Dawn broke red. Not the warm kind that promised a new day, but the kind that bled across the horizon like a warning.
Ayana stood at the edge of the ridge, the wind tugging at her cloak. Below them lay the ruins of the old temple — the origin point of the MoonBound bloodline. It had once been a place of balance, according to Elira. Now, it pulsed with something darker.
Kael stood beside her, silent. His hand rested on the hilt of his blade, but his thoughts were clearly elsewhere.
"You've been quiet," Ayana said.
He glanced at her. "I'm thinking."
"About?"
He hesitated. "What happens if we're too late."
Ayana didn't answer. She didn't have to. That fear had been clawing at her too.
They descended slowly, weaving through crumbling pillars and vines twisted like veins over old stone. Every step felt heavier, as if the earth itself didn't want them there.
As they reached the outer edge of the temple, Ayana felt it. The same pull as before — like a thread wrapped around her ribs, yanking her forward.
"He's here," she whispered.
Kael nodded. "I know."
They moved cautiously, stepping into the ruined sanctum. Shattered statues lined the walls — wolves, moons, guardians lost to time. At the center stood an altar, cracked down the middle. A dark mist coiled from it like smoke.
And standing just beyond it — him.
The dark alpha.
He looked… more human this time. Dressed in black robes, his silver eyes calm, as if he'd been waiting. The Shadow Mark still burned along his throat, but his hands were folded behind his back.
"Welcome home," he said softly.
Ayana's breath caught. "Don't call this home."
He stepped forward, not aggressively. "But it is. Your blood remembers. Doesn't it?"
Kael stepped in front of her, sword drawn. "One more step, and I end this."
The dark alpha smiled. "Still playing the loyal hound, Kael. You couldn't stop me before. You won't stop me now."
Ayana moved beside him. "Why did you come here?"
"To finish what your mother started," he said. "But not the way she hoped."
His voice deepened. "She tried to hide you. Thought severing your connection to me would save you. But you came anyway. Just like I knew you would."
Ayana's fists clenched. "You killed her."
"I tried to save her," he said, expression unreadable. "Until she chose to seal me in flesh and run. That was her betrayal. Not mine."
"You call that love?" Kael snapped.
"I call it fear." He turned his eyes back to Ayana. "But you… you're stronger than she ever was. I can feel it. You've already shifted."
Ayana didn't deny it.
"I'm not like you," she said.
"No," he replied. "You're more."
Suddenly, the air shifted. The altar flared with black fire, and the ground shook.
Ayana staggered as a surge of energy blasted through the temple. The old symbols carved into the stone walls ignited—runes of the MoonBound, now glowing with corrupted magic.
Kael grabbed her arm. "He's activating the source."
Ayana turned to him. "What happens if he succeeds?"
"The curse becomes permanent. Eternal. No sealing. No breaking. Just blood and hunger—forever."
Ayana faced the dark alpha again. "Why? What's the point of all this?"
His eyes flashed. "Because this world doesn't deserve balance. It deserves power. And pain. And truth. You *know* it. You've *felt* it. They will never accept what we are."
He stepped toward the altar. "But if we rise—together—we won't have to ask for permission anymore."
Ayana's magic surged in her chest. She felt the pull. The temptation. Her body *remembered* this place. Her blood *craved* it.
But her heart screamed *no*.
"I'm not your daughter," she said.
His voice dropped to a whisper. "You are. And you always will be."
Kael moved fast, launching himself at the dark alpha. Steel met shadow as they clashed — a blur of strikes and snarls. The altar roared, casting wild light over the ancient stones.
Ayana ran to the center. The closer she got, the stronger the pull became. Her head throbbed. Visions swam behind her eyes — of Selene screaming, of a child being hidden, of wolves drowning in blood.
The altar called her name.
She touched it.
And the world shattered.
***
She stood in darkness.
Not night — something deeper. Inside it, voices whispered. Not words. Just emotions. Anger. Grief. Power.
Then came *his* voice — her father.
"Do you see it now? This is the curse. This is our truth. All this time, you've been running from who you are."
"No," Ayana said, her voice echoing. "I'm not afraid of who I am. I'm afraid of *becoming* you."
A shape appeared — her mother. Selene. Wrapped in silver light.
"You are more than blood, Ayana," she said. "You are choice. You are will. You are *mine*."
Ayana reached for her — and everything came roaring back.
***
She awoke with a gasp. The temple was crumbling. Runes exploded in showers of sparks. Kael was on the ground, wounded, blood soaking his sleeve.
The dark alpha was weakened, kneeling, snarling.
Ayana rose, light pulsing from her skin.
"I'm ending this," she said.
He looked up, eyes wild. "You can't."
"I already have."
She raised her hand. The pendant at her chest glowed white-hot.
Light poured from her — the true blood of the MoonBound. It struck the altar, burning through the dark magic. The fire turned to ash. The Shadow Mark cracked down her father's chest.
He screamed.
Ayana stepped closer. "This is for my mother."
She unleashed it all.
The light tore through the temple. When it faded, he was gone. Not dead — but sealed again. Buried beneath the ruins of the altar.
Ayana collapsed.
Kael crawled to her side, wincing. "You did it."
"No," she whispered. "We did."
The wind moved through the trees above. Peaceful.
Real.