The Rival Alpha's Chosen Luna

The Mother Of The Alpha

Lucien stopped breathing.

The woman standing before them was older than the woman in his memories, but there was no mistaking her.

The same silver hair.

The same cold blue eyes.

The same crescent-shaped scar beneath her left eye.

His mother.

"Mother..."

The woman smiled.

"My son."

Elara instinctively stepped closer to Lucien.

He moved in front of her.

"You shouldn't be here."

His mother laughed softly.

"And yet here I am."

The Lycan King raised his sword.

"You betrayed the First Luna's bloodline."

She looked at him.

"You've been protecting that bloodline for centuries."

Her gaze shifted to Elara.

"How exhausting."

Elara's heart pounded.

"Why do you want me?"

The woman's expression changed.

"Because you possess something that belongs to my family."

"What?"

"The power to open the final door."

Lucien's voice became dangerous.

"You will not touch her."

His mother looked at him sadly.

"You still don't understand."

"Your father died because he tried to stop what is coming."

"He died because you betrayed him."

The woman's eyes hardened.

"He died because he was weak."

Lucien's wolf surged beneath his skin.

"You watched them kill him."

"I watched him make his choice."

"You gave them his location!"

"And I regret nothing."

The words shattered something inside Lucien.

For a moment, he looked less like an Alpha...

And more like the abandoned son of a woman who had never loved him.

Elara reached for his hand.

He looked at her.

She squeezed his fingers.

His mother's eyes narrowed.

"So that's it."

"You've already chosen her."

Lucien stepped forward.

"I chose her long before you returned."

A strange smile appeared on his mother's lips.

"Then you will suffer when she dies."

Elara's blood ran cold.

"What do you mean?"

The woman raised her hand.

The ancient markings across the walls suddenly began glowing.

Six symbols appeared.

Five remained dark.

One burned silver.

"The seals are connected to her life."

"If she opens them all..."

She looked directly at Elara.

"...she will awaken the thing your ancestors imprisoned."

"And when it wakes..."

The woman's smile widened.

"It will consume her first."

Elara felt the chamber spinning.

"No."

The Lycan King stepped forward.

"You're lying."

"Am I?"

The woman pointed toward the mural.

The ancient painting changed.

The crowned First Luna was no longer standing beside the black wolf.

She was kneeling.

Blood covered her hands.

And behind her stood a monstrous shadow.

Elara gasped.

"What is that?"

The woman whispered,

"The first enemy."

"The creature that existed before wolves."

Lucien stared at the mural.

His mother's voice became softer.

"It was never meant to be destroyed."

"It was meant to be controlled."

Elara shook her head.

"Then why seal it?"

"Because the First Luna lost control."

The woman looked at Elara.

"And now..."

"...you will finish what she started."

Suddenly, the ground exploded beneath them.

A massive black claw burst through the stone.

The ancient wolves howled.

The Lycan King shouted,

"GET HER OUT!"

Lucien grabbed Elara and pulled her against him.

His mother disappeared into the shadows.

But before she vanished, she smiled.

"Run, my son."

"Protect your precious Luna."

"Because when the second seal opens..."

"...she will remember who she really is."

The chamber collapsed.

Lucien wrapped his body around Elara as stones rained down.

And beneath the ruins...

Something ancient opened its eyes.