Chapter 13 - THE WAR BENEATH THE BLOOD MOON
The Blood Moon rose on a Friday.
According to Nia, it was an astronomical event that happened every nineteen years, when the moon's unusual color coincided with the opening of the ancient royal sanctuary.
According to me, it was another reason my life needed an instruction manual.
By sunset, the mountain passes were crowded with pack representatives.
Some supported Dondre.
Others demanded his removal.
A few still believed Chancellor Varrick's claims that Moonkeepers were dangerous.
But the rescued prisoners from Hollow Crown had changed everything.
Families had seen their missing relatives return.
Children had begun describing the suppression rooms.
Former Bloodbound testified about the forced enchantments that kept them obedient.
The kingdom could no longer pretend the old decrees were harmless.
The emergency council convened beneath the Blood Moon.
Varrick stood at the center of the stone sanctuary.
His silver robes moved in the wind.
He looked toward the gathering crowd.
“The Alpha King has abandoned his duty.”
Dondre stepped forward.
“My duty is to protect the packs.”
Varrick smiled.
“Then why have you allowed an unregistered Moonkeeper to interfere with royal affairs?”
I folded my arms.
“I keep asking myself the same question about you.”
A few wolves laughed.
Varrick's eyes narrowed.
He raised his staff.
Dark red light spread across the stone floor.
Suddenly, dozens of wolves fell to their knees.
Their eyes flashed red.
Forced bonds.
The same enchantment I'd broken in the elevator.
The same power used inside Hollow Crown.
I stared at Varrick.
“You've been controlling them.”
He smiled.
“Order requires sacrifice.”
Dondre moved toward him.
“Release them.”
Varrick laughed.
“You think your father built this kingdom through kindness?”
Dondre's expression hardened.
“No.”
He drew a breath.
“And I refuse to continue building it through cruelty.”
The confrontation began before anyone could speak.
Varrick unleashed the Bloodbound.
The sanctuary erupted into chaos.
Pack guards moved to shield civilians.
Nia shifted into her gray wolf form.
Cassian helped investigators guide families away from the central courtyard.
Dondre transformed.
One moment he stood beside me.
The next, a massive black wolf with golden eyes stood between Varrick and the crowd.
He was magnificent.
Terrifying.
And determined.
But Varrick had prepared for him.
Dark chains erupted from the floor.
They wrapped around Dondre's legs.
He struggled.
The chains tightened.
I felt the old instinct to run toward him.
To rescue him.
To prove I could save the man I loved.
Then I heard my own inner voice.
Choose.
I stopped.
This wasn't about saving Dondre by taking control.
It was about freeing everyone.
I raised my hands.
Silver light moved across my palms.
Varrick turned.
His expression changed.
“No.”
I stepped forward.
“You've been using fear to keep people obedient.”
He lifted his staff.
I continued.
“But fear isn't loyalty.”
The light intensified.
“And obedience isn't love.”
The first forced bond shattered.
Then another.
And another.
Wolves rose from their knees.
Their eyes returned to their natural colors.
Some began crying.
Others stared at Varrick with expressions of horror.
He screamed.
“You cannot undo twenty-six years of law!”
I looked at him.
“I'm not undoing law.”
I took another step.
“I'm undoing what you did to people without their consent.”
Varrick turned his power toward me.
A wave of dark energy struck the ground.
I staggered.
For one moment, the silver light faded.
Then Dondre broke free.
He rushed toward me.
But before he reached me, I raised my hand.
“Dondre!”
He stopped.
I looked into his golden eyes.
“Don't fight this battle for me.”
His expression changed.
Then he lowered his head.
Not in defeat.
In understanding.
He moved beside me.
Not in front.
Together, we faced Varrick.
I released the remaining forced bonds.
Dondre ordered the loyal guards to detain the chancellor and preserve the evidence of his abuses.
Varrick tried to escape through the sanctuary corridor.
Cassian and the investigators blocked the exit.
For the first time in decades, the man who had commanded everyone's fear could not command a single person to protect him.
He was taken into custody.
When the fighting ended, the sanctuary fell silent.
The Blood Moon hung above us.
Dondre returned to human form.
He stood beside me, exhausted and bleeding from a shallow cut above his eyebrow.
I looked at him.
“Are you okay?”
He smiled faintly.
“I've had better evenings.”
I laughed through tears.
Then he looked toward the ancient covenant stone.
The symbols of the Seven Oaths glowed faintly beneath its surface.
He took a breath.
“Honey, I believe we can restore them.”
I nodded.
“Then let's do it.”
We approached the stone.
But before either of us could touch it, a voice spoke behind us.
“Not yet.”
I turned.
A woman stood beneath the sanctuary arch.
Her hair was dark.
Her eyes silver.
And beneath her collarbone was a crescent-shaped mark identical to mine.
My breath stopped.
“Selene?”
The woman looked at me.
Tears filled her eyes.
Then she whispered the name I hadn't heard spoken with such tenderness before.
“Aurelia.”
My knees weakened.
She stepped closer.
May you like
“My daughter.”
And after twenty-six years, my birth mother was finally standing in front of me.
