Chapter 79

Chapter 79
Chapter Seventy Nine

Selene’s POV

The moon was nearly full when I woke, its light spilling through the balcony curtains and painting silver across the floor. For a moment I lay still, listening to the familiar sounds of the packhouse at night—distant footsteps, muffled voices, a door closing softly somewhere below. Safe sounds. Normal ones.

But nothing felt normal.

The mountain still haunted the edges of my mind like a shadow refusing to leave. Some nights, I felt the heartbeat beneath the earth when there shouldn’t be one. Other times, I heard whispers no one else could hear. But tonight, the pack was calm, the air steadier than it had been in weeks.

The peace felt fragile, but it was peace all the same.

Kai shifted beside me, half-asleep, one arm draped over my waist. His breath warmed my shoulder, slow and steady. Even in sleep he held me like I was something he worried might disappear.

I placed my hand over his, letting the warmth settle my chest.
He stirred.

“You’re awake,” he murmured, voice rough with sleep.

“I couldn’t sleep,” I whispered.

He opened his eyes fully, golden even in the dim light. “Another dream?”

“No. Just thinking.”

“That is never good news,” he teased lightly, but his fingers brushed my back protectively, careful, as if he sensed the unsettled feeling under my skin.

I sat up, pulling the blanket with me. “I want to visit the training grounds today.”

He rose on one elbow, studying my face. “To train or to check on the wolves?”

“Both.”

His eyes softened. “They’ll be glad to see you.”

I wasn’t sure about that. Since returning from the mountain, some wolves looked at me with reverence, others with fear. None had looked at me the way they used to, not even the ones I’d grown up with.

Kai reached forward, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “They see you as their Luna now.”

“I didn’t ask to become anyone’s Luna.”

“No. But you still are.” His voice gentled. “And that scares them less than you think.”

I didn’t respond. I wasn’t sure I believed him.

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “Come back to bed. It’s barely dawn.”

“I can’t. If I stay still too long, I think myself into a hole.”

“Then I’ll get up too.”

“You don’t need to.”

“Yes,” he said, already swinging his legs out of the covers, “I do.”

I watched him as he stood. The scar across his ribs from the last of the mountain trials caught the moonlight. It looked faint now, barely a line, already healed well enough that someone who didn’t know him would not notice.

But I did.

I remembered every second of how he got it.

He found his shirt at the foot of the bed and tugged it on, then held out his hand. “Come on. Let’s pretend to be responsible adults.”

I took his hand reluctantly, letting him pull me to my feet.

“Responsible adults,” I repeated. “We don’t even eat breakfast on time.”

“Details,” he said, kissing my knuckles before leading me toward the door.

⸻

The packhouse was warm, the hallways lit by lanterns. Wolves on early duty bowed when they saw us. Some lowered their heads fully, exposing their necks in respect.

Kai ignored the gestures, walking with an easy confidence. “You can relax,” he murmured to me quietly. “You’re about three seconds from bolting.”

“I’m not used to people doing that.”

“You’re their Luna. They’re supposed to do that.”

“But I know them,” I whispered. “Half of them used to steal bread from my father’s kitchen.”

He laughed under his breath. “You should write a book. ‘How to Go From Kitchen Girl to Unkillable Ascended Being.’ Number one bestseller.”

“That sounds ridiculous.”

“So are you,” he said, smiling. “In a good way.”

We passed the kitchen, where wolves were already preparing food for the day. The smell of roasted meat and herbs drifted through the doorway. Someone noticed us and straightened abruptly, nearly dropping a tray.

Kai gave a lazy wave. “Just passing through.”

The wolf nodded and bowed deeply, watching us leave.

When we stepped outside, the early morning chill brushed against my skin. The training grounds lay farther down the hill, past the gardens and the open courtyards. Dew clung to the grass, sparkling under what remained of the moon.

As soon as we approached, I saw movement—dozens of wolves, young and eager, sparring in pairs. Some trained with wooden staffs, others practiced shifting control. Althea, the pack’s lead trainer, barked orders sharp enough to cut through stone.

“Lower your stance, not your head! And you three—stop swinging like you’re swatting flies!”

Althea noticed us and immediately bowed. “Alpha. Luna.”

“Good morning,” Kai said. “How are they today?”

“Trying,” she said diplomatically. “Some harder than others.”

Kai chuckled and glanced at me. “Want to supervise or participate?”

“I’ll spar,” I said.

His eyebrows rose. “You sure?”

“I need the distraction. And it might help them see I’m still… me.”

Kai squeezed my hand once, a warm encouragement. “Then spar.”

Althea stepped forward. “Selene, if you want, I can pair you with—”

“I’ll take whoever’s confident enough to volunteer,” I said.

A ripple moved through the wolves. Then a boy not much older than eighteen stepped forward, shoulders squared, eyes steady. His scent was nervous but determined.

“I’ll spar with her,” he said. “If the Luna approves.”

Kai glanced at me. I nodded.

“Alright,” I said. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

We moved to the center of the training ring. Wolves circled around us, whispers stirring.

Kai folded his arms. “Try not to break him.”

“No promises,” I replied.

The boy shifted first, his body twisting into a lean gray wolf. I let my own shift rise slowly, my bones lengthening, spine snapping, fur rippling across my skin. My wolf form was larger than his by far, mixed silver and white.

His ears flattened slightly but he didn’t back down.

Good.

He lunged first.

Fast. Brave. But sloppy.

I dodged easily, brushing past him with a swipe of my tail that knocked him sideways. He recovered quickly and charged again. This time I let him get close before pinning him with one paw.

He whimpered, but I eased the pressure and stepped back.

After a long moment, he shifted back into human form, panting. “I yield. Thank you, Luna.”

The respect in his voice surprised me.

The wolves around us broke into soft applause, tails wagging in the background. For the first time since returning from the mountain, I felt something warm and real inside me—belonging.

Kai approached the ring, pride in his eyes. “See?” he murmured quietly. “They don’t fear you.”

“Some do,” I said.

“Some should,” he replied with a small grin. “But not for the reasons you think.”

He reached for my hand, helping me steady after shifting back. My muscles were still tingling with leftover energy.

Althea approached. “Luna, you’re welcome here anytime. It helps more than you know.”

“Thank you,” I said sincerely.

Just as we were about to leave, a loud crash sounded from the far edge of the grounds. Wolves turned instantly. Kai’s posture snapped straight, his wolf rising close to the surface.

“What was that?” I whispered.

Before Althea could answer, a scout sprinted down the path, breathless, eyes wide.

“Alpha,” he gasped, “you need to come now. Both of you.”

Kai stiffened. “What happened?”

“It’s the forest border,” the scout said. “Something is moving there. Something big.”

My pulse tightened.

“Is it rogues?” Kai asked.

“No. Not rogues.” The scout swallowed hard. “It smells like… earth. Magic. Old magic.”

Kai’s eyes flew to mine instantly.

The mountain.

“No,” I whispered. “We left it behind.”

But even as I said it, the wind shifted. A faint scent drifted through the air, one I hadn’t smelled since the Core—deep stone, silver heat, and the faintest thread of something restless.

Kai took my hand. “Stay behind me.”

“No,” I said. “I’m coming with you.”

He didn’t fight me. He just tightened his grip and started toward the treeline with the scout.

The closer we got, the stronger the scent became. Wolves gathered near the border, some growling low, others staring into the thick shadows of the forest. The air was unnaturally still, the birds silent, the leaves unmoving.

Then I saw it.

A shape between the trees.

Huge. Slow. More shadow than substance.

Kai shifted instinctively, his wolf form rising beside me, protective and ready. I felt my own wolf surge beneath my skin.

The shape moved again, stepping closer to the border.

No eyes. No face. Only a shifting outline of darkness laced with silver light.

My mouth went dry.

“That isn’t a beast,” I whispered. “It’s a memory.”

Kai growled low. “From the mountain.”

The figure twisted its head as if listening, and the silver veins running through its shadowy body pulsed in time with my heartbeat.

I stepped forward without meaning to.

Kai placed himself in front of me immediately.

“No,” he growled in warning.

But the shadow split its shape, forming a second figure. Then a third. Each one taller than the last, each one flickering with faint embers of the throne’s ancient magic.

The wolves behind us backed away in fear.

Kai’s growl deepened, vibrating through the ground.

“What does it want?” he asked.

My voice shook. “It wants me.”

The largest shadow stepped fully into the clearing, silver blazing down its chest. The light traveled like a path—straight to me.

Kai snarled, teeth bared. “It doesn’t get to have you.”

But the shadow didn’t move to attack.

It only raised a single hand, palm outward, the silver veins glowing brighter.

A whisper filled the air. Not from the creature, but from everywhere at once.

“Come.”

My breath caught. The voice was unmistakable.

The First Queen.

Kai moved, but I caught his arm. “Don’t. She wants you to react.”

He glanced at me with fury and fear.

“You are not going anywhere,” he said.

“I’m not,” I promised.

But the shadow stepped closer.

Two more followed.

A soft vibration hummed under my feet, echoing the throne’s old heartbeat.

Not dead.
Not gone.
Just waiting.

The shadows stilled, all of them turning their heads toward the same direction at once—as if sensing something farther away.

Then they melted into smoke, vanishing into the forest without a trace.

The silence that followed was crushing.

Kai shifted back, breathing hard. He pulled me into his arms so fast I barely had time to react.

“Do not let go,” he said against my hair. “Not after that. I almost—”

“I’m here,” I whispered, gripping him tightly. “I’m right here.”

His hands framed my face, his eyes burning into mine. “She cannot have you. Not your mind. Not your soul. Not your blood.”

“She won’t,” I said softly.

But a cold truth settled in my chest.

The First Queen was not done.

And the throne had begun calling again.

This time, not through dreams.

But through the living world.

And it had found its way back to me.