The night sky burned crimson.
Alera stood at the edge of the ceremonial cliff, staring at the rising blood moon. The wind tugged at her hair, and her pulse throbbed in her throat. Below the cliffs, the wolves of Kael's court had begun to gather, their howls echoing like drums of war. The ancient rite was beginning.
Beside her, Kael stood tall and silent, his black cloak billowing behind him like wings of shadow. His silver eyes reflected the moon's glow, unreadable. He hadn't spoken since they left the war chamber. Not a single word.
Alera's heart ached with questions.
Why had the council summoned a Blood Moon Revelation so suddenly?
Why had she been marked as the center of the rite?
And why did her wolf feel like it was clawing beneath her skin, restless… eager?
"You're afraid," Kael said finally, his voice low.
She glanced at him. "No. Not afraid. Just unsure."
He studied her for a long moment, then turned back to the sky. "That will change tonight."
Alera wrapped her arms around herself, unsettled. "Kael… what exactly is this ceremony? What happens during a Blood Moon Revelation?"
Kael's jaw clenched. "Truth."
"Truth?"
He nodded once. "The Blood Moon reveals what's hidden. What the spirits choose to show. For Lycans… it can awaken buried memories, suppressed instincts, ancient ties. It can tear you open, or remake you entirely."
Alera swallowed hard.
So it wasn't just ceremonial. It was dangerous.
She looked down at the gathering below. Hundreds of wolves stood in formation, watching the cliff, waiting for the Alpha King and his… mate?
Mate.
The word felt foreign still, even after everything. Even after Kael's claim. Even after her rejection by Kade. She wasn't ready to say the word aloud.
A hand brushed her lower back. Warm. Grounding.
"I'll be beside you," Kael said. "No matter what happens."
She nodded, though her mind spun. What if the moon revealed something terrible about her? What if she wasn't strong enough to handle it?
The moon reached its zenith.
A blinding beam of red light erupted from the sky, striking the altar stone at the center of the cliff.
Gasps filled the air.
Alera stumbled as the earth trembled. Kael caught her, steadying her with one arm as glowing runes etched themselves into the stone circle at their feet.
"The revelation begins," Kael murmured.
The council chanted in the old tongue, voices low and rhythmic. The wind howled louder, thick with power.
Alera's vision blurred.
She felt a pull, like something reaching into her chest and dragging her soul from her body. Her knees buckled. Kael held her tighter, but she barely felt him anymore. The world spun and then went white.
She was no longer on the cliff.
She stood in a forest bathed in silver light, the trees whispering her name. Shadows moved between the trunks, watching her.
Alera.
A voice echoed.
She turned and saw her younger self, no more than six, chasing butterflies. Her laughter rang like bells. So free. So innocent.
Then the scene shifted.
Blood.
A battlefield.
Wolves lay broken across the earth, their bodies torn. In the center stood a woman tall, regal, with silver hair and glowing eyes. She looked like a goddess, and yet… Alera recognized her.
Her mother?
The woman raised her hand, and a torrent of energy exploded outward, sending enemies flying.
"She was the last of the Moon-Blessed," the voice said.
Alera spun around. "Who's there?"
A figure stepped from the shadows cloaked, faceless, ancient.
"You are her heir," it continued. "The legacy of two bloodlines. The Moon-Blessed and the Firstborn Lycan. That is your truth."
"No," Alera whispered. "That can't be. My mother died when I was "
"She hid you. To protect you. From those who would use or destroy you."
Alera trembled. "Then why didn't Kael tell me?"
The voice was silent.
The vision shifted again.
She saw Kael young, bloodied, kneeling before a dying Alpha who wore a crown of bone and moonstone.
"You will protect her," the dying king said. "She is the key."
Kael's eyes burned with grief and purpose.
Alera fell to her knees.
Everything she thought she knew was a lie.
She gasped as the vision shattered, and she collapsed against Kael's chest, sobbing.
The ritual had ended. The moon still glowed red, but the winds had stilled. The crowd below was silent, watching.
"Alera," Kael said, voice rough. "What did you see?"
She looked up at him, pain and betrayal in her eyes.
"You knew," she whispered. "You've always known who I was."
Kael didn't deny it. "I had to wait for you to remember on your own. The moon doesn't lie."
"You could have told me."
"I couldn't risk the truth being forced from you. You had to awaken it. Or we would lose everything."
Tears ran down her cheeks, hot and angry. "I trusted you."
"And you still can," Kael said, cupping her face. "This is only the beginning."
She pulled away, unsure of what she felt. Fury? Confusion? Awe?
Maybe all of it.
The council approached then, led by the high seer, an ancient she-wolf with eyes like smoke.
"She is awakened," the seer announced. "The Blood Moon has chosen her. The Queen of the Shadowed Bloodline rises."
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Queen?
Alera stumbled back.
"I'm not "
"You are," the seer said. "And your enemies will come for you now. The old powers stir. The lost ones will rise."
Kael stepped forward, eyes fierce. "Let them come. She is under my protection."
The seer nodded slowly, then bowed. "Then the prophecy lives."
The words echoed like thunder.
Alera stood amidst it all wolves kneeling, Kael at her side, the blood moon above and felt her entire world shift again.
The past was no longer a mystery.
The future was a war.
And she would have to choose who she would become.