The Shadow of the Moon

He was the darkness that no light could pass through, his destiny had long been sealed, he was the personification of evil, the dark lord known as The Shadow of the Moon, nothing would give him more pleasure than to make the world burn, his hatred had long been rooted in his chest and had reached an unimaginable level, the only thing that appeased his fury was the desire for revenge.

While his enemies, who were once called friends, celebrated his defeat, the world had been cruel to him, but he wouldn't regret his fate, for him it was only for the weak who didn't know how to deal with their problems. His power could be considered both a blessing and a curse, and it was because of it that he was defeated.

He was a man of slender build, tall, with pale skin, eyes as blue as the waters of the ocean, with an aquiline nose and thin, small lips, he was considered a handsome man by those who were bold enough to look at him more than once. An angel's face for a demon, he was feared everywhere, but it hadn't always been like this, he had once been kind and good, always concerned about people until he was betrayed by the one he trusted the most, from then on his heart darkened and the feeling of love for others was replaced by power and revenge, and so he was imprisoned. Through a lie they lured him into a trap, and with the help of fifty witches with superior powers they sealed him in a cave, with a silver chain that feeds on his power day and night, he was foolish enough to believe his enemy and blamed only himself for the situation he was in. His body was in a state of dormancy, it was the way he had found to conserve some of his strength, and for the last thirty years he had overloaded the seal with small fluctuations of energy, every magic had a weakness and his seal would be no different, no matter how much they strengthened the seal year after year it wouldn't last much longer, over the years he had learned to channel his power by accumulating it inside him, he just needed a small chance to break the seal once and for all.

***

Meanwhile, in the kingdom of the alpha king Marui, an emergency meeting was taking place.

"We need to find another way to restore the seal," said the elderly witch Marie.

"If we reinforce it once more, how long will it last? asked Queen Olisa"

"A few months, Your Majesty," said Marie.

"We need a new form of containment, the seal is already at its end, it won't do any good to reinforce it, we have to make a new seal " says Alpha Marui.

"It's the best solution, my alpha, in the current state the seal could be broken at any moment" replies Marie.

"Are there any witches left alive from those who sealed it?"

"No alpha, when they did the spell to seal it, they used up a lot of vital energy and that drastically reduced the lifespan of all of them, the last one died a year ago" says Marie.

"Then we'll have to find a new sealing spell, gather the witches Marie and find a new spell."

"Or we could just kill him, that would save a lot of headaches," says Queen Olisa with a cruel smile on her face.

"You know better than I do that if we kill him he'll be reborn, so it won't be possible, sealing is the best option," says Alpha Marui. "Gather some witches, Marie, and we'll reinforce the seal one last time.

"As you wish alpha."

The situation was not at all favorable for Alpha Marui, he knew that if Mork returned he wouldn't stop until everything turned to ashes, his hatred had increased after they sealed him, he could feel it every time they went to reinforce the seal, in the current situation Mork wouldn't hesitate to wipe out the entire king of the silver moon to get his revenge, his time was running out, he needed to find a solution now, or everyone would be lost. Even with the silver chains feeding on Mork day and night, their power had increased enormously, something he still didn't fully understand, Marui only knew that if he broke free even he couldn't stop him and that frightened him terribly, there were too many flaws to analyze, if they broke the seal to make another one, the chains probably wouldn't be able to hold Mork, they were at a dead end, the only option was to cast a seal over the one that already existed, but that wasn't so easy to do, it required a lot of power and life force.

With his head full of worries, Maruí decided to pay a visit to an acquaintance, it had been a few months since he had been to her cabin, whenever he wanted peace he remembered Elena, she was his resting place in the middle of the cause, entering his room he opened a portal to the forest, this was one of the advantages of being a pure-blooded werewolf, you received many gifts, he walked at a brisk pace and soon spotted the small cabin in the middle of the forest, from the smoke coming out of the chimney she was home, before he could reach the door she came out with a wide smile, Elena was a short girl with a pale complexion and long black hair, her brown eyes showed all the affection she had for Marui, her heart-shaped lips wore a wide smile.

"How did you know I was here? "Maruí asked, approaching her.

"I felt you as soon as you passed through the gate," she said, giving her a hug.

"I'm still amazed at your ability to find me."

"You should be used to it by now Maruí" she pulls him in and pours him a cup of tea.

"Your skills are improving."

"You know I don't have any skills, I'm a lantern, remember?"

"Yes, but you do more things than the other lanterns."

"The only difference is that I can sense people's vital energy, I think it has something to do with my healing abilities."

Elena was a lantern, that is, a werewolf without a wolf, but because her mother was a healer she inherited her abilities and that made her very special. The alpha Marui was the only one who visited her in the whole kingdom, people usually ignored her, thinking that a werewolf who couldn't transform was useless, so her only friend was the alpha.

Elena knew that when Maruí appeared it was because something was bothering him, she could feel his energy fluctuating, he was agitated.

"Speak Maruí, what's been bothering you?"

"It's hard to hide things from you," he said, smiling.

"I can feel your energy, it's a mess."

"I'm trying to find a way to deal with a seal."

"What seal?"

"I'm sorry, Elena, but this is confidential."

"But what do you want to do with this seal?"

"Strengthen it."

"Then the best time is tonight, we're going to have a supermoon, it's the perfect time to strengthen the seal without consuming its vital energy, you could draw energy from the moon" Marui looks at her in amazement at her reasoning, even her advisors hadn't noticed this detail, but she quotes it as if it were something so obvious.

"Tell me why you're not on my council?" she smiles at him.

"For three reasons," she said, holding out her hand, "one, I'm too young, two, I'm a lantern and three, I wouldn't accept it." Marui understood what she was saying, the only reason she hadn't been expelled from the kingdom was because he hadn't allowed it, the people thought she was bad luck because she was a lantern, someone the moon goddess had turned her back on.

"I know that, sometimes I wish I could do more for you."

"You already do Marui, you've looked after me for years, don't worry about me anymore, I can manage just fine on my own."

"Thank you for your help."

"You know where to find me whenever you need me."

"I'll take what you said to the others, I think it's a great idea."

"We have to take advantage of the moon's strength, today as soon as it comes out I'm going to the mountains to gather herbs, there are some that when they receive the light of the supermoon they increase their healing powers, it will be good to stock up on some." Maruí gets worried and doesn't disguise his displeasure.

"Don't go to that region today, you won't be safe there."

"Hey! I can handle myself Maruí, don't worry."

"It's serious, Elena," he says, taking her hands in his, and she looks at him puzzled.

"I'm sorry Marui, but there's someone who needs these herbs, so I have to go, but I promise to be careful" he knew that arguing with her was a hopeless case, so he didn't insist any longer.

"All right, now I have to go" he gets up and leaves "Thanks for the tea."

"Come whenever you like."

Marui opens a portal and leaves, Elena returns to her hut and begins to organize the things she will need to collect medicinal plants at night.

Oblivious to everything, Mork began to feel his strength growing, he knew that tonight would be his chance to break the seal.

As the moon rose in the dark sky, the chains weakened, the concentration of power in Mork was at a level where they wouldn't last much longer.

Elena was excited, she had collected a good number of medicinal herbs, but stubborn as she was, she continued walking through the forest until she spotted the one she had been looking for for a long time, a rare herb, shining in the moonlight, high up on the mountain it stood out for its beauty. She runs to pick it up with a broad smile on her face. As she approaches the herb, the ground above her collapses. With a heavy impact, she fell to the ground, a little disoriented.

"Ouch!" she says, holding her leg, still oblivious to where she was. With difficulty, she gets up, but when she tries to place her right foot on the ground, she realizes that she has twisted it. As she examines the area, a light catches her eye, and as if hypnotized by it, Elena walks over to it. Chained with thick chains was a man in a saddle, his arms and legs held by thick chains that must have been magical from the energy emanating from them. Slowly, she walked towards the man, compelled by a force that somehow drew her to him.

The man in front of her had pale skin and black hair that reached down to his chin, his body was slender and he was tall, she couldn't see his face as his hair was falling over his face.

Elena didn't understand why she had trapped him in that place, looking at him in that situation he seemed harmless, when she was very close to him she came across a magical barrier that was oscillating, showing that it was going to collapse, Elena forced her body over the barrier and through it, now that she was in the same environment as the man in front of her, the pressure of the energy drawing her to him was much greater and following the impulse she approached him and as if sensing his presence the man raised his head and Elena was faced with the bluest eyes she had ever seen in her life, they had a light that shone around his irises, his lips were thin and his nose small and well made, his face was beautiful and he conveyed an innocence that was surreal. Unable to resist, Elena continued to walk towards him, mesmerized. At no point did the man look away from her, following her every step without expression. Elena reached out and touched the man's face, his eyes glowed brightly and she felt a current of energy pass through her body.

Mork had felt a different energy approaching him, he knew that his time was running out and that Marui would soon be there to strengthen the barrier, he felt it, after all he wasn't stupid, but when he felt this energy approaching he realized that it was his chance to get out of there without using up too much of his already low energy.

He senses someone slowly approaching him, because when he enters the barrier he raises his eyes to see who it is. Then he saw two brown eyes staring at him, she had long black hair, plump pink lips, his wolf was stirring in his chest, it was the first time he had felt it in the years he had been imprisoned, he knew that now her eyes must be giving off a blue light, a sign of his wolf's presence, Mork looked puzzled, "what would his wolf have seen in this girl to only appear when he saw her", he was confused, but as soon as she touched him he understood, contrary to his destiny and everything he believed Mork could recognize and a growl in his mind confirmed what he already knew, "mate", said his wolf scaring him, he felt his heart racing, "no, that shouldn't be possible, I don't want a mate", his mind was racing, while his body was telling him what he was trying to deny, when the barrier fell he saw the woman in front of him collapse and without being able to stop it his wolf took partial control of her body supporting her, "damn it Drago", it was no use arguing, his wolf was undeterred, he would not leave his companion, helplessly Mork opens a portal and teleports to his old hut, a place where only he knew where it was, he enters, removes the dusty sheet from his bed and lays the woman in his arms, his wolf was irritated by his carelessness with his soulmate, but he doesn't care, turning his back he leaves the room and sits on the floor gathering energy from nature, one of his gifts was to be able to draw energy from nature or from another person, that was a super blue moon day, something rare, so it wouldn't take him long to recover.

As soon as he recovered, he channeled his energy and cast his signal into the sky, and soon the image of a large black wolf formed on the moon, casting shadows over the kingdom; now his enemies would know he was coming back and his revenge would be relentless. A cruel smile forms on his angelic face as he thinks of how to take revenge on Marui, there were no barriers in the kingdom capable of holding him back now that he was free, as soon as the woman woke up he would go on his way forgetting that he had once seen her, his wolf stirs in his chest at this thought and a phrase forms in his mind, "mine", his wolf would not renounce his companion and as much as Mork is reluctant there is not much that can be done.

"If you insist, I'll kill you," Mork growls at Drago, an unbearable growl fills Mork's head, knocking him to the ground, his wolf was showing him what would happen to him if he hurt her.

"All right!" growls Drago and he stops, sweat pouring down Mork's face as he struggles to stand.

Mork spent the rest of the night sitting on the grass watching the energy and controlling his thoughts, he wouldn't let himself be dominated by hatred, he would be cold and calculating with his revenge and his wolf agreed with him. Drago wanted blood and he would give it to him.

When it was almost dawn, footsteps alerted Mork and, sniffing the air, he smiled.

"Alpha!" a man shouts as soon as he sees him, he runs and kneels at his feet.

"Hello Maison, it's been a long time," says Mork, touching the man's back.

"I came as soon as I saw your sign in the sky," he says, getting up and giving him a hug, "The Black Moon pack is celebrating your return.

"How have things been all these years I've been away?" the world had changed, Mork needed to be informed to decide his next steps.

"Unfortunately nothing is going well my Alpha, Councilor Conor took over as Alpha after his sealing, our allies rebelled against the pack, we are on the brink of war" Mork's cold eyes showed all his dissatisfaction

"From what I can see, Conor is still as useless as ever." Maison wasn't surprised, he had always known that Conor wanted to be an Alpha.

"I'm sorry to be the bearer of this bad news."

"From Conor you wouldn't expect anything else, he's not only dumb but incompetent" Mork had a deep contempt for the advisor and had never made a point of hiding it.

Mork heard the woman wake up and motioning for Maison to hide, he entered the hut. As he passed through the door, a strong scent of roses and chocolate filled his nostrils, making him feel ecstatic for a moment, he felt his wolf purr internally, something that was outrageous to him.

When his eyes meet hers, he feels the magnetism between them, that energy trying to bring them closer.

"Where am I?" she says in her melodious voice.

"In my cabin and I hope you'll leave soon" she stares at him in surprise at his harsh words.

"I didn't ask you to bring me here, I have a house in case you didn't know" it felt like the temperature in the cabin had dropped ten degrees with her words.

"How dare you address me like that?" he said, holding her chin tightly, his eyes like sharp blades over Elena's.

"Get your hands off me," she says, slapping his hand away, "I don't even know you."

"You don't need to know my name," he said, cutting her off.

"I also think it's better if you're too arrogant," she says, getting up from the bed.

"Someone needs to learn some manners," he said, approaching her. Seeing the murderous expression on the face of the man in front of her, Elena took a few steps backwards, once again her tongue had gotten her into trouble.