The moon hung heavy and low that night, glowing an eerie gold against the dark velvet sky. It wasn't full yet, but it pulsed with a strange energy that set Ayana's nerves on edge. The wolves in the forest had been howling more often—long, mournful cries that sent shivers down the spine of even the bravest warriors.
Ayana stood outside her tent, watching the glow settle over the treetops like a bad omen. Her pendant was warm again, throbbing against her chest like it could feel the power building in the night. She knew what it meant. The curse was awakening. And with it, so was he.
Behind her, footsteps approached.
"Can't sleep either?" Kael's voice was softer than usual. Tired, but laced with that steady presence she'd come to rely on.
"I don't think sleep will come easily anymore," she admitted.
Kael stepped up beside her, his arms crossed as he stared at the moon. "The old legends say that the night before a major shift, the moon glows gold. That when blood and fate tangle, the moon watches with a golden eye."
She glanced sideways at him. "You believe that?"
"I don't know. But after everything we've seen, it wouldn't surprise me."
They stood in silence for a while. The camp behind them had grown quieter, but the tension still hung thick in the air. Everyone knew something was coming. A battle. A reckoning.
Ayana finally broke the silence. "He's not going to wait much longer. That ambush was just a taste of what he's planning."
Kael nodded. "And we still don't know how to kill him."
Ayana clenched her fists. "But we'll find a way."
---
The next morning, Nova gathered them at the far end of the camp, near the burial grove where fallen warriors had been laid to rest. She stood beside an old oak tree, a scroll in hand, her eyes serious.
"This is it," she said, unrolling the parchment. "The map I retrieved from the ruins. It marks the original blood altar where the first Alpha made the pact that birthed the curse."
Ayana stepped closer, studying the intricate markings. "This altar… is it still intact?"
Nova hesitated. "It's buried. Lost beneath the ruins of Vareth Hollow. A place swallowed by the earth decades ago. But the magic lingers."
Kael frowned. "And the dark alpha knows about it?"
Nova gave a slow nod. "I believe that's where he draws his strength from. That altar ties him to this world. Destroy it, and we weaken him—maybe even sever the curse."
A plan began to form in Ayana's mind. Dangerous. Risky. But it was hope.
"We need to get there before he does."
---
They assembled a team: Ayana, Kael, Nova, and five of their best trackers. The journey to Vareth Hollow would take two days through dangerous terrain, and they could afford no delays. Every hour brought the full moon closer—and with it, the rise of the Alpha's full strength.
The forest was different this far east. Older. The trees leaned inward, gnarled and twisted like claws. The ground was uneven, littered with roots and moss-covered stones. The air smelled of damp earth and something else—something ancient.
On the first night, they camped near a broken stone obelisk, a relic from before the curse. Ayana sat alone, turning her pendant over in her hands.
"You're too quiet," Nova said, sitting beside her.
"I'm thinking," Ayana replied.
"About the altar?"
"About everything."
Nova studied her. "You carry the curse, Ayana. But you're not letting it consume you. That's rare."
Ayana looked down. "It's a constant fight. But I have something he doesn't. People who believe in me."
Nova smiled faintly. "Then don't let them down."
---
On the second day, they reached the edge of Vareth Hollow.
It wasn't a place, not anymore. It was a crater—deep and wide, the remains of a village long ago swallowed by the curse's wrath. Blackened trees circled the rim like sentinels. The ground was cracked, bones half-buried in the dirt.
Ayana stepped carefully, her boots crunching against old rubble. "We need to find the altar."
Nova led them toward a half-collapsed stone temple, now barely more than rubble and ivy. They moved the stones aside one by one until, finally, a hidden stairway revealed itself—spiraling downward into the earth.
Kael lit a torch. "Stay close."
The descent was slow, the air growing colder and heavier with each step. The walls were carved with symbols Ayana recognized—wolf sigils, moon markings, and blood runes.
At the bottom, they found it: the altar.
It stood at the center of a vast underground chamber, carved from obsidian, its surface stained with ancient blood. Around it, stone pillars rose like claws, each marked with glyphs that pulsed faintly.
Ayana stepped toward it—and the pendant around her neck flared with heat.
Suddenly, a gust of wind tore through the chamber, extinguishing the torches.
From the darkness, a voice echoed.
"You finally came."
The dark alpha stepped from the shadows, cloaked in black mist, eyes glowing crimson. His presence was overwhelming—like a force pressing down on the soul.
Kael drew his blade. "How—?"
"He was waiting," Nova whispered. "He knew we'd come."
Ayana stood her ground, facing the being that had haunted her dreams for years.
"You used to be like us," she said. "You were once human."
"I was more," the alpha growled. "And I will be again. When the blood moon rises, I will ascend—beyond Alpha, beyond flesh."
He raised a hand—and the altar behind him pulsed violently.
"You cannot stop what's already begun."
Ayana closed her eyes, focusing. The pendant's warmth became a fire in her chest. She stepped forward, power rising through her veins. "Maybe not. But I can slow you down."
She thrust her hand toward the altar—and the pendant exploded with light.
A blinding wave surged through the chamber, slamming into the dark alpha. He screamed, staggering backward as the obsidian cracked beneath his feet.
Kael and Nova rushed forward, battling back the shadow creatures that erupted from the walls. The room became a battlefield of light and shadow, steel and magic.
Ayana fought her way to the altar. Her hands bled, her body burned—but she pressed forward. With one final cry, she drove the pendant into the heart of the altar.
The explosion shook the chamber.
---
When the dust cleared, the dark alpha was gone.
So was the altar.
Ayana lay on the cold stone floor, Kael's arms around her, Nova kneeling beside her with glowing hands healing her wounds.
"You did it," Kael whispered. "You broke the link."
Ayana's voice was barely a whisper. "Then we fight the beast next."
And above them, through a crack in the ruined ceiling, the golden moon turned silver again.