The night deepened over Stormbane Fortress, blood-red moonlight spilling across stone battlements like a warning from the heavens themselves. Wolves howled in the distance, their cries carrying on the bitter wind. The fortress, usually a stronghold of unshakable calm, now pulsed with tension as soldiers readied for the battle to come.
Selene stood in the war tower alone, her hands gripping the cold balcony railing as she stared toward the Forgotten Vale. Black mist coiled there like a living thing, and from its depths, faint echoes of something monstrous rumbled—a sound that seemed to vibrate in her very bones.
The beast was waking.
Her mark burned faintly on her wrist, the same violet light now mirrored by the runes etched into the stones of the tower beneath her feet. Every sign pointed to one truth: the prophecy wasn't waiting for them—it was coming to claim them.
A warm presence suddenly enveloped her from behind. Darius wrapped strong arms around her waist, pulling her back against his bare chest. His scent—pine, smoke, and moonlit steel—grounded her instantly.
"You shouldn't be alone," he murmured against her ear, his voice a low rumble that sent a shiver down her spine.
Selene tilted her head slightly toward him. "I can't sleep," she admitted softly. "Every time I close my eyes, I see… flames. Blood. And you—" Her voice caught. "I see you dying."
Darius tightened his hold, his lips brushing the shell of her ear. "That won't happen," he said, voice hard as tempered steel. "Not this time."
Selene turned in his arms, searching his face. Even in the dim moonlight, his silver eyes glowed, fierce and unyielding. Yet beneath that strength, she saw something few others would notice—a shadow of fear, buried deep.
"You believe we can change it?" she whispered.
He cupped her face, thumb brushing her cheek. "I don't believe," he said, lowering his forehead to hers. "I know. Because for the first time in centuries, we're not running. We're not hiding. We're standing together, Selene. And nothing—not gods, not beasts, not destiny itself—can take you from me."
Something inside her broke and healed all at once. Her breath shuddered as she pressed her lips to his, and the kiss ignited like a spark in dry tinder. Darius growled softly, his hand tangling in her hair as he deepened the kiss, pouring every vow, every lifetime of longing into it.
Selene clung to him, her mark glowing brighter, violet light swirling around them until it painted the stones beneath their feet. For a moment, it felt like the world had stopped, leaving only the two of them suspended in eternity.
When they finally broke apart, breathless, Darius rested his forehead against hers again, his voice ragged. "You are mine, Selene Raventhorn. In every life, every realm. That will never change."
"And you are mine," she whispered back. "Bound before time. Bound before fate."
The bond between them surged violently, stronger than ever before. They both gasped as visions crashed over them—not fragmented memories this time, but something deeper, clearer.
They stood together in a silver temple under a sky of shattered stars. Selene wore priestess robes of glowing moonfire; Darius stood beside her in armor black as night. A voice echoed around them, ancient and powerful:
> "The flame and the shield are one. When the beast awakens, only their union can bind time anew. But beware… for if they fall apart, the world falls with them."
The vision vanished as abruptly as it came. They staggered, holding each other for balance, their hearts hammering.
"What was that?" Selene whispered, eyes wide.
"The truth," Darius said darkly. "The Moon Goddess herself just reminded us what's at stake."
Before they could speak further, Magnus burst into the tower, blood spattered on his armor.
"Alpha!" he barked, breathless. "The Council's forces are on the move. But that's not all—"
He was cut off by a deafening roar that rolled across the mountains like thunder. The very earth trembled beneath their feet.
Selene's stomach dropped. "The beast," she breathed.
Darius's jaw clenched as he grabbed his sword. "It's waking faster than we thought."
Magnus's eyes darted between them. "Alpha, if the Council reaches the Vale first, they'll control the seal. They could sever your bond permanently—or worse, unleash that thing on purpose."
Darius turned to Selene, his expression hardening with resolve. "We leave now," he said. "If we can reach the Vale before them, we can stop this. Together."
Selene nodded, determination sparking in her violet-glowing eyes. "Then let's end this cycle once and for all."
---
Hours later, under the crimson glow of dawn, they rode at the head of a force of warriors, banners snapping in the icy wind. Selene rode beside Darius, armored in silver and violet leather that seemed to hum with the same ancient magic running through her veins. The soldiers followed without question—she wasn't just their Luna anymore. She was something far greater, and they felt it.
As they approached the Forgotten Vale, the landscape twisted unnaturally. Trees blackened by old magic clawed at the mist, and ancient runes burned faintly on the rocks. The stench of blood and rot filled the air.
Suddenly, Selene's mark seared her skin. She gasped, gripping the reins as pain shot through her veins.
Darius was instantly at her side, steadying her. "Selene—what's happening?"
She winced, looking at the glowing sigil. "The seal… it's breaking. The beast is almost free."
From the shadows ahead, figures emerged—Nightborn assassins, dozens of them, their black eyes glowing with unnatural light. Behind them, Council banners fluttered.
Vorell himself rode forward, his skeletal face twisting into a sneer. "You're too late," he hissed, voice carrying across the battlefield. "The beast stirs, and when it wakes, your bond will shatter as it has every lifetime before."
Darius growled, shifting partially, his claws glinting. "Not this time."
Vorell laughed coldly. "You cannot rewrite destiny, Alpha. The Goddess herself decreed your doom."
Selene rode forward, eyes blazing violet, power rippling around her like heatwaves. "No," she said, voice ringing with authority. "The Goddess decreed that love would bind time. And that is exactly what we will do."
As if answering her, the ground beneath them cracked open, molten light spilling upward. The beast's roar shattered the sky, and from the chasm, a massive shadow rose—a creature of ancient nightmare, with scales black as night and eyes burning like dying stars.
Panic spread through the Council's ranks, but Vorell only smiled cruelly. "And so it begins."
Selene's hand found Darius's, their bond pulsing violently. She turned to him, fear and resolve mingling in her eyes. "No matter what happens, don't let go of me."
He squeezed her hand, silver eyes blazing. "Never."
And as the beast lunged from the abyss, darkness swallowing the Vale, Selene and Darius charged forward side by side, their combined power blazing like a second sun, ready to face destiny head-on and break the chains that had bound them for lifetimes.