The Moon Goddess lied

THE WOLF BEYOND THE GATE

CHAPTER SEVEN

"Some secrets are meant to be discovered. Others are meant to remain buried, because the moment they awaken, the world remembers why they were feared."

The moon disappeared behind the clouds.

For several seconds, no one moved.

Auren stood frozen beside the window, her eyes fixed on the three black feathers resting against the glass.

Her mother's words echoed inside her mind.

They found you.

But who were they?

And how could three strangers possibly know her name?

The questions collided inside her head until she could barely think.

Then Gareth moved.

"Everyone away from the window."

His voice was quiet.

Too quiet.

Liora immediately obeyed.

Auren didn't.

Her eyes remained fixed on the darkness outside.

"Father..."

"Now, Auren."

Something in his tone made her step away.

Gareth moved between his wife and daughter, his attention never leaving the forest.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the entire house went dark.

Auren gasped.

The candles in the hallway flickered once before dying completely.

The silence that followed was unnatural.

No wind.

No insects.

No distant wolves.

Nothing.

It was as though the entire forest had stopped breathing.

Gareth's eyes narrowed.

"Liora."

"I know."

She reached beneath her gown and pulled out a small silver blade.

Auren stared at it.

"Mother, what is happening?"

Liora didn't answer.

Instead, she whispered something under her breath.

A faint silver glow spread across the walls.

Runes.

Auren's eyes widened.

They had been carved into the wooden beams of the room.

She had lived in this house her entire life.

She had never seen them before.

"What are those?"

"Protection marks," Gareth said.

"Against what?"

He looked at her.

"Whatever is outside."

Auren's heart slammed against her ribs.

A low growl suddenly rolled through the darkness.

Not from outside.

From somewhere beneath the house.

Auren's wolf reacted instantly.

Her body stiffened.

Another growl followed.

Closer.

The floor beneath their feet trembled.

Liora grabbed Auren's hand.

"We need to leave."

"But—"

"Now."

They had barely reached the doorway when a deafening crack split through the house.

The front door exploded inward.

Auren screamed.

Gareth shoved both women behind him.

Wood splintered across the floor.

Smoke drifted through the entrance.

And standing beyond the broken doorway...

Was a wolf.

Not an ordinary wolf.

It was enormous.

Its fur was darker than the surrounding night, almost black beneath the moonlight. Its eyes burned with an unnatural golden glow.

Auren couldn't breathe.

The creature stared directly at her.

Not Gareth.

Not Liora.

Her.

A strange pressure suddenly filled the room.

Her wolf rose inside her.

Not frightened.

Not aggressive.

Awake.

The enormous wolf took one step forward.

Auren felt something pull inside her chest.

A thread.

Invisible.

Ancient.

Alive.

She whispered without meaning to.

"Caelan..."

The wolf froze.

Gareth's face changed.

Liora went completely still.

Auren looked between them.

"How did I know that name?"

The wolf's eyes widened.

Then something impossible happened.

The enormous creature began to shift.

Bones changed beneath dark fur.

The figure rose.

Fur disappeared.

The shape of a wolf became the shape of a man.

Within seconds, a stranger stood in the ruined doorway.

Tall.

Dark-haired.

His breathing was heavy, and his golden eyes remained fixed on Auren.

Neither of them spoke.

Auren couldn't look away.

She had never seen him before.

Yet some impossible part of her recognized him.

The stranger looked equally stunned.

His voice came out barely above a whisper.

"It's you."

Auren's heart stopped.

"What?"

He took a cautious step forward.

"You're the one I've been hearing."

Auren's confusion deepened.

"Hearing?"

He nodded.

"Every time I close my eyes."

Gareth suddenly stepped forward.

"Stay where you are."

The stranger's gaze shifted toward him.

For the first time, the warmth in his expression disappeared.

His posture changed.

The air itself seemed to tighten.

"I'm not here to hurt her."

"Then why are you here?"

The stranger looked at Auren again.

"I don't know."

Auren frowned.

"You broke into my house."

"I didn't."

Gareth's eyes narrowed.

"You were standing at the door."

"I was trying to stop it."

"What?"

The stranger looked toward the broken entrance.

His expression became serious.

"Something followed me."

Silence.

Auren felt the blood drain from her face.

"Something?"

He nodded.

"A creature."

Liora tightened her grip around Auren's hand.

"What creature?"

The stranger's jaw tightened.

"I don't know what it is."

A loud sound came from the forest.

A deep, distorted growl.

Every wolf inside Auren reacted at once.

The stranger's eyes changed.

His pupils narrowed.

His wolf pushed toward the surface.

Gareth immediately drew his silver blade.

"Get Auren upstairs."

Liora pulled her daughter backward.

But Auren couldn't move.

Because she could feel it.

Something was approaching.

Not one wolf.

Not three.

Something else.

The stranger suddenly looked directly at her.

"Don't be afraid."

Auren's voice trembled.

"I'm not."

His eyes softened.

"Your wolf is."

Auren froze.

He was right.

Her wolf was trembling.

Not from fear.

From recognition.

Then the ground shook.

Once.

Twice.

The walls of the house groaned.

Auren looked toward the forest.

The trees began moving.

Not from wind.

Something was walking between them.

Something enormous.

Branches snapped one after another as the unseen creature drew closer.

Gareth's face went pale.

He whispered a word Auren had never heard him say before.

"Impossible."

"What?"

He didn't answer.

The stranger suddenly grabbed Auren's wrist.

Auren looked at him in shock.

The moment his fingers touched her skin...

The world disappeared.

Auren was no longer standing inside her home.

She stood beneath a blood-red moon.

Black mountains surrounded her.

Thousands of wolves knelt across a vast stone valley.

At the center stood three figures.

One wore a crown.

One carried a silver sword.

One stood beside an ancient grave.

Then Auren looked down.

Her hands were covered in blood.

A voice whispered behind her.

"You were never supposed to survive."

Auren turned.

A woman stood beneath the crimson moon.

Her face was hidden behind a silver veil.

Auren knew her.

Not from memory.

From somewhere deeper.

The woman lifted her hand.

"The Moon Goddess did not choose you."

Auren's breath caught.

"Then who did?"

The woman smiled.

"You did."

The vision shattered.

Auren gasped and stumbled backward.

The stranger caught her before she fell.

"Auren!"

She stared at him.

He looked terrified.

Not because of the creature outside.

Because he had seen something too.

"You saw it," she whispered.

His expression changed.

"Yes."

"What was that place?"

"I don't know."

Auren looked toward the doorway.

The forest had gone completely still.

Then three pairs of golden eyes appeared between the trees.

One.

Two.

Three.

But they weren't alone.

Behind them stood something far larger.

Something with eyes that glowed a deep, unnatural red.

Auren's breath caught.

The stranger stepped in front of her.

Gareth raised his blade.

Liora pulled Auren closer.

Then one of the three wolves stepped out of the darkness.

It was different from the first.

Its presence carried authority.

Power.

The kind that made every wolf instinctively lower its head.

Auren felt the invisible bond tighten.

The wolf shifted.

A tall man emerged from the darkness.

His expression was cold.

His eyes remained fixed on Auren.

He looked at the stranger standing beside her.

Then back at Auren.

His voice was dangerously calm.

"So..."

He took another step forward.

"The Heart has found her."

The stranger's expression hardened.

"And the Crown has come too late."

Auren's blood ran cold.

The second man smiled faintly.

"Not quite."

His gaze shifted toward the forest.

"Because the Grave is already here."

Auren turned.

A third figure stood beneath the trees.

Completely still.

Watching her.

His eyes were darker than the night around him.

And unlike the other two...

He didn't look surprised.

He looked as though he had been waiting for her for years.

Then he spoke.

Three words.

Words that made every wolf in Blackwood fall silent.

"Auren Vale."

Her heart stopped.

"I've found you."