Claimed by the Alpha’s Rival

Sanctuary and Trials

Mist Valley looked like something straight out of a fantasy movie budget that had gone completely off the rails.

Fog swallowed entire mountains.

Ancient stone bridges appeared and disappeared between cliffs.

Silver waterfalls poured from impossible heights, vanishing into clouds below.

Even the air felt different.

Older.

Watching.

I stood at the edge of the valley and stared.

"Okay."

I folded my arms.

"This is officially the weirdest thing I've seen."

Marcus snorted.

"You've fought vampire princes."

"Yeah, but they lived in castles. Castles make sense."

Jace glanced sideways at me.

"Nothing about your life makes sense anymore."

Unfortunately, he had a point.

The moment we crossed the boundary stone, the fog shifted.

Not naturally.

Intentionally.

As if something beneath it had noticed us.

A low vibration rolled through the valley.

Then figures emerged.

Dozens of them.

Gray robes.

Silver eyes.

Silent faces.

Not wolves.

Not vampires.

Something in between.

The Grey Robe Council.

For the first time since I'd met Marcus Blackwood, the Alpha looked uneasy.

That got my attention.

Because Marcus usually looked at incoming armies the way normal people looked at pizza delivery.

One of the figures stepped forward.

An old man.

Or at least he had once been a man.

Tufts of silver fur covered his neck.

Bat-like wings folded beneath his robe.

Golden eyes glowed beneath heavy brows.

Ancient.

Powerful.

Terrifying.

"Elder Thorne," Marcus said quietly.

The old hybrid nodded.

"Alpha Blackwood."

His gaze shifted.

Stopped on me.

For a moment everything became silent.

The valley.

The wind.

Even my heartbeat.

It felt as though he were looking through every lie I'd ever told.

Including the embarrassing ones.

Finally he smiled.

"The last Lunar Blood."

Great.

No pressure.

"Nice to meet you too."

Jace groaned.

Marcus rubbed his forehead.

Thorne laughed.

The sound echoed through the valley.

"Good."

"What?"

"She still jokes."

His eyes darkened.

"That means hope remains."

I wasn't sure whether to feel comforted or alarmed.

Probably both.

The Council led us through winding pathways hidden within the fog.

The deeper we traveled, the stranger everything became.

Trees with silver bark.

Rivers glowing faintly blue.

Stone statues depicting wolves and vampires standing side by side.

Not fighting.

Together.

History I had never seen.

History no one had ever told me.

Eventually we reached the center of the valley.

A circular sanctuary carved directly into the mountainside.

Thousands of candles flickered within ancient stone arches.

The Council gathered around us.

Waiting.

Watching.

Judging.

I hated being judged.

Especially by immortal fog wizards.

Thorne settled onto a stone throne.

"You know why you're here."

Marcus stepped forward.

"Seraphine."

The elder nodded.

"Three days."

The words echoed.

"Her army arrives in three days."

Jace crossed his arms.

"We'll fight."

A few council members exchanged glances.

Then one actually laughed.

Not encouraging.

Not encouraging at all.

Thorne's expression remained grave.

"You will lose."

Silence.

Marcus's jaw tightened.

"How badly?"

The elder considered.

Then answered.

"Ninety-five percent probability of total defeat."

Nobody spoke.

Even Jace looked disturbed.

"That's... specific," I muttered.

"Prophecy often is."

Fantastic.

I loved statistical certainty regarding my impending death.

Thorne slowly rose.

"But another path exists."

Every eye in the sanctuary turned toward him.

The elder lifted a weathered hand.

Ancient symbols ignited across the floor.

Silver light spread outward.

A giant circle appeared beneath our feet.

Within it, images began to form.

Wars.

Blood.

Burning cities.

Werewolves tearing apart vampires.

Vampires slaughtering wolves.

Century after century.

Generation after generation.

The same hatred.

The same suffering.

The same cycle.

Then another image appeared.

A woman standing beneath a moon.

Blood glowing silver in her veins.

Me.

"The Eternal Covenant."

My stomach dropped.

The name alone sounded dangerous.

Thorne continued.

"One thousand years ago, the first Lunar Blood sealed away the source of supernatural power."

The vision shifted.

An ancient doorway appeared.

Covered in runes.

Locked.

Sleeping.

"Only another Lunar Blood can open it."

Marcus frowned.

"And if she does?"

The elder looked directly at me.

"All supernatural beings lose their gifts."

The room fell silent.

Every wolf.

Every vampire.

Every hybrid.

Every Alpha.

Every elder.

Everyone.

Gone.

No immortality.

No shifting.

No enhanced strength.

No supernatural bloodlines.

Just human.

My throat tightened.

"You mean..."

Thorne nodded.

"War ends."

Jace stared.

Marcus didn't move.

Neither seemed prepared for that answer.

Honestly, neither was I.

The elder's voice softened.

"The curse ends."

A female council member stepped forward.

Tears glistened in her silver eyes.

"We have waited centuries."

Another nodded.

"We are tired."

A third whispered:

"We want peace."

The words hit harder than I expected.

Because for the first time since all of this began...

Nobody was asking for my blood.

Nobody wanted power.

Nobody wanted control.

They wanted an ending.

I looked at Marcus.

"What happens to you?"

He was silent.

For a long moment.

Then—

"I become human."

No Alpha.

No wolf.

Just Marcus.

The realization felt strangely painful.

I turned to Jace.

"You too?"

He nodded.

A small smile touched his lips.

"Looks like I'd finally need a real job."

I laughed despite myself.

Then the laughter faded.

Because this wasn't funny.

This was everything.

The entire world.

One decision.

One choice.

I looked at Thorne.

"And if I refuse?"

The elder's eyes reflected a thousand years of history.

"Then you fight."

His voice became heavy.

"Many die."

"Maybe everyone."

Silence settled over the sanctuary.

I thought about Seraphine.

About Caspian.

About my father.

My mother.

The clones.

The wars.

The people who had died because of my blood.

Because everyone wanted something from me.

Always.

Power.

Control.

Immortality.

A weapon.

Never me.

Just what I could give.

I closed my eyes.

Took a breath.

Then opened them again.

"I'll do it."

Marcus immediately stepped forward.

"No."

The word cracked through the chamber.

Every head turned.

The Alpha's eyes burned.

"I don't want this."

I blinked.

"You don't want peace?"

"I don't want to lose everything."

His voice lowered.

"I don't want to lose my wolf."

The confession shocked me.

Marcus Blackwood rarely admitted weakness.

Ever.

But this?

This mattered.

Jace remained silent.

Watching.

Listening.

Thinking.

I stepped closer.

"What about you?"

His gaze met mine.

For once, no sarcasm.

No games.

No lies.

"If this ends the war..."

He paused.

Then nodded.

"I'll pay the price."

The room became still.

Thorne smiled sadly.

"Then the choice is made."

Silver flames erupted around the sanctuary.

The first trial had begun.

My pulse quickened.

"What now?"

The elder raised his staff.

"The Covenant requires three trials."

The symbols on the floor glowed brighter.

"The first is Fear."

The sanctuary vanished.

The world shattered.

Darkness swallowed everything.

I couldn't breathe.

Couldn't move.

Couldn't scream.

When my vision returned—

I was staring at a surgical table.

Cold metal.

Blood-stained restraints.

Bright lights overhead.

And on the table...

Lay a body.

My body.

My heart stopped.

The corpse looked exactly like me.

Same face.

Same hair.

Same eyes.

Only dead.

Not merely dead.

Empty.

Skin stretched tightly across bone.

Like every drop of blood had been drained away.

Like a dried husk.

A discarded shell.

I tried to step backward.

Couldn't.

My wrists were bound.

My ankles chained.

Panic exploded inside me.

"No."

A familiar voice echoed through the darkness.

Smooth.

Cold.

Dead.

Caspian.

"You see it now."

My breathing became ragged.

The corpse's eyes suddenly opened.

And looked directly at me.

"You die."

Caspian's voice whispered from every direction.

"You sacrifice everything."

The dead version of me smiled.

A horrible smile.

A broken smile.

"No one remembers."

I struggled against the restraints.

Nothing moved.

The chains dug deeper into my skin.

Fear flooded my chest.

Real fear.

Not monsters.

Not vampires.

Not death.

Meaninglessness.

Being forgotten.

Being used until nothing remained.

The corpse sat upright.

Bloodless fingers reaching toward me.

"This is your ending."

Outside the illusion, Marcus watched Lily collapse to her knees.

Blood trickled from her nose.

Then her ears.

Then the corners of her eyes.

His face drained of color.

"Lily."

He stepped forward.

Immediately Elder Thorne blocked his path.

Marcus growled.

The sound shook the sanctuary.

"Move."

The elder didn't.

"She must face it alone."

Lily's body convulsed violently.

More blood spilled across the stone floor.

Marcus's control snapped.

He lunged.

But Thorne's staff struck the ground.

A wall of silver light erupted between them.

Marcus slammed into it.

The barrier held.

The Alpha pounded against it with enough force to crack stone.

"Lily!"

No response.

Inside the illusion, the corpse version of me smiled wider.

And Caspian's voice whispered once more.

"This is what happens when heroes believe sacrifice matters."

I screamed.

The chains tightened.

The corpse reached for my throat.

And somewhere far away, beyond the nightmare, I heard Marcus roaring my name.

But I couldn't reach him.

Couldn't move.

Couldn't wake up.

Couldn't escape.

Outside the trial, Marcus watched blood begin flowing from all seven openings on Lily's face.

He tried to force his way into the illusion again.

Elder Thorne caught his arm.

"Stop."

Marcus's eyes flashed gold.

"She's dying."

The elder's expression darkened.

"She must find her own way out."

"Or what?"

Thorne looked toward Lily's trembling body.

His answer came quietly.

"Or her mind will remain trapped inside forever."