Chapter 205: The Signal from the Solstice Altar
“You can no longer hide the rhythm of your pulse from me, Valeska. The scent of your wolf has already sealed my fate,” Leo said, his voice low and steady yet heavy with meaning as they walked along the open corridor leading toward the Solstice Altar.
Valeska stopped, her leg still wrapped in medical bandages. She looked down at the Crimson Clan emblem now resting in Leo’s left hand. “That token stands for the political commitment of my clan, Leo. Do not confuse it with this uncontrollable instinct rising within my wolf.”
“Your body does not care about the lines drawn across negotiating tables, and you know it,” Leo replied sharply, cutting straight to the heart of the matter. He turned to face her fully, his gaze locking directly onto her blood-red eyes. “That scent of damp pine grows stronger every time we move even a little closer. Your wolf has already made its choice.”
Valeska turned her head away, her jaw tightening as she fought to contain the rapid thrum of her heart beneath her armor. “We have far greater priorities to defend than discussing a bond forged in the darkness beneath the earth.”
“That is exactly why I brought you here,” Leo said. He raised his left hand and pointed toward the open courtyard just two steps ahead.
The outer grounds of the Solstice Altar were undergoing heavy reconstruction. Dozens of workers and remaining Silver Moon guards moved quickly, hoisting cracked sunstone beams using mechanical pulleys. Pale silver light from the rising dawn spilled over the weathered gray pillars, warming the frozen ground until the ice melted into clear, flowing streams.
At the center of the half-ruined altar platform, two elder figures stood studying building plans spread across a stone table.
Selene turned slowly the moment she heard the scrape of Valeska’s boots against the damp floor. Her once streaked hair was now pure white, floating gently in the wind sweeping across the wasteland. Her wise emerald eyes narrowed slightly, fixing immediately on the Crimson leader.
“She carries the deep scent of Crimson, Leo. Yet her blood resonates with the frequency of Silver Moon,” Selene said. Her voice was soft but carried the weight of ancient authority, instantly easing the tension hanging in the air.
Valeska stiffened, her Alpha instincts flaring into sudden defensiveness as she stepped closer. “You… you are Luna Selene.”
“I am the former Luna of these lands, Valeska,” Selene answered with a smile full of quiet acceptance. She took two small steps forward and reached out to take Valeska’s right wrist. “This mate bond between you two is no mere coincidence of geography. The blood of Crimson flows through you, and it is the balancing element my son needs to lead this stronghold into a new era.”
Valeska held her breath for a moment. Her stubborn resolve softened noticeably as she felt the warmth of Selene’s palm against her skin. “I came here to offer a blood alliance for Crimson, Luna. Not to seek validation of some destiny.”
“Destiny does not need your validation, young one. It only requires your body to yield to what is meant to be,” a deep, rough, and unyielding voice called out from behind one of the sunstone pillars.
Kael stepped out from the shadows of the fallen stonework. His frame looked frail, and he favored his left leg as he shifted his weight. Yet what made Valeska’s eyes widen in quiet shock was the state of his left arm. From wrist to elbow, the skin bore a permanent pattern of black, woven scars, left behind by the void poison that had seeped into his flesh three weeks earlier.
Even though Kael no longer possessed a single trace of his wolf aura, the cold authority radiating from his gaze was immense enough to subdue Valeska’s Alpha instincts, causing her to bow her head without conscious thought.
“You… you are the man who shattered the armor of the Void King,” Valeska said, her voice growing smaller and losing its sharp edge of confrontation.
Kael rested his scarred arm on the hilt of the short brass sword strapped at his waist. “I am the anchor holding this land steady, Valeska. And as its human anchor, I demand absolute commitment from you. If you choose to stand beside Leo, you must leave behind all doubts and political strings tied to your old council.”
Valeska lifted her chin, meeting Kael’s stern gaze with the firm resolve that still defined her as leader of Crimson. “I have already laid my highest emblem upon your son’s table, Kael. Crimson never takes back what has been offered and sealed upon the map.”
“Sound logic,” Kael said simply, his tone that of a seasoned commander judging a worthy ally. He turned his head toward Leo and gave a single, almost imperceptible nod. “She keeps her focus sharp, Leo. She will not turn her back on you at the border.”
Leo stepped forward until he stood level with Valeska at the center circle of the Solstice Altar. The heavy mood of grief and loss that had hung over the grounds for weeks began to shift, replaced by a quiet sense of hope for the future.
“We will begin rebuilding the western defense posts with combined units starting tomorrow, Father,” Leo reported, outlining the plan for the outer perimeter.
“Use pure brass for every part of the new barricades, Leo,” Kael instructed firmly and without compromise. “The void residue still buried deep underground holds a frequency that can reactivate if it comes into contact with ordinary magic.”
Valeska looked down at the cracked stone floor of the altar. The fractures formed a pattern like a reversed spiral. Curiosity drew her to step a little closer toward the exact center, the spot where Valerius had finally been reduced to ash. “The energy beneath this ground… it feels completely still and empty.”
“That is because the seal was fully saturated by Diana’s Alpha’s Voice,” Leo explained calmly.
He moved closer and reached out with his left hand to steady her shoulder.
But that brief moment of calm was shattered in the space of a single heartbeat.
The instant Leo’s palm made direct contact with the skin of Valeska’s wrist, right over the center of the earth’s anchor point.
RUSH
A physical reaction rippled through the stone beneath their feet. A bright, clear silver light erupted upward with explosive speed, forming a vertical ring of energy two meters tall that enclosed both Leo and Valeska.
Valerius was gone from this world completely, and the last traces of his parasitic influence had turned to gray dust.
Yet the web of silver energy deep below the surface began to vibrate violently at a high frequency. The brass amulet inside Leo’s pocket grew burning hot. The silver light swirled wildly, releasing powerful surges of force every time Leo and Valeska maintained their physical contact.
Kael and Selene stared in stunned disbelief, watching as an unknown signal rose from the earth itself, right beneath the feet of the two young Alphas.