Chapter 3 The Arrival: Into The Wolves Den

The next morning, Serena began her search.

She packed a small bag, made sure her phone and camera were fully charged, and hit the road. She drove from one forest to another, chasing rumors and blurry maps, hoping she'd find something...anything, that hinted at Selvayra's existence.

But nothing came up.

By nightfall, she was exhausted. The moon was already out, glowing high in the sky as she made her way back to her car. She slipped into the driver's seat and turned the key.

Nothing.

She tried again. Still nothing.

"You've got to be kidding me," she muttered, slamming the steering wheel.

Her heart sank. She couldn't spend the night out here. She was deep in some backroad forest, and there was no chance of another car driving by.

Annoyed, Serena stepped out of the car with her bag and phone. She kicked the front tire out of frustration.

Big mistake.

"Ahh...dammit!" she groaned, hopping on one foot as pain shot up her leg.

She raised her phone, but of course, there was no signal.

"Fuck!!"

Her breath quickened. She looked around. The woods felt eerie at night, like they were watching her. She didn't want to admit it, but she was scared. Staying in her car seemed like the safest option.

She rushed to open the car door again, but this time it wouldn't open.

"What the hell?" she whispered.

It was as if the car had turned against her. Like it was punishing her for something. She tried again, tugging the handle, yanking it hard, but no luck.

The wind began to howl.

Clouds gathered above, thick and heavy, shifting unnaturally fast.

Then came a light....so bright she had to shield her eyes.

Serena slowly adjusted her glasses and looked up. The moon was glowing...no, burning....brighter than she had ever seen in her life. It was massive, glowing silver and white, casting light like a second sun.

Then she heard it.

A roar.

Low. Deep. Close.

Her eyes widened. "Tiger?"

She grabbed her bag and ran.

The sound of paws crashing through the forest followed her. She didn't dare look back. She dashed through the trees, dodging branches, heart pounding in her ears.

She didn't realize she had crossed a veil.

Everything happened fast.

She collided into someone...hard. A girl was shoved aside, and Serena instinctively took her place. The moonbeam struck her neck. Light erupted around her, surrounding her, blinding her.

And there, right in front of her...stood a man naked , from his chest to his torso.

She froze.

He looked just as shocked as she was.

She blinked, still processing what she was seeing. Then she screamed.

"Where are your clothes!?"

The people around them suddenly snarled. Their bodies shifted. Bones cracked, limbs stretched, fur burst through their skin. They weren't people anymore.

They were creatures... Wolves.

Serena stumbled backward, her entire body trembling. She looked around, horrified. This couldn't be real. But deep down, she already knew.

This was Selvayra.

Somehow... she'd found it.

>"But how? I was just running from..."

The creatures closed in.

She clutched her bag tightly to her chest, panicking.

This wasn't how she imagined discovering them. She was supposed to find the artifact first. She was supposed to film them from afar, not be this close.

And definitely not surrounded.

She screamed, long and loud...until her vision went black.

Her body crumpled to the ground.

They dragged her unconscious form through the dirt and locked her up in a prison cell deep underground.

*********

Selvayra.

A kingdom cloaked in mist , forests and tradition.

The Alpha King- Kaelen Syrus had ruled Selvayra without a Luna. Since the tragic loss of his mate and his brother's betrayal , he never loved again, hardened and distant, his heart was closed off...ruling Selvayra was all that mattered.

But the council had grown restless, worried for their King and his legacy.... He needed a Luna. He needed pups.

Tired of the constant demand, Kaelen gave in.

"Choose anyone you want," he'd said. "Just don't expect me to care."

They had gathered for the sacred mating ritual , surrounding the altar, waiting for the moon to bind the king and the one they had chosen for him.

No one expected a human to crash through the veil.

The sacred moonlight meant for the selected omega had struck the human girl instead. Now, she was bonded to him...irrevocably and the entire kingdom buzzed with the news.

*******

King Kaelen sat on his throne, draped in a dark royal robe, every inch the commanding presence his people feared and admired.

"How did the human find her way into Selvayra?" he asked, voice low and dangerous. "Kill her."

"No, my king," one of the council wolves stepped forward, voice tight. "We can't. She's your second and last chance.The bond is already formed and only she can birth your pups. Killing her means your death."

A tense silence filled the chamber.

"You know I despise humans," he said, voice deceptively calm but laced with steel. "This has never happened. The Moon Goddess would never allow this, it's an error."

Right on cue, a soft gust of air swept into the chamber.

The high Seeress appeared....silent, ethereal, her eyes glowing faintly.

She spoke without emotion. "The sacred mating ritual is complete. The mates must accept each other. The Moon Goddess approves."

She turned and walked away without another word, ignoring the storm of unasked questions left behind.

Kaelen clenched his fists.

"Leave me," he ordered.

The council obeyed without hesitation.

*********

Serena's eyes fluttered open.

Where...?

She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the blur. Her glasses were gone. Panic stirred in her chest.

Flashes of what happened came rushing back...Selvayra, the crash, the wolves, the light.

"Oh fuck... I'm done for," she whispered.

Her fingers fumbled blindly around her. The ground was cold. She could feel metal bars. A jail cell?

"I'm in prison," she muttered, heart pounding. "Where is my bag?!"

She searched every corner with trembling hands, but it was nowhere in sight, she kept fumbling till she found her glasses, she put it on immediately.

Her breath turned shallow, shaky. What would they do to her now?

Before she could think further, the metal doors screeched open.

Two guards entered without a word. They grabbed her roughly by the arms and dragged her out of the cell.

She groaned as the bright sunlight hit her eyes, and she realized it was morning already.

Her feet stumbled over the stone floor, but she didn't resist.

She'd signed up for this. She had no idea what "this" even was, but she'd face it head-on.

They threw her to the ground before the king.

Her palms scraped the floor. She looked up, slowly, and her breath hitched.

It was him.

The man from the night before.

Now fully dressed in his royal robe, he looked... unreal. Regal. Untouchable. His silver eyes gleamed like steel and his long black hair fell over part of his face. He looked like a weapon carved by the gods...divine, dangerous, distant.

"Wow," she whispered, almost involuntarily.

Still, her instincts screamed. This man...this creature...was a wolf. A shifter. No matter how beautiful he looked, he was still a predator.

Kaelen stared down at her with no softness, no warmth. Just cold acceptance of the fate he'd been handed.

He had only one thing to say.

"Mate with me and have my pups."