Chapter 13: Inside the Moon Gate
There was no ground.
No sky.
No walls.
Only darkness.
Then a silver light appeared.
I found myself standing in a forest.
But it wasn’t the forest outside.
It was ancient.
Unbroken.
Pure.
A woman stood beneath a silver tree.
The first Black Moon Queen.
She looked at me.
“You finally came.”
I couldn’t speak.
“Are you real?”
“No.”
She smiled.
“I am memory.”
“What do you want?”
“To warn you.”
“About the Shadow Wolf?”
“About yourself.”
I frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“You have three bloodlines.”
“Black Moon. Silver Wolf. Fireborn.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your ancestors united three ancient bloodlines.”
I stared at her.
“The prophecy said the heir would either save or destroy the world.”
“The prophecy is incomplete.”
“What does it really say?”
The Queen touched the tree.
“When the three bloodlines unite in one heart, the darkness shall fall.
But if love is replaced by vengeance, the heir herself shall become the final vessel.”
My blood went cold.
“So my revenge could turn me into the Shadow Wolf.”
“Yes.”
I remembered Damon.
The pain.
The humiliation.
The desire to make everyone suffer.
The Queen looked at me.
“You cannot defeat darkness by becoming darker.”
I lowered my eyes.
“Then what do I do?”
“Choose.”
“Choose what?”
“Who you become.”
The vision disappeared.
I found myself somewhere else.
Kael was standing alone.
The Shadow Wolf approached him.
You are already mine.
Kael fought.
The creature entered his body.
He screamed.
I ran toward him.
“Kael!”
His eyes became black.
He turned toward me.
“Run.”
“No.”
“Elara, run!”
The Shadow Wolf laughed through him.
He will kill you.
Kael’s hands trembled.
“Go.”
I stepped closer.
“You promised.”
He stared at me.
“What?”
“You said we’d protect each other.”
His eyes flickered silver.
The Shadow Wolf roared.
I grabbed his face.
“You don’t belong to it.”
The darkness cracked.
Kael’s wolf fought from inside.
The Shadow Wolf screamed.
I felt my own power rising.
Not anger.
Not revenge.
Love.
Silver light exploded.
The darkness shattered.
Kael fell into my arms.
He was unconscious.
I held him.
“Come back.”
His eyes opened.
He looked at me.
“You came back.”
“I told you.”
He smiled weakly.
“I knew you would.”
The Moon Gate began shaking.
The Queen’s voice echoed.
The final battle approaches.
I looked toward the darkness.
“What final battle?”
The answer came from everywhere.
The Shadow Wolf has chosen its final vessel.
Kael looked at me.
“Who?”
The voice whispered:
You.
—
