the hairs on my neck rise.
I rose from the bed slowly. Outside, the castle's stone yard was covered in fog, but I could see it—movement. A shadow. Watching.
Was it a wolf? Or… something darker?
My steps were silent as I crept through the hall. My thoughts were too loud to sleep. My mother's voice. Lucan's stare. And now… something I couldn't yet name.
I reached the lower halls. The torches flickered along the walls, as if reacting to something unseen.
Then I saw it. At the end of the corridor. Eyes.
Two glowing red eyes stared back at me from beneath the stone arch.
I froze.
It wasn't Lucan.
It wasn't a wolf.
It was… something else.
Suddenly, a figure darted—fast and silent. I couldn't make out its face. But I knew it wasn't human. And it disappeared toward the east wing.
My breath caught. I turned to run—but—
"Stop."
The voice was deep, low, commanding. I turned.
Lucan stood at the end of the hallway. His eyes were dark, his shoulders rigid. He looked at me differently now—not as a helpless outsider, but as something… dangerous.
"You saw it," he said, not as a question.
I nodded. "What was that?"
He didn't answer right away. He stepped closer, and I felt the storm in his presence.
"They're starting to smell your power. And that power… isn't ready."
"What do you mean?"
"You'll understand soon. But if they come again… they won't just watch."
***
Far beyond the castle walls, a silver-furred wolf sat beneath a dying tree, slowly shifting into the form of a scarred man. He stared into the blue flames flickering in his palm.
"The girl lives…"
"And her blood has awakened."
***
I remained frozen as Lucan stepped closer. Every movement of his felt like the air itself grew heavier, like the entire castle held its breath with me.
"Why are they watching me?" I finally whispered.
Lucan stopped just a few steps away. His gaze was steady, yet behind it—something else lingered. Not anger. Worry. And… recognition. As if he had seen this before.
"Because your blood is calling," he said quietly. "You're not just human. And this world doesn't forget blood like yours."
I wrapped my arms around myself. "I don't understand. I never asked for any of this. I just want to go home."
"Are you sure?" he asked, flatly. "The world you came from… never truly accepted you, did it?"
His words hit deeper than I expected, and I hated that he was right.
"But here, I'm being hunted," I replied. "Even by things I can't name."
Lucan exhaled slowly. "In this world, blood is more dangerous than any blade. You carry something inside you—tied to Lycanthra's past. Something that was sealed long ago… and is now awakening."
I shook my head. "It's not my fault."
"I know."
I lowered my gaze. A weight settled on my chest, like I was standing on the edge of a cliff and couldn't see the bottom. My mother's voice still echoed in my head—Rise, she had said. But I didn't know where to rise to.
Suddenly, a wave of heat surged through my body—from my fingertips to my spine. My stomach twisted, and nausea churned in my chest. I grabbed the edge of the wall for balance.
"Elara?" Lucan's voice sounded distant.
I dropped to my knees. My breath came in shallow gasps. The world spun.
And then—something broke loose inside me.
A flash of violet light sparked from the palm of my hand—just for a second, but enough to light the entire corridor. Lucan was at my side in an instant, steadying me. His touch was cool and firm.
"I…" I gasped, "…I don't know what's happening."
He stared at my trembling hand. "You're starting to break the seal inside you."
I looked up, panicked. "What seal?"
Lucan turned his face away, as if the truth was something too heavy to speak. But I saw it—hesitation. Fear. Maybe even guilt.
"Don't lie to me," I said, and for the first time, I spoke to him not as a frightened girl, but as an equal. Not to a king—but to a man.
He met my gaze. Silence stretched between us.
"If you don't tell me," I added, "I'll find out on my own."
After a moment, he spoke. "You are the descendant of a bloodline long thought extinct. Your mother… she was from a clan that was never meant to mix with humans."
"You mean… she wasn't human?"
Lucan didn't answer.
And his silence screamed louder than any truth.
Hours later, I returned to my room. My mother's book lay open on the table, as if it had been waiting. I turned to the same page, and this time the writing shone brightly.
"When blood and moon align,
The gates between realms shall part.
Hidden legacy will demand its place.
And the old Luna shall rise through the final blood."
My hands shook.
Luna...
It wasn't just a title for a king's mate in werewolf lore. It was a position of power. A spiritual leader. A guardian of blood.
Could I be…?
No. Impossible.
I was no one. Just Elara, raised in the quiet. I had no power. No place. And suddenly, I felt like this world was only playing with me.
I slammed the book shut, blinking away tears. But even as the pages closed, I felt it—the pulse of something ancient, something alive… inside me. Awakening.
***
Far away in the woods, beneath a veil of fog, a cloaked figure approached a cracked stone altar.
The figure knelt, pressed a hand to the earth.
"Her blood stirs.
And with it… the key we've waited for returns."