CHAPTER 35

Maya's POV

The mournful howl rang out like a warning bell, piercing the still night. I sat up, all the muscles in my body tensed with expectation, my heart pounding.

"What is going on?" I tried to sound steady as I asked, but my voice shook.

With unsaid anger stiff in his broad shoulders, Darius was already halfway to the door. With a fierceness that chilled my spine, he turned to face me and fixed me with his dark gaze.

"The Phantom Pack," he murmured somberly. "They are here"

Before I could reply, he left, leaving me in the room's oppressive silence. My bare feet touched the chilly floor as I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, panic gnawing at my chest.

I couldn’t just sit here and wait.

I felt a wave of resolve flood me as I snatched up a cloak draped over a chair and silently followed him out.

Outside was substantial tension and an overpowering smell of hostility and fear. Midnight Pack warriors were assembled, their growls deep and threatening as they readied themselves for the battle ahead.

“Maya, what are you doing out here?” Evelyn's voice, shrill and urgent, came from behind me.

“I can’t just stay inside,” I said, my eyes scanning the dark forest beyond the clearing. “This is my fight too.”

"Maya—"

I won't hide." I interrupted with a firmer-than-expected voice. "Not anymore."

Evelyn hesitated, her gaze searching mine for a long moment before she nodded. “Stay close to Darius,” she said. “And whatever happens, trust your instincts.”

Just as I was about to reply, before the first shadowy figures emerged from the treeline, their presence sending a collective growl through the Midnight Pack.

The Phantom Pack.

They frightened me. Their eyes shone strangely in the moonlight, and their motions were uncannily coordinated, as if they were one wolf instead of several. Their leader moved closer, his enormous body exuding power and a ruthless smirk curving his lips.

His voice was silky yet vicious as he cried out, "Alpha Darius." "If you turn over the girl, we might spare your pack."

Darius moved forward with a defiant and powerful stance. "I'll give you nothing," he snarled for attention. "You must bypass all of us if you want her."

The leader's laugh chilled my blood with its icy, mocking tone. "Excellent," he responded, holding out a hand. "Take them."

Chaos erupted.

The night was filled with the snarls and screams of wolves as they collided in a flurry of fur and jaws. The sheer fury of it all made me stand motionless for a time, but then a frantic yelp brought me back to reality.

Trying to escape the chaos, a young pup staggered into the clearing, his body shivering. My heart tightened, and before I could think, I darted toward him.

"Go back!" Despite Darius's booming voice behind me, I couldn't stop.

I grabbed the pup and protected him with my body, meeting his wide, scared eyes.

"It's okay." I said in a tremulous voice, "I got you."

But as soon as I turned, I was surrounded. I was circled by phantom wolves, who snarled low and hungry.

"Maya!" Darius's voice was far away, overpowered by my heart's thumping.

I was about to get paralyzed by fear when something inside me stirred.

Warmth crept up my chest and grew into a fierce heat that engulfed every part of me. When my vision cleared, the wolves surrounding me flinched, their blazing eyes brimming with terror, which I hadn't anticipated.

"What is going on?" The roaring made it challenging to hear the words I whispered.

Then I sense it.

My wolf.

She was ancient, strong, and unquestionable. A quiet yet authoritative voice filled my thoughts and gave me an inexplicable sense of direction.

“You are chosen,” it said. “A vessel of the Moon Goddess’s will.”

The wolves lunged, but I didn't flinch. IA surge of energy burst from me, sending them flying backward. The pup whimpered in my arms, but I held him close, my body trembling with newfound strength.

I caught Darius fighting his way toward me out of the corner of my eye, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and wonder.

He gasped and reached for me, saying, "Maya." What… what did you just do?”

"I don't know.” I said my voice trembling." But I felt her Darius. The goddess of the Moon. She—"

Before I could finish, the Phantom leader stepped forward, his expression dark. “So it’s true,” he said, his voice laced with malice. “The chosen one walks among us.”

“Chosen for what?" My hands tightened on the puppy as I demanded.

He narrowed his bright eyes and sneered. "To be the end of yourself or the end of us." It is irrelevant. You won’t live long enough to fulfill the prophecy.”

Before he could attack, Darius sprang forward, tackling the leader to the ground with a growl that echoed throughout the area.

"Maya, run!" With a voice full of desperation, Darius railed.

But I couldn’t run. Not anymore.

The fire within me burned brighter, and I stepped forward, my voice ringing out with a power I didn’t recognize.

"I'm not running." I said my voice steady. "Not from anybody, not from you."

The Phantom wolves hesitated, their leader struggling beneath Darius’s grip. For the first time, I saw doubt in their glowing eyes.

"Maya!" Evelyn's voice called out from the clearing's edge. "We must retreat! Now!”

I followed her look and turned, my heart racing. An overwhelming amount of Phantom wolves were coming out of the trees.

Darius let go of the leader and grabbed my arm, growling. "We'll fight another day," he stated firmly.

We backed off with the pack, and I nodded reluctantly while holding the pup.

I fell to the ground as soon as we arrived at the packhouse's safety, the adrenaline rushing out of me. Darius was kneeling next to me, his hand grazing my cheek.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice low and urgent.

My breath came in sharp spurts as I nodded. "Darius, what's happening to me?"

He looked worried and, more than that, he is afraid, and he didn't respond.

Evelyn moved ahead, looking solemn. "Maya,” She whispered. “What happened out there confirms what we’ve feared all along. You’re more than just a wolf. You’re a link to the divine. And now they know it.”

I swallowed hard, the weight of her words sinking in.

"What does that mean?" My voice was hardly more than a whisper when I asked.

With her eyes locked with mine, Evelyn remarked, "It means you are their biggest fear and their main target."

The room fell silent save for my heart pounding as the words hung thick in the air.

“What do we do now?” I turned to face Darius and asked.

With a ferocious gaze, he cupped my face."We protect you.” His voice seemed like a promise as he said, "Anything at all costs."

However, I couldn't get rid of the feeling that the worst was still to come as I looked into his eyes and realized that the fight was far from over.