The forest whispered of ghosts.
Each gust of wind carried the scent of rain and wild earth, the songs of insects blending with the low hum of the river that cut through the valley. Mist rolled along the ground like the breath of sleeping giants.
Selene moved silently through the undergrowth, her boots sinking into soft mud. The moonlight filtered through the trees, painting her face in shifting silver patterns. Behind her, the remaining members of the Silver Fang followed — alert, tense, and half-afraid of the silence that seemed to deepen with every step.
For days they had followed the call — the faint, haunting howl that had echoed from the depths of the northern woods. It was weak, distant, but familiar enough to burn through every doubt.
Selene could feel it even when the wind stopped — a pulse beneath her ribs, matching the rhythm of her pendant.
Kael's rhythm.
She stopped suddenly, hand raised. The others froze, scanning the darkness.
"There," she whispered, pointing toward the faint outline of stone ruins ahead — a half-buried structure tangled in vines and moss.
Tarin frowned. "The old temple?"
Selene nodded. "I've read about it in the Vanguard archives. It predates the city. This place used to be a gathering ground for the first packs — before the curse."
The group exchanged uneasy looks. Legends spoke of the Resonance Chamber, where the bond between wolf and moon was said to be strongest — and most dangerous.
Selene stepped closer. "Whatever's calling us… it's coming from there."
---
Inside, the air felt heavy.
The ruined temple was a maze of cracked pillars and half-collapsed ceilings, roots twisting through the stone like veins. A faint blue light pulsed deep within, breathing in time with something ancient.
Tarin lit a torch. The flickering flame reflected in puddles of stagnant water, throwing strange shadows across the walls. Etchings of wolves and moons spiraled upward like stories carved by forgotten hands.
Selene ran her fingers along one of the symbols. "This one… it's a moon seal. The mark of the original Alpha."
Tarin's voice was quiet. "Kael's mark?"
She shook her head. "Older. But it's reacting to his energy."
She could feel it — the pull. It was stronger here, like the air itself remembered his name. The pendant around her neck glowed softly, resonating with the pulse coming from the temple's heart.
She followed the light deeper until the narrow corridor opened into a wide chamber.
At the center of the room stood an ancient stone altar, cracked down the middle. Strange silver markings bled across its surface, glowing faintly like veins of liquid light. The ground around it was littered with shards of crystal — remnants of something that had exploded long ago.
Selene approached slowly, drawn by instinct.
As she neared, the pendant on her chest began to hum. Her heartbeat quickened. Every sound faded — the dripping water, the whispers of the forest — until there was only that low, magnetic vibration between her and the altar.
She touched it.
Instantly, the world shifted.
---
A vision hit her — not like memory, but like being pulled through time. The chamber was whole again, the walls alive with silver flame. Wolves in ceremonial armor surrounded the altar, howling as a massive figure stood at its center — a man with eyes like molten steel and fur streaked with silver.
The First Alpha.
He was performing a ritual, channeling moonlight into a crystal heart that pulsed like a living thing. Around him, voices chanted in an ancient tongue:
> "Through death, we bind. Through the moon, we rise again."
Selene stumbled back as the vision cracked apart. Her knees hit the ground.
Tarin caught her, his face pale. "Selene! What did you see?"
She looked up, trembling. "A ritual… old magic. The kind that ties the soul to the moon. Kael's energy — it's being pulled here."
Tarin's brow furrowed. "You think he's—"
"Yes," she said, cutting him off. "Alive. But trapped between worlds."
The chamber shuddered as if responding to her words. The altar's glow intensified, cracks in the stone widening, light bleeding through like veins of fire.
The wolves around her stepped back in fear.
"Selene!" Tarin shouted. "We need to move!"
But she didn't.
She pressed her hand to the stone again, voice breaking through the hum.
"Kael! If you can hear me—follow the light! Come back to me!"
The glow erupted.
Wind burst from the altar, swirling dust and debris into a storm. The pendant around her neck flared so bright it blinded everyone in the room.
Selene screamed as pain tore through her chest — the bond surging like lightning. Images flashed in her mind: Kael's eyes opening under water, his hand breaking through black mud, the sound of his heartbeat echoing across the void.
Then, silence.
The light died down, leaving her gasping on the floor. The pendant lay dim again, but a faint heartbeat — not hers — pulsed from it.
Tarin knelt beside her. "Selene… what happened?"
Her lips trembled. "He's close."
"How close?"
She looked toward the forest beyond the broken wall, her eyes glinting silver.
> "He's awake."
---
That night, the wolves didn't sleep. The air itself felt alive, charged with something ancient and wild. Every rustle in the woods made them flinch; every breeze carried a scent that made their blood stir.
Selene stood by the river again, staring into the black water. The moonlight shimmered across the surface — but this time, another reflection moved beside hers.
A silhouette.
She turned sharply.
Nothing. Just trees and mist. But her heartbeat wouldn't calm.
Then came the sound — soft at first, then clear. A low growl, deep and resonant, from somewhere near the tree line.
Selene smiled faintly, eyes glistening. "Welcome back, Alpha."
And in the shadows, just beyond the moonlight's reach, a pair of silver eyes blinked open.