Chapter 12:The Beast Beneath Ellador
1122 Words
The fire had long burned to embers by the time Serena stirred.
Sleep had barely touched her, haunted by visions of red eyes glowing in an endless void. Now, as the sky lightened with the first blush of dawn, unease crept over her skin like frost.
Lucien still slept beside her, arm slung protectively around her waist. His presence was warm, grounding—but it didn’t chase away the cold settling in her bones.
Something had awakened in Ellador. Something older than witches or Lycans.
She slipped from the bedroll, wrapping a cloak around her shoulders, and padded quietly toward the ruins.
---
In the ancient chamber beneath the stones…
A creak echoed beneath her feet. Dust fell from the ceiling as the earth trembled faintly.
Serena moved slowly, carefully, descending a hidden staircase the witch had shown her in a vision. A passage sealed for centuries, etched with warning runes.
She followed them into the dark.
The air grew colder with each step. The glow from her palm—the residual fire of her newly bonded magic—lit the walls in flickering gold.
Suddenly, a gust of wind howled through the tunnel. The flame in her hand sputtered.
Then she heard it.
Breathing.
Not hers.
Not Lucien’s.
Something... deeper.
Something vast.
And then—
BOOM.
The wall at the end of the tunnel shattered.
Serena screamed as dust and magic exploded outward. She was thrown backward, hitting the stone floor with a crack. Her vision blurred, ears ringing.
And from the cloud of debris… something emerged.
It crawled out of the stone like a nightmare pulled from the bones of the earth. A creature of fur and shadow, impossibly large, its eyes glowing blood-red.
A beast.
A god.
A mistake.
“You woke me,” it hissed, voice like gravel and flame. “You, child of fire and ruin.”
Serena scrambled to her feet, summoning her magic instinctively. Her hands glowed—but the beast didn’t flinch.
“You do not know what you carry,” it growled.
Before she could respond, the walls around her shook again.
---
Outside, in the camp—
Lucien woke with a start.
The tremor shook the earth like thunder, and Serena was gone.
“Serena?” he barked, leaping up.
Nyra and Jace burst from their tents. “What was that?”
“She’s gone,” Lucien snarled, eyes already glowing. “She’s in the ruins.”
Without another word, he shifted. His massive black Lycan form tore through the camp, bounding toward the stones with a roar that split the dawn.
Jace and Nyra followed, weapons drawn.
---
Back in the chamber—
Serena raised her flame again, her voice steady despite her racing heart. “Who are you?”
The beast’s laugh echoed through the chamber. “I am the first. The forsaken. The monster Aveline locked beneath the stones.”
Serena’s blood ran cold. “You’re Moonblood.”
“I was,” it rasped. “Before power broke me. Before love betrayed me.”
It stepped closer. The temperature dropped. The runes on the walls began to flicker violently.
“I was her mate.”
Serena’s eyes widened. “Aveline’s… mate?”
The beast chuckled bitterly. In I lost myself. When the Moonblood magic overtook reason.”
“And now you want revenge,” Serena guessed.
“No,” the beast said softly. “I want release.”
The runes on the floor suddenly flared—and the chamber shook again as a second presence burst through the opening.
Lucien.
In his beast form.
He landed between Serena and the creature, snarling so fiercely the chamber walls cracked.
“Back,” Lucien growled. “Away from her.”
The ancient Lycan c****d its head. “Ah. The tether. I smell her in your bones.”
Lucien didn’t respond. His fangs glinted, muscles coiled to strike.
Serena stepped forward quickly. “Wait—he hasn’t attacked me.”
Lucien growled low. “He could’ve killed you.”
“But he didn’t.”
The ancient Lycan turned toward her. “You are braver than her.”
“Aveline?” Serena whispered.
The beast nodded. “She locked me here. Thought the world better without me. She chose magic over love.”
Lucien growled again. “You speak in riddles.”
“I speak in warnings,” the creature hissed. “The Moonblood is not a gift. It is a curse with purpose. And now that she has bonded you, she is tied to your fate.”
Lucien shifted back to human, eyes narrowed. “Meaning?”
“If you die, so does she.”
Serena froze. “What?”
The beast’s red eyes dimmed. “You’re tethered in soul. That bond is sacred, but fatal if broken.”
Lucien’s jaw clenched. “Then I won’t die.”
“You may not have a choice,” the beast warned. “The true threat has not awakened yet.”
Serena stepped forward. “Then what are you?”
“I am the echo,” it said. “The first warning. The last regret.”
It stared at her. “If you want to survive what’s coming, you must unlock the Moonblood flame fully. Only then will the fire obey you.”
Serena shook her head. “It already does.”
“No,” it whispered. “You’ve only scratched the surface.”
Suddenly, the chamber began to crumble.
The beast turned away, its body fading into mist and stone. “When the sky bleeds silver, return. And I will finish what Aveline could not.”
Then—he was gone.
---
Later, at the surface…
Lucien helped Serena out of the ruins, one arm protectively around her shoulders.
“That thing... it was part of your legacy?” he asked.
“I think so,” she murmured. “And it knew things I’ve never heard before.”
They walked in silence toward the camp.
“Did you mean what you said?” she asked suddenly.
Lucien paused. “About what?”
“That if you die… I die too.”
Lucien turned to her, his expression fierce. “I meant it when I said I won’t let that happen. We’re in this together, Serena. You and me. Always.”
She leaned into him. “Even if the whole world turns against us?”
Lucien kissed her forehead. “Especially then.”
But neither of them noticed the shadow watching from the treetops.
Far away, a council of Alphas gathered in secret—wolves who had once served under Lucien’s father. And one of them, cloaked in silver fur and envy, whispered:
“The time has come to take back the throne.”
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- Writer
