The Last Daughter of Vaelor
1282 Words
Every warrior knelt.
To me.
My breath caught in my throat.
Moonlight spilled across the blood-soaked clearing, silver against dead leaves, shattered branches, and the bodies of rogues still steaming in the cold night air.
No one moved.
Not the guards.
Not the priestess.
Not even Rowan.
The Alpha King stood beside me, chest heaving, blood running down claw marks across his ribs and shoulder. Massive. Terrifying. Barely restrained.
But his golden eyes weren’t on his warriors.
They were on me.
Sharp.
Possessive.
Unreadable.
The older woman in black robes slowly lowered herself further, bowing her silver-haired head.
“The blood of Vaelor lives,” she whispered.
My stomach tightened.
“I think someone should explain why everyone is suddenly kneeling.”
No one answered.
I hated that.
I stepped forward.
Several warriors visibly tensed.
As if I were dangerous.
Ridiculous.
I was wounded, exhausted, and covered in wolf blood.
“What is Vaelor?” I demanded.
The priestess finally lifted her eyes.
They were pale silver, almost glowing.
“Not what, child.”
Who.
The way she said it made cold slide beneath my skin.
She rose carefully, leaning on a blackwood staff carved with ancient wolf sigils.
“My name is Maera. High Seer of the Northern Throne.”
Her gaze dropped to the crescent pendant at my throat.
My mother’s pendant.
“House Vaelor was the First Bloodline.”
My pulse thudded harder.
“The first royal wolves?”
She nodded.
“Before Rowan’s line. Before the current throne.”
The clearing fell silent.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
I slowly turned toward Rowan.
His jaw tightened.
“You knew.”
His voice was low.
“Not until tonight.”
Liar.
Maybe partial truth.
But not full truth.
I could feel it.
“Then start talking.”
A few guards exchanged uneasy glances.
No one spoke to their king that way.
I didn’t care.
Rowan took one step closer.
Towering.
Predatory.
Every instinct screamed danger.
Yet I held my ground.
His voice lowered.
“Vaelor ruled before the Shadow Wars.”
“Then what happened?”
His eyes darkened.
“Betrayal.”
The word landed like iron.
Maera answered this time.
“The Vaelor bloodline was accused of opening the Black Gate.”
I frowned.
“What gate?”
Several wolves visibly recoiled.
Fear.
Real fear.
Maera’s expression hardened.
“A sealed rift deep beneath the mountain territories. A wound between worlds.”
My stomach twisted.
Legends.
Dark spirits.
Moonless beasts.
Old horror stories.
Children’s warnings.
“Those stories are real?”
“Yes.”
The answer was immediate.
Cold.
Absolute.
I hated how easily she said it.
“The Vaelor heirs were hunted,” Maera continued. “Slaughtered. Erased.”
Her silver eyes pinned me.
“Or so we believed.”
I touched my pendant instinctively.
My mother had never told me any of this.
Only to hide.
Always hide.
Never trust the packs.
Never remove the pendant.
Never let anyone scent your blood.
My chest tightened.
Had she known?
Had she died protecting this secret?
Before I could ask, pain hit my shoulder.
Sharp.
Burning.
The claw wound.
I hissed.
Rowan moved instantly.
His hand caught my waist before I stumbled.
Warm.
Iron-strong.
Possessive.
His fingers spread over my side.
“Enough.”
His tone left no room for argument.
“I need to inspect the wound.”
“I can stand.”
“You are.”
His golden eyes flicked downward.
“Because I’m holding you.”
Heat flared in my face.
Arrogant bastard.
Several guards looked away awkwardly.
Maera did not.
If anything, she looked thoughtful.
Dangerously thoughtful.
I pulled free.
Mostly.
His hand remained at my lower back.
Subtle.
Claiming.
Infuriating.
Maera’s gaze sharpened.
“The bond is stronger than expected.”
My spine stiffened.
“What bond?”
Silence.
Again.
I was beginning to truly despise wolf politics.
Rowan’s jaw flexed.
“Do not.”
Maera ignored him.
“When an Alpha King’s wolf recognizes a fated counterpart”
I cut her off.
“No.”
Absolutely not.
No.
I looked at Rowan.
His silence told me everything.
My blood turned hot.
Then cold.
Then hot again.
“You think I’m your mate?”
His voice was rough.
“My wolf does.”
That was somehow worse.
“And what do you think?”
His gaze locked onto mine.
Dangerously steady.
“I think wanting you this quickly is inconvenient.”
My heart betrayed me with one brutal slam.
Idiot heart.
This man was ruthless.
Possessive.
Infuriating.
And entirely too beautiful.
I should hate him.
Instead, awareness burned under my skin every time he came close.
Which made me deeply suspicious of my own judgment.
Before I could answer
A scream ripped through the forest.
Everyone turned.
A scout burst from the tree line in wolf form, shifting mid-run.
He collapsed to one knee.
Bleeding heavily.
“My king”
He choked on blood.
“The southern wards are broken.”
Rowan went still.
Deadly still.
“What?”
The scout swallowed.
“Something crossed through the lower mountain seals.”
Cold silence.
Maera’s face drained of color.
“No…”
Rowan’s hand tightened on my waist.
Protective.
Instinctive.
Dangerous.
“What crossed?”
The scout whispered one word.
“Shades.”
The guards erupted.
Fear.
Muttered curses.
Shock.
I frowned.
“What are Shades?”
No one answered quickly.
Which meant bad.
Very bad.
Maera looked at me.
“Creatures born from the Black Gate.”
My pulse faltered.
Impossible.
“That’s legend.”
The wounded scout shook.
“Not anymore.”
Then the forest darkened.
Literally.
Moonlight vanished.
As if something enormous passed overhead.
Every wolf snarled.
Weapons rose.
I looked up.
And my breath stopped.
A shape moved between the trees.
Too tall.
Too thin.
Its limbs bent wrong.
Its eyes glowed pale blue.
Then another.
Then another.
Shades.
At least twelve.
Watching.
Silent.
Not wolves.
Not human.
Something ancient.
Something hungry.
One of the younger guards panicked and fired a silver arrow.
It passed straight through the nearest Shade.
Like smoke.
The creature tilted its head.
Then smiled.
A mouth full of darkness.
The next second
It lunged.
Chaos erupted.
Wolves shifted.
Claws tore earth.
Screams split the clearing.
A Shade slammed into a guard and dragged him upward into the trees before anyone could stop it.
Blood rained down.
I froze.
Terror locked my limbs.
Rowan grabbed my arm.
Hard.
“Move.”
He pulled me behind him as a Shade struck.
His claws cut through it
Half.
The creature screamed but reformed.
My stomach dropped.
“They heal?”
Maera shouted from behind us.
“Only moonfire can destroy them!”
Great.
Because I definitely had moonfire.
Obviously.
Another Shade dropped behind me.
Too fast.
Cold fingers wrapped around my throat.
I gasped.
Its touch burned like ice.
Death.
Rot.
Void.
Rowan roared.
He lunged
Too far.
Too late.
Then something inside me exploded.
Silver fire burst from my chest.
Wild.
Blinding.
Ancient.
The Shade shrieked.
My scream tore free with it.
Flames engulfed the creature.
It disintegrated into ash.
Silence.
Every warrior stared.
Even Rowan.
The silver fire still flickered in my palms.
Alive.
Obeying me.
Impossible.
Maera whispered, trembling
“Moonfire.”
My pulse pounded.
“What did I do?”
No one answered.
Because Rowan was staring at my hands.
Then at me.
Like everything had changed.
Like I had become something dangerous.
Then the ground beneath us cracked.
A deep roar echoed from beneath the mountain.
Ancient.
Awake.
Hungry.
Maera’s face turned white.
“The Gate…”
The earth split wider.
And from the darkness below
A giant claw began to rise.
- Writer
