Chapter 289

[ 1,444 words ]

~Samantha~

Moonlight poured through the collapsed section of the tomb roof and it looked so wrong.

“Is it supposed to look like that?” I grabbed Dominic’s hand without thinking, squeezing hard enough that he probably lost circulation.

“No.” His eyes tracked the beam as it crept across the floor toward where we stood. “That’s not normal moonlight.”

“Nothing about tonight is normal.” Killian was leaning against the wall near the entrance, one hand pressed against his side where his shirt was soaked dark. “Can we get out of here before something else tries to eat us alive?”

“Your wound.” I moved toward him but he waved me off.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re bleeding purple.” I pointed at the drops hitting the floor. “Trying to lie to me only makes you look stupid.”

“It’s handled.” He shifted his weight and more purple-black blood dripped onto the stone beneath him. “Let’s just focus on what we are here for.”

The runes on the floor lit up.

Not the soft glow from earlier when we’d activated the prophecy. This was harsh. Violent. The kind of light that made you want to look away but couldn’t.

“What did you do?” Dominic pulled me back from the spreading glow.

“Nothing!” Killian lifted his hand from his side and stared at the blood on his palm. “I’m just standing here!”

“Your blood.” Silas emerged from the shadows where he’d been checking the perimeter. “It’s activating something. The purple corruption in it is reacting with the ancient magic.”

The runes spread outward from where Killian’s blood had fallen, racing across the floor in patterns that hurt to follow. They climbed the walls, branching and twisting, until they reached the stone near the prophecy text.

New words appeared. Burning themselves into the rock like someone was carving them in real-time.

When the double keys are unsealed, the Moon Wolf will return to its position.

“Double keys.” I read it twice to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. “That’s the twins. Devon and Diana.”

“Return to its position?” Dominic moved closer to the text. “What position? What moon wolf?”

“I don’t know.” Silas was studying the runes with an intensity that made me nervous. “But this is old magic. Older than the first prophecy. This is from before the packs even existed.”

A sound made us all freeze.

High-pitched. Painful. Like someone was crying but trying desperately not to.

“Did you hear that?” I whispered.

“Yeah.” Dominic’s hand went to where his weapon should be. “Where’s it coming from?”

The crying got louder. Closer. Coming from deeper in the tomb where we hadn’t explored yet.

Then the twins appeared in the doorway and my heart nearly stopped.

“What are you doing here?” I ran to them, grabbing both by the shoulders. “You’re supposed to be at the manor with Reynold!”

“We followed you.” Devon’s hands were clamped over his ears. “We wanted to help but now there’s too much noise and it won’t stop.”

“What noise?” I looked around. The crying sound had faded. “What are you hearing?”

“The wolf.” Diana’s voice was barely audible. Her hands pressed so hard against her ears I worried she’d hurt herself. “It’s crying. It won’t stop crying.”

“There’s no wolf here.” Dominic crouched beside them. “It’s just us.”

“No.” Diana’s hand shot out, pointing with trembling fingers toward the back of the room. “There. In the broken box. The wolf is crying there.”

I followed her gaze to what remained of the crystal coffin we’d found earlier. Shattered pieces scattered across the floor, reflecting the weird moonlight in strange angles.

Nothing else. No wolf. No crying. Just broken glass and shadows.

“Diana, sweetheart, there’s nothing.”

“She’s right.” Silas had moved to the coffin. “There is something here. Something the rest of us can’t hear because we don’t have purification power.”

He knelt and pressed his hand against the largest piece of crystal. “This coffin held something important. Something that was supposed to stay sealed. And when it broke, whatever was inside didn’t die. It’s still here. Trapped.”

“The Moon Wolf.” I connected the dots. “The prophecy talks about it returning to its position. Maybe it’s been trapped here all this time.”

“Trapped and crying.” Devon lowered his hands from his ears, wincing. “It sounds so sad, Mom. Like it’s been alone forever.”

My chest squeezed. “Can you help it? Use your purification power?”

“We can try.” Diana moved toward the coffin before I could stop her.

“Wait.” Dominic started but she was already there, hands reaching for the crystal.

The second her fingers touched the glass, the entire tomb shook.

Not like before. Worse. The kind of shaking that made you wonder if the whole structure was about to come down on your head.

“Everyone out!” Silas yelled. “Now!”

But the twins weren’t moving. Both had their hands on the crystal now, silver light pouring from their palms into the broken coffin.

Something started forming in the air above the crystal. Becoming more solid. Taking shape.

A wolf made of moonlight. Huge. Beautiful. With eyes that glowed the same silver as the twins’ purification power.

“The Moon Wolf.” I breathed the words. “It’s real.”

The wolf looked at the twins. Then at me. Then threw its head back and howled again.

The sound tore through the tomb, through the ground, through my bones.

And I knew. I knew this was important. This was what the prophecy meant. This was the key to everything.

The wolf faded, dissolving back into moonlight, but something fell from where it had been.

A necklace. Silver chain. Pendant shaped like a crescent moon.

I recognized it immediately.

“That’s Lena’s.” Dominic picked it up carefully. “My mother’s necklace. She was wearing it when she died.”

“Why would it be here?” I moved closer. “In a sealed coffin in the Wolf Tomb?”

“Because she wasn’t just Lena.” Silas’s voice was quiet. “She was connected to the Moon Wolf somehow. And when she died, part of that connection was sealed here to keep it safe.”

Dominic opened the pendant with shaking hands.

Inside wasn’t a photo or lock of hair like you’d expect. It was a piece of paper. Old. Folded so many times the creases had worn through in places.

He unfolded it carefully and I saw it was a map.

Hand-drawn. But detailed enough to recognize landmarks.

And in the center, marked with a star, were two words:

Moon Wolf Altar.

“Black Forest.” I traced the path on the map. “That’s deep in the Black Forest. Past where any pack normally goes.”

“That’s where we need to take the twins tomorrow.” Dominic’s voice had gone hollow. “Not the regular Wolf Altar near our territory. The Moon Wolf Altar in the Black Forest.”

Killian pushed off the wall, still holding his side. “The Black Forest is crawling with shadow corruption. Getting there and back alive will be nearly impossible.”

“But that’s where the Moon Wolf needs to return to its position.” Silas looked at the fading runes on the wall. “That’s where the prophecy will be fulfilled.”

A roar from outside the tomb made us all jump.

Not a wolf roar. Something else.

Killian’s head snapped toward the entrance. “They’re coming!” His fist slammed into the stone wall hard enough to crack it. “I can feel them through the curse. Shadow wolves. Dozens of them. Maybe more.”

“How close?” Dominic was already moving, pushing the twins behind him.

“Close enough.” Killian’s eyes had gone wild. “We have maybe five minutes before they reach us.”

“Then we leave. Now.” I grabbed the twins’ hands. “Silas, can you seal the tomb behind us? Slow them down?”

“I can try.” He was already pulling out ward stones. “But it won’t hold long against that many.”

The howling started. Distant but getting closer. The sound made every instinct scream to run.

But it wasn’t just normal howling. There was something else mixed in. Something that made the air feel heavy. Made breathing hard.

Dark magic. Woven into their voices. Turning the sound into something that could paralyze prey.

“Move!” Dominic shoved us toward the exit. “Don’t stop until we reach the cars!”

We ran. The twins between us. Silas behind us. Killian bringing up the rear despite his injury.

The howling got louder. Closer. More voices joining in until it sounded like an army was chasing us.

And maybe they were.

Because as we burst out of the tomb into the night air, I saw them.

Shadow wolves. Everywhere. Eyes glowing purple in the darkness. Fur matted with corruption. Moving through the trees like living nightmares.

“There!” Dominic pointed to where we’d hidden the cars. “Run!”

We ran.

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