The Sanctuary was quiet now.
Selene sat on the cold stone floor, her knees pulled to her chest, her mind still reeling. Elias stood a few feet away, his posture rigid, as if guarding her from something unseen. The air between them was charged heavy with the remnants of the moment that had just passed.
She touched her chest again, where an invisible weight seemed to press down. The memory of his words lingered in her mind: "You are Moonborn. You carry the blood of an ancient line."
Her heart pounded in her ears. Moonborn. Bloodline. Destiny. None of it made sense.
"Elias," she said softly, "you need to explain."
He regarded her for a long moment, his golden eyes unreadable. Then he stepped closer, his boots silent against the stone. "I will," he said. "But first… you must understand something. What happened tonight wasn't random. It was the culmination of something that began centuries ago."
Selene frowned. "Centuries ago?"
Elias nodded. "The Moonborn are rare. A bloodline blessed and cursed by the moon. Long ago, your ancestors made a pact with the First Alpha to protect the balance between the wolf clans. But power always comes with a price."
Selene's brows knitted together. "Why didn't I know this? My whole life has been… normal."
"Because you were hidden," he said softly. "Protected. Until the Blood Moon came."
The air between them seemed to shift again, heavier now. Selene stared at him. "What's so important about the Blood Moon?"
"It is the hour of awakening," he said. "Once every century, the moon bleeds crimson. The power of the Moonborn is awakened. It's a calling. A test. And a warning."
Her pulse quickened. "A warning of what?"
Elias's eyes darkened. "Of war."
She blinked. "War?"
He stepped closer. "The clans are divided. The Blood Moon calls the Moonborn to either unite them… or destroy them. And Selene…" He paused, his gaze locking onto hers. "…you are the key."
Selene's breath caught in her throat. "The key to what?"
"To everything," he said simply.
The Room of Truth
Elias turned and gestured toward a hallway carved into stone, illuminated by soft crimson light. "Come," he said. "You need to see."
Selene hesitated. Her instincts screamed caution, but something deep inside urged her forward. She followed him.
The hallway opened into a chamber unlike anything she'd ever seen. The walls were carved with ancient runes that glowed softly under the crimson light of the moon. In the center of the room was a stone altar, and above it hung an orb of shifting silver light.
"This is the Room of Truth," Elias said. "It holds the history of the Moonborn. And the prophecy you are bound to fulfill."
Selene stepped closer, mesmerized by the orb. It pulsed softly, like a heartbeat. She reached out, and the moment her fingers brushed its surface, the air shifted again.
Images flashed before her eyes flashes of moonlit forests, wars between wolf clans, blood and fire, and a girl with hair like silver under a blood moon.
Her breath caught. The vision shifted again. She saw herself standing in the middle of a battlefield, wolves howling around her, Elias beside her, golden eyes glowing.
She staggered back. "What… what was that?"
"That," Elias said, his voice low and dangerous, "was your future. And the reason they want you dead."
Selene's hands trembled. "Why me? I'm just… me."
"You're not just you," Elias said sharply. "You are Moonborn. The last of your kind. You carry the blood of a power that can unite or destroy all wolfkind. That is why they fear you. And why they will stop at nothing to kill you."
Selene swallowed hard. Her chest felt tight. "Who are they?"
"The clans," Elias said simply. "The Blood Moon stirs old rivalries. War is coming. And you whether you choose it or not are part of it."
The Mark
Selene looked down at her chest instinctively. There was nothing there. But her skin tingled as though touched by invisible fire.
Elias stepped closer, his voice dropping low. "The mark of the Moonborn awakens in you tonight. You felt it, didn't you?"
She nodded slowly. "Yes. When you saved me… I felt something. Like… calling."
"That calling is the bond," Elias said. "The mark. It ties you to me. For better or worse, Selene, you are mine."
The words struck her like a blade. "Mine? I don't understand."
Elias reached out, his fingers brushing her cheek. His touch was warm, almost electrifying. "It's not a choice you get to make. The prophecy binds us together. And together, we will decide the fate of all wolfkind."
Selene stepped back instinctively. "This is too much. I don't even know who you are."
"I am your Alpha," he said simply. "Your protector. And your claim."
Selene's breath hitched. His words were heavy with meaning. She wanted to deny him, to run, but her body refused. There was a pull in her chest fierce and undeniable. Something inside her stirred at his voice, his presence. Something ancient and dangerous.
"I'm not ready for this," she whispered.
"No one ever is," Elias said softly. "But you don't get a choice. The moment the Blood Moon rises, your fate is sealed. You are bound to me. And to war."
The Warning
Before Selene could respond, the air shifted again. A sound low, guttural echoed through the chamber. Elias's posture stiffened.
"They're coming," he said. "We have little time."
He took her hand, his grip firm and unyielding. "Come with me. I will keep you safe. But you must trust me."
Selene hesitated, her heart pounding. She wanted to run, to escape this madness. But deep inside, something told her she couldn't. She nodded slowly.
Elias's golden eyes softened for the first time. "Good," he said. "Because once they find you, there will be no turning back."
He led her through another corridor, the crimson moonlight casting strange shadows on the stone walls. Somewhere far away, a wolf howled.
Selene swallowed hard. Her mind was a whirlwind of questions. What was this prophecy? Who wanted her dead? And most importantly… why did her heart feel drawn to Elias in a way she couldn't explain?
The answer, she knew, would come. But not tonight.
Tonight, she was bound.