Days passed in steady rhythm as Shadowfang rebuilt. The forest, once scarred by darkness, slowly returned to life. New dens were carved, hunting grounds restored, and the laughter of young wolves echoed once more beneath the trees.
Yet Nyra could not ignore the strange pull that had begun deep within her chest.
It started as a faint tremor — a whisper through the Blood Moon relic that no one else could feel.
Nyra stood alone at the edge of the ancient stone circle hidden deep within Shadowfang territory. The moss-covered ruins predated even the oldest pack legends, their symbols carved in spiraling patterns that shimmered faintly whenever moonlight touched them.
Kael approached quietly behind her, his footsteps soft against the fallen leaves.
"You've been coming here every night," he said gently. "Something is calling you."
Nyra nodded slowly. "Not calling… warning."
She pressed her palm against one of the ancient stones. Silver light flickered beneath her skin, spreading across the carvings like liquid moonlight. The symbols ignited, glowing with an eerie brilliance.
"The Blood Moon defeated the True Shadow," Nyra whispered, "but something beneath the earth survived. Something older… something sleeping."
Kael's expression hardened. "Another enemy?"
"I don't know yet," she admitted. "But I feel movement. Like the land itself is shifting."
Suddenly, the ground trembled beneath them.
The stone circle pulsed violently, ancient symbols blazing bright before dark cracks split the earth around them. From the fractures seeped a cold, shadowed mist — thinner than the True Shadow, yet heavier with age and sorrow.
Nyra staggered as visions flooded her mind.
Ancient wolves bound in chains of darkness.
Forgotten battles buried beneath the earth.
A sealed force, imprisoned long before Shadowfang ever existed.
She gasped, clutching her chest.
"Nyra!" Kael grabbed her shoulders, steadying her.
"It's not trying to attack," she said between breaths. "It's trying to rise."
The mist slithered along the ground before vanishing back into the cracks, leaving the earth trembling in uneasy silence.
Within moments, members of the pack arrived, alerted by the tremors. Eryndor examined the fractured ground, his face pale beneath his fur.
"These ruins… they are older than our bloodlines," he said quietly. "If something was sealed here, it was done by powers beyond our ancestors."
Nyra steadied herself, her silver veins glowing faintly once more. "The True Shadow was destruction," she said. "This feels different… ancient… imprisoned for a reason."
Kael's jaw tightened. "Then we find out what it is before it wakes completely."
Nyra turned toward the forest, determination blazing in her eyes. "Gather the elders. Search the archives. We need every legend, every forgotten record. If something lies beneath Shadowfang territory, we must understand it before it rises."
The pack dispersed instantly, moving with urgency.
Kael remained beside her, brushing his knuckles gently against hers. "You don't have to carry this alone."
Nyra intertwined her fingers with his. "I know," she said softly. "That's why Shadowfang will survive whatever comes next."
As they walked away from the circle, the ground beneath the ancient stones pulsed once more — unseen by the pack.
Deep beneath the earth, something shifted.
Something waiting.
Something remembering.
And far above, the Blood Moon faintly shimmered in the daylight sky, as though watching… and preparing.