The Black Pines were forbidden land.
Haunted by old magic. Twisted by time. Wolves whispered that spirits lived there,wolves who died without packs, their souls hungry and unbound.
That's where Damien had been going.
That's where Selena now stood.
The moonlight struggled to break through the heavy trees. The earth beneath her boots felt unnatural, soft and pulsing, like it remembered blood.
She moved silently, her silver cloak wrapped tight, her senses sharp.
And then she saw it.
A stone altar, ancient, cracked, and blackened by fire. Shadow runes crawled along the bark of surrounding trees. And in the center, Damien knelt, shirtless, chanting in a language older than the packs.
> "You've gone too far this time," Selena said, stepping into the clearing.
Damien froze.
Then smiled without turning. "So predictable. Always chasing me. Always two steps behind."
> "What are you summoning?" she demanded.
He rose slowly, shadows flickering around his form. "Not what, Selena. Who."
The ground trembled. The altar glowed crimson.
> "The First Moon cursed me with weakness," Damien growled. "But now, I've found another source. Something older. Stronger."
Selena's eyes widened as she saw it, the blood on the altar wasn't his.
It was wolf blood.
Pack blood.
> "You're sacrificing your own to feed shadow magic?" she asked in disbelief.
Damien's voice dripped with venom. "This world doesn't need a Moon's Chosen. It needs a true Alpha. One who controls fate not follows it."
He lunged.
Selena raised her hand and her aura exploded in a shield of silver light, repelling him midair.
But something else rose behind him.
A shape.
Tall.
Wrong.
Made of mist and bone.
> "Meet my new ally," Damien whispered. "His name is Morren. Shadow king of the forgotten realm. And he agreed to give me power in exchange for one thing…"
The creature's voice rumbled from nowhere and everywhere.
> "Give me the girl of light."
Selena stood her ground, even as the trees bent under the force of the shadow king's presence.
> "You want the Moon's Chosen?" she whispered, letting her eyes glow. "Then you better be ready to face her."
The clearing burst into light and darkness
clashing,Selena vs. Damien and the rising force of Morren.
The war had begun.