Chapter 8 - The Alpha Was Betrayed by the One Person He Had Trusted Since Childhood
Nathaniel woke in chains.
Silver chains.
He tried to shift.
Pain shot through him.
Across the room, Lyra screamed.
He turned.
She was chained to the opposite wall.
Selene stood between them.
“You underestimated the council.”
Lyra glared.
“You kidnapped us.”
“No.”
Selene smiled.
“We invited you to witness history.”
Nathaniel pulled against the chains.
“Let her go.”
“You are the Alpha of Silver Crest.”
“Yes.”
“Then you should understand sacrifice.”
Selene turned toward Lyra.
“The Moonborn line cannot continue.”
Lyra's wolf growled.
Selene nodded to the guard.
“Take the Alpha.”
Two guards dragged Nathaniel away.
Lyra screamed.
“Nathaniel!”
He shouted back.
“Don't let them break you!”
The door closed.
Selene approached.
“You think your mate can save you.”
Lyra's eyes narrowed.
“She already has.”
Selene laughed.
“You don't even know what your wolf can do.”
“What can she do?”
“She can break the ancient bonds.”
Lyra froze.
Selene leaned closer.
“And she can replace them with something stronger.”
Lyra understood.
“The bonds are controlled by whoever carries the Moonborn blood.”
“Yes.”
“You want me to rule.”
“I want you to become a puppet.”
That was the real plan.
The council had feared a Moonborn queen because she could unite the packs.
Now they wanted to manipulate Lyra into using that power for them.
Lyra closed her eyes.
Her wolf whispered.
We don't break them.
We show them the truth.
At the same time, Nathaniel discovered where he was.
The underground chamber beneath the ceremonial shrine.
He found another prisoner.
His childhood friend, Adrian.
Nathaniel stared.
“You.”
Adrian was bleeding.
“I tried to warn you.”
“You betrayed me.”
“No.”
Adrian smiled weakly.
“I pretended to.”
Nathaniel froze.
“You're working undercover?”
“Yes.”
“For whom?”
“Your grandfather.”
Nathaniel realized the old Alpha's resistance had never ended.
Adrian handed him a hidden key.
“The council has been compromised for decades.”
“How do we escape?”
“Together.”
They broke the chains.
Upstairs, Lyra was surrounded by elders.
Selene forced her to stand inside an ancient circle.
“Choose,” she commanded.
Lyra looked at the wolves outside.
Fear.
Confusion.
Pain.
She felt all of them.
Then she opened the bond.
Instead of controlling them, she showed them memories.
The truth of the council's betrayal.
The murder of Elena.
The staged rogue attack.
The forced matings.
The falsified histories.
The pack members saw everything.
Selene screamed.
“Stop!”
Lyra kept going.
The wolves began turning away from the council.
Then Nathaniel burst through the doors.
Lyra looked at him.
“You're alive.”
“Barely.”
He ran to her.
Selene raised her hand.
A powerful shockwave threw them apart.
She shifted.
Her wolf was ancient.
Huge.
White eyes.
The chamber shook.
Lyra shifted too.
Silver fur.
Moonlight.
The two wolves collided.
Selene was powerful.
But she was fighting alone.
Lyra felt Nathaniel's presence through their bond.
She did not need to overpower Selene.
She needed to unite everyone else.
She sent one command through the ancient bond.
Stand together.
Every wolf shifted.
The chamber filled with howls.
Selene fell.
Her control broke.
The council guards lowered their weapons.
It was over.
Or so they thought.
A final voice echoed from the doorway.
Darius.
“You have won the council war.”
Lyra turned.
“Then why are you smiling?”
Darius looked toward Nathaniel.
“Because the prophecy was never about ruling the packs.”
He looked directly at Lyra.
“It was about opening the Moon Gate.”
Lucian came forward.
“No.”
Darius nodded.
“Your daughter is the key.”
“What is the Moon Gate?”
Darius's expression became grim.
“The place where the first wolves sleep.”
Nathaniel stepped forward.
“And if it opens?”
May you like
Darius replied:
“The ancient war begins again.”
