The sanctuary pulsed with urgency. Alarm bells — low, vibrating tones carved into stone — echoed through the glowing caverns. Moonlight filtering through cracks in the ceiling flickered like a warning torch. Nova stood at the heart of it all, her wrist burning faintly, the crescent mark alive against her skin.
Elder Maren's calm had shifted to steel. "They've found us," she said, ushering acolytes into position. "Every ward we have will slow them, but it will not stop him. Nova — your mother prepared you for this, even if you don't yet believe it."
Nova shook her head sharply. "I'm not ready. I don't even know what I'm supposed to do!"
Maren placed both hands over Nova's. "You are ready. You just don't remember yet. The Moonborn blood is not taught — it awakens. And when it does, you'll know."
Before Nova could respond, the sanctuary doors shuddered, dust and pebbles raining down from the stone arch. The warriors outside roared — wolves in their throats, men in their rage. Kane's forces.
And then — a crash. The first ward cracked. Light sputtered.
Nova's pulse raced, but her feet held. She was terrified… but she wasn't going to run. Not again.
Far above, outside the sanctuary's hidden valley, Darian adjusted the straps of his pack and scanned the cliffside. He'd tracked Nova's trail for hours, ignoring every warning the others had thrown at him. He wasn't letting her vanish without him.
"She thinks she can handle this alone," Darian muttered. His jaw clenched. "She's wrong."
He could feel the storm of energy building in the forest below. Something ancient. Something dangerous. And Nova was at the center of it.
He started climbing down.
Back inside the sanctuary, Elder Maren raised her staff. Blue fire burned along the crystal edge. "Stand ready!" she called, her voice ringing against stone. "The Alpha comes!"
The doors exploded inward with a sound like thunder. Shadows poured through — wolves shifting mid-leap, claws scraping, eyes glowing silver.
Nova staggered back, adrenaline flooding her. She grabbed a broken spear lying near the wall — awkward in her grip, but it was something.
And then she saw him.
Kane.
He strode through the smoke and splintered wood like it was nothing, his cloak whipping behind him. His eyes locked instantly on Nova, glowing with silver light that made her chest tighten.
"There you are," Kane said, voice low, dangerous. "Running to your mother's grave, hoping for protection. But this sanctuary isn't your shield. It's your cage."
The mark on Nova's wrist flared, a sharp sting. She grit her teeth, lifting the spear. "You don't own me. You never will."
Kane's smile was all hunger. "Not yet. But soon."