Chapter 43

Chapter 43
The early morning sun touched the horizon, but for Alena, the night's darkness still clung. She held the torn parchment in her palm, its rough surface feeling like burnt skin. Rowan was right. This thing was not just an ancient note; it was a map to disaster, or perhaps, the key to avoiding it.

Her door opened. Liam, the quiet Beta, stood in the doorway. His sharp eyes scrutinized Alena, searching for signs of weakness or ill intent. Under Orion's strict supervision, Alena was scheduled to meet Lyra, the pack Elder, immediately after dawn.

"The Alpha wants this meeting concluded before the morning training session begins," Liam said, his voice dry and unemotional. "Follow me. No lingering, no eye contact with pack members. You are only permitted to speak with Lyra."

Alena nodded. She didn't need permission to move, and she wasn't looking for trouble this morning. Her mission was knowledge. She tucked the parchment back into her vest, closest to her heart.

The walk through the cold stone corridors felt long. Every step Alena took echoed, and she felt the burning stares from every corner. Warriors whispered, young mothers pulled their children away, and doubt hung like a thick fog in the air. Alena, in her soiled battle clothes, looked like an outsider, a wolf rescued from the wilderness, but still carrying the wilderness within her.

They arrived at the oldest and quietest part of the settlement: the Elders' Library. The place was built of dark, weathered wood and moss-covered stone. The air here was heavy, filled with the ancient aroma of paper, long-extinguished incense, and buried knowledge.

Lyra was waiting. She sat at a large wooden desk covered with scrolls and leather-bound books. Lyra was very old, her face etched by time and wisdom, but her gray eyes still radiated sharp intelligence. She wore a simple gray robe, and around her neck hung a jade pendant indicating her status as the Elder Keeper of History.

"Beta Liam," Lyra greeted, her voice soft yet commanding. "Thank you for bringing her. You may wait outside."

Liam hesitated for a moment. "The Alpha insisted I supervise, Elder."

"This is a room for minds, Beta. Not for swords," Lyra countered, her tone now firm, leaving no room for debate. "If anyone intended to harm this wolf, I would be the first to know. Now, go."

Liam reluctantly nodded, giving Alena one last warning glance, then backed out and closed the door, leaving Alena and Lyra in the thick silence.

Lyra pointed to a chair across the desk. "Sit, Alena. I've heard much. Truths, rumors, and unfounded fears."

Alena sat, her posture alert. "I'm not interested in rumors, Lyra. I'm interested in the truth. The truth about my power, and the truth about my mother."

Lyra smiled faintly. "You inherited your father's impatience, but your mother's sharpness. Very well. Let us start with what you brought back from exile."

Alena reached into her vest and pulled out the parchment fragment. She placed it on the desk. Although Lyra had seen many ancient artifacts, her eyes immediately widened at the emblem carved on the parchment—a crescent moon divided by a vertical line and flanked by two small stars, beneath the truncated word: PRIMORDIAL.

Lyra picked up the parchment with a trembling hand, her wrinkled fingers carefully tracing the emblem as if afraid to damage it.

"This... I cannot believe it," Lyra whispered, her breath catching. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again. "This is not just a symbol. This is the fingerprint of destiny. This emblem dates back to the era before we named the packs, before the Moon Gods formally established the first Alphas. This is the crest of a bloodline thought to be mythical."

"What bloodline?" Alena urged.
Lyra leaned forward, her eyes fixed on Alena, not the parchment. "The Primal Luna lineage. The Primeval Moon.

According to the Tome of Echoes, stored beneath this floor, this bloodline is a pure conduit of the Moon Goddess's energy. This power only awakens in a she-wolf when her pack is on the brink of total destruction. They emerge as a beacon, but also as an uncontrolled storm."

Alena felt a chill run down her spine. "Uncontrolled?"

"The power you displayed, Alena—thunder without clouds, raw natural force—that is not ordinary magic. It is a direct connection to the wolves' cosmic energy source. It is the power to create and destroy. The Tome warns that if a Primal Luna fails to control this power, she will not only destroy her enemies, but also herself, and possibly the entire world around her," Lyra explained in a voice that was barely audible.

Lyra then lifted her gaze, her look implying guilt. "My mother... she was the Elder before me. She told me this story as a horror fable. She believed your mother, Luna Kael, might have had some of that blood. However, Luna Kael... her power was locked, never fully awakened. Perhaps that is why she was so focused on healing, trying to suppress what was within."

Alena felt like her head had been struck. Her mother. Everything she did, every weak healing power, every calm wisdom, might have been an attempt to control the monster inside.

"So, I'm not just a powerful wolf. I am... an unstable weapon," Alena concluded, a bitter taste filling her mouth.

"You are a choice, Alena," Lyra corrected.

"The weapon is your choice. The power is there. You must decide whether you use it to protect, or allow it to consume you. But there is something else we need to discuss, something far more urgent."

Lyra flipped the parchment over, her eyes now focused on the uneven torn edge. She pulled a small box from under her desk, unlocked it, and retrieved a fragile, leather-bound ancient book, its pages yellowed with age. This was the Tome of Echoes she mentioned.

Lyra carefully turned the pages, finding a chapter marked with a small amulet. Alena's heart hammered as Lyra began to read in a low, trembling voice.

"'When the Old Moon Blood rises from the ashes of rejection, she shall carry the ancient sign. The sign shall be split, and the missing piece shall be sought by the Shadow who seeks to turn the light into darkness. If the two pieces unite in the Shadow's hand, then the Primal power shall become a source of eternal destruction...'"

Lyra stopped reading, placing the Tome on the desk. Her hand pointed to the tear in the parchment Alena brought, then to an illustration carved in the Tome of Echoes, which showed two separate pieces of parchment, one fiery and one dark.

"Alena, this parchment you hold is only half," Lyra said, her voice filled with pure fear. "This is the 'Light' piece, the part that speaks of awakening and the potential for salvation."

"And the other part?" Alena asked, her throat constricting.

"The other part... that is the 'Dark' piece. That piece explains how to control, twist, and harness the Primal power for nefarious purposes. And this tear..." Lyra touched the truncated letter 'D'. "It indicates that the missing piece is in the hands of a very specific individual, whose name begins with that letter. I believe it is Draven."

Alena felt the same sensation she had the night before, a fleeting vision of a large hand holding the paper. Her vision was now confirmed.

"Draven doesn't just want to conquer our pack, Alena. He knows what you possess. He knows the prophecy. And he holds half of the map. If he manages to combine the two pieces, he will not only understand how you work, he will find a way to destroy you, or worse, to control it," Lyra said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"We have to get that piece back," Alena said, rising from her chair, a new energy coursing through her.

"It's not that simple. The missing piece is a trap. Whoever holds it knows we will look for it. We are now in a race. A race against time and destiny," Lyra cautioned.

Lyra grabbed Alena's hand, her grip weak but urgent. "You must start training, Alena. Right now. We must figure out how to control this power before Draven figures out how to steal it. You must become the Primal Luna prophesied to save us, not the monster who will destroy us."

The door was knocked three times, a sign that their time was up. It must be Liam.

Alena looked at Lyra, her mind racing with this terrifying new information. She was a divided destiny. Half light in her hands, half dark in the enemy's.

"Lyra, can you at least tell me what is written in this Tome about the Dark piece?" Alena pressed, refusing to succumb to fear.

Lyra shook her head. "Not directly. The text is hidden under a seal that can only be unlocked with the Primal Blood. We must try that later. For now, you must focus on your training. The Alpha will be waiting."

Lyra placed the Tome of Echoes beside Alena's parchment fragment. Both looked like dangerous, ancient puzzle pieces, waiting to be unified.

Alena nodded, pulling her shattered self back together from the revelation. She was their last hope, and also their most unstable weapon.

As Liam entered, Lyra quickly closed the Tome of Echoes, but Alena retrieved her parchment. She felt a subtle touch on the torn edge of the paper. If Lyra was right, the uneven tear didn't just indicate a loss. It was an open invitation to Draven, an admission that the piece he possessed was half of the key to infinite power. And now Draven knew where to find the other half.