Chapter 4 The Alpha's Fall

Thunder cracked above Nightfang Keep.

Not a storm of rain a storm of war.

Word had reached the council. The Bloodmark bearer had not only survived Lyra's attack but had been shielded by the Moon Goddess herself. The prophecy was no longer a rumor whispered in the Temple. It was now a threat to every lie the Elders had upheld.

And at the center of it all, Kael stood before the throne of judgment.

"You have broken a sacred oath," Elder Mavros growled, gray eyes like shards of ice. "You were bound to Lyra by blood and flame. You were meant to lead, not bend to desire."

Kael didn't flinch. "And what of fate? Of the bond?"

Elder Mavros slammed his staff against the floor. "Bonds can be tested. But oaths, Alpha... oaths are eternal."

Kael's wolf clawed inside his skin, snarling against the chains of politics.

"I did not break the oath," Kael said, voice low. "It was forged on a lie."

Gasps rippled through the hall.

Elder Selene, the only one brave enough to speak of prophecy, stood slowly. "There is an ancient law," she said. "If a Luna has falsely claimed her place by deceit, the oath is void. But proof must be sacred. Unquestionable. Divine."

Kael's jaw clenched. "We have it."

Meanwhile, deep in the Temple sanctuary, Seraphina faced the sacred flames.

Beside her stood High Priestess Mireya and Elias both now openly sworn to protect her.

"She knows the truth now," Mireya whispered. "Lyra will not stop until you are ashes."

Seraphina nodded, gazing into the fire. "Then I'll stop her first."

Elias stepped forward. "You're strong, but you can't face her alone. She's trained in shadow magic. If she binds her wolf to the Darkroot during the Blood Moon, even Kael won't be able to stop her."

"I don't need to stop her with strength," Seraphina murmured. "I need to stop her with truth."

The plan was dangerous. But it was their only chance.

Seraphina would confront Lyra before the full council, during the Rite of Bloodlight an ancient ceremony where oaths were tested by the moon itself. There, the Goddess would reveal hidden bloodlines under her gaze.

But Lyra was one step ahead.

In the dungeons below the keep, she stood over a chained girl one of Seraphina's old packmates from the Emberclaw rogues. The girl had recognized Seraphina at the gates and was taken before she could speak.

"Tell me what she said," Lyra growled, voice trembling with cruelty.

The girl spat at her feet. "Only that she would bring fire and light. And when the Goddess claimed her, we would follow."

Lyra's lips curled. "Then die in her name."

She drove a dagger through the girl's heart and left her body for the ravens.

The message was clear: anyone who chose Seraphina would fall.

The day of the Rite arrived.

A thousand wolves stood in a sacred circle beneath the open sky. The full moon hung above them, blood-red and watching.

Seraphina stepped into the ring first, her white gown marked only by a silver sash the color of truth.

Lyra entered opposite her, clad in black, the dagger of destiny strapped to her thigh.

The Elders stood in the center. Elder Selene lifted the Crescent Blade. "By the will of the Moon, we call the truth to light. Come forth, children of fate."

Kael stood at the edge of the circle, his heart pounding.

He wasn't allowed to interfere.

He wasn't allowed to save her if this went wrong.

He had to trust the bond.

The moonlight thickened. Then... it descended.

A beam struck Seraphina.

Her eyes glowed.

The Bloodmark on her chest ignited like a starburst.

A symbol formed behind her the royal crest of Luna Liora.

A gasp rose from the crowd.

"She is the true heir," Selene whispered. "The rightful Luna."

But Lyra didn't fall.

She laughed.

And then... she shifted.

Her wolf form burst from her skin, massive and black, infused with shadow. The moon didn't touch her. It recoiled.

Darkroot.

She had drunk it.

Lyra lunged.

Fangs bared. Eyes blind with rage.

Seraphina barely had time to shift. Her wolf form-sleek, white, glowing at the edges-was smaller, faster, but untested in battle.

They clashed with a roar that shook the sacred stones.

Kael watched, agony burning through him. His wolf, Ashen, howled inside him. "She's not ready," he whispered. "She'll die"

Then, the Goddess intervened.

Light struck the field again. From Seraphina's wound, once left by the obsidian blade, moonfire poured.

It surrounded her.

And she roared.

Lyra was knocked back, her black fur singed.

Seraphina rose on all fours, radiant and terrible. Her voice echoed in the mind of every wolf present:

"I AM NOT A THREAT. I AM THE BALANCE."

Then came the twist.

As Lyra writhed, a second figure entered the ring.

Dame Callista.

Lyra's mother.

She carried the obsidian dagger-and she wasn't aiming it at Seraphina.

She turned it on Kael.

"For breaking the order," she spat, plunging the blade into his side.

Blood gushed.

Kael fell.

Chaos erupted.

Seraphina screamed.

Lyra shifted back into human form, her fury twisted into horror. "Mother... what have you done?"

But Callista only smiled. "The prophecy never said you would rule. It said your sons would."

Then she looked at Seraphina. "That child in your womb will ruin everything."

Everyone froze.

Seraphina gasped. "What?"

"You're carrying the Alpha's heir," Callista whispered, her voice suddenly ancient and eerie. "Twins. Blessed by the Moon. Meant to rebuild the kingdom in your name."

The prophecy wasn't just about Seraphina.

It was about what she would give birth to.

---

Kael's eyes fluttered open as Seraphina knelt by him, her hands pressed to his wound.

"I won't lose you," she whispered.

"I found you too late," he groaned.

"No," she whispered. "Just in time."

And with that, the Goddess's light descended once more surrounding them both.

Kael's wounds began to seal.

The curse of the blade undone.

Lyra collapsed, sobbing.

Callista vanished into the night.

And the prophecy?

It had only just begun.