Welcome Home, My Queen
1130 Words
Lyra couldn't move.
The wolves remained kneeling before her.
More than twenty enormous silver wolves surrounded the clearing, yet none showed the slightest sign of aggression.
The largest wolf slowly lowered its head even further.
Its deep voice echoed inside her mind once again.
"Welcome home... My Queen."
---
"My..."
Lyra's lips trembled.
"...Queen?"
She instinctively stepped backward.
"There must be some mistake."
"I'm not anyone's queen."
The silver wolf lifted its gaze.
"There is no mistake."
"There has only been waiting."
---
A powerful pulse erupted from the strange mark beneath her rejected mate bond.
Silver light raced across the forest floor.
Ancient runes hidden beneath the moss awakened one after another.
The entire clearing began to glow.
Lyra stared in disbelief.
The symbols formed a perfect circle around her.
As though she had stepped into a place prepared long before she was born.
---
Far away...
Inside the Silver Moon Pack...
Alpha Kael remained on one knee.
His breathing was ragged.
The pain in his chest refused to stop.
"What..."
He clutched the rejected mate mark on his wrist.
"...is happening?"
His Beta rushed toward him.
"Alpha!"
"Are you injured?"
Kael slowly shook his head.
"No."
"My wolf..."
"...is terrified."
---
Inside his mind, his wolf growled furiously.
"Go after her."
Kael frowned.
"I rejected her."
"You rejected your mate."
"I had no choice."
His wolf roared.
"You rejected our Queen!"
The words shook him.
Queen?
His wolf had never called any Luna by that title.
Before Kael could ask another question...
The bond on his wrist cracked again.
This time...
Silver light escaped through the fracture.
The High Priest's face turned completely white.
"The prophecy..."
He whispered.
"It has begun."
---
Back in the Whispering Forest...
The silver wolf slowly transformed.
Moonlight wrapped around its massive body.
Bones shifted.
The enormous beast disappeared.
In its place stood a tall elderly man dressed in flowing silver robes.
His long white hair reached his waist.
He immediately knelt before Lyra.
"My Queen."
"I am Elder Orion."
"For twenty-one years..."
"...we have waited for your return."
---
Lyra stared at him.
"I've never seen you before."
"You haven't."
"But I held you the day you were born."
Her heartbeat stopped.
"What?"
Orion slowly looked into her eyes.
"You were never an orphan."
"You were hidden."
---
The words struck harder than Alpha Kael's rejection.
Hidden?
Her entire life...
She had believed her parents abandoned her.
Every birthday.
Every lonely night.
Every tear.
Had all of it been a lie?
---
"No..."
She shook her head.
"You're lying."
Orion's expression remained gentle.
"I wish I were."
He slowly reached into his robe.
From within...
He removed a faded silver blanket embroidered with a crescent moon.
At one corner...
Tiny golden letters had been stitched by hand.
For Princess Lyra.
Lyra's breathing became uneven.
She recognized it.
Not from memory.
From dreams.
She had seen that blanket countless times while sleeping.
Always believing it was only imagination.
---
"How..."
Her voice barely escaped.
"Who am I?"
Before Orion could answer...
Every wolf in the clearing suddenly growled.
Not at Lyra.
At the forest behind her.
A dark laugh echoed through the trees.
"So..."
A cold male voice drifted through the mist.
"We finally found the Moon Queen."
Every wolf immediately formed a protective circle around Lyra.
Orion's calm expression disappeared.
"They're here."
From the darkness...
Dozens of crimson eyes slowly opened.
Someone else had been searching for Lyra.
And they had arrived first.
Crimson eyes glowed between the ancient trees.
One pair.
Then another.
Within seconds...
More than thirty figures emerged from the darkness.
Unlike the silver wolves surrounding Lyra...
These wolves radiated black mist.
Their fur looked as though it had been stained by shadows.
Their leader stepped forward.
He was enormous.
A scar stretched across his left eye.
Around his neck hung a chain made of black iron.
He smiled.
"So the prophecy wasn't a lie after all."
His crimson eyes locked onto Lyra.
"The Moon Queen lives."
---
Every silver wolf bared its fangs.
Elder Orion stepped protectively in front of Lyra.
"This forest is sacred."
"You are forbidden to enter."
The scarred Alpha laughed.
"Forbidden?"
He slowly drew a massive black sword from his back.
"I stopped believing in rules a long time ago."
He pointed the blade directly at Lyra.
"Hand her over."
---
Lyra's heartbeat thundered inside her chest.
She had never seen these people before.
Yet both sides were willing to fight over her.
"Who are you?"
She asked.
The scarred Alpha bowed dramatically.
"I am Alpha Darius."
"Leader of the Blood Fang Pack."
"The strongest pack in the Eastern Territories."
His smile widened.
"And I've spent twenty years searching for you."
---
Elder Orion's voice became icy.
"Don't listen to him."
"He serves darkness."
Darius shrugged.
"Darkness."
"Light."
"They're only words."
He looked back at Lyra.
"What matters..."
"...is your blood."
---
Without warning—
A black arrow shot from the trees.
It flew straight toward Lyra.
"Queen!"
Orion roared.
He threw himself into its path.
THUD!
The arrow pierced his shoulder.
Blood splattered across the glowing runes.
The silver wolves howled in fury.
---
"Attack!"
Darius shouted.
The Blood Fang wolves charged.
The peaceful clearing exploded into chaos.
Silver wolves collided with black wolves.
The sound of snapping jaws echoed through the forest.
Moonlight and black mist crashed together.
Ancient trees shook beneath the force of the battle.
---
Lyra stood frozen.
She had never witnessed real werewolf combat.
It was terrifying.
Beautiful.
Brutal.
One silver wolf was thrown through a tree.
Another black wolf collapsed beneath glowing claws.
The forest became a battlefield.
---
Orion struggled to pull the arrow from his shoulder.
"Run!"
He shouted.
"Head for the Moon Temple!"
Lyra didn't move.
"I can't leave you!"
"You must!"
"If they capture you..."
"...everything ends tonight!"
---
Darius easily cut down two silver wolves.
He walked calmly through the battle.
Nothing seemed capable of stopping him.
Finally...
He stood only a few steps from Lyra.
"It's over."
He extended one hand toward her.
"Come willingly."
"I don't want to hurt you."
---
Lyra shook her head.
"I don't even know you."
Darius sighed.
"No."
"But I knew your mother."
Those words stopped her cold.
"My..."
"...mother?"
Before he could continue—
A deafening howl split the heavens.
Every wolf stopped fighting.
Even Darius looked toward the mountain.
A pillar of pure silver light erupted into the sky.
The earth trembled beneath everyone's feet.
High above the forest...
The full moon suddenly turned brilliant white.
Elder Orion's eyes widened.
"No..."
"It's impossible."
"The Moon Temple has awakened."
Darius slowly smiled.
"So..."
"The Queen has finally returned."
Far above them...
Something ancient opened its eyes.
And every Alpha in the world felt it.
- Writer
