Chapter Eight: The Moon Daughter
1109 Words
No one moved.
No one breathed.
The creature’s voice echoed through the underground corridor like stone grinding against bone, ancient and broken from centuries of silence.
“Moon…daughter…”
Several guards immediately raised their weapons toward Selene.
Fear spread through the corridor faster than reason.
Lucien stepped forward instantly.
“Stand down.”
The command cracked through the silence like a blade.
The guards hesitated but obeyed reluctantly, though terror still lingered across their faces. None of them understood what they were seeing.
Neither did Lucien.
His eyes remained fixed on the monstrous creature kneeling before Selene.
Kneeling.
That alone was enough to unsettle him.
The beast towered over everyone in the corridor, its massive claws capable of ripping armored men apart like cloth. Ancient silver markings pulsed faintly beneath black fur while blood dripped from its jaws onto the stone floor.
And yet—
It bowed its head before Selene as though recognizing royalty.
The creature spoke again.
“The blood…has returned…”
Selene’s pulse thundered painfully inside her chest.
She remembered this monster.
Not clearly.
Only fragments from f*******n records hidden beneath the royal archives. Ancient guardians created during the first lunar wars long before the Alpha Kingdom existed.
Moonbound Beasts.
Half wolf.
Half curse.
Created to guard sacred ruins beneath royal bloodlines.
But in her previous life, no guardian awakened this early.
Which meant one thing.
The timeline was breaking.
Lucien slowly positioned himself beside Selene, Nightfang still drawn in his hand.
“You know what this thing is,” he said quietly.
Selene kept her eyes on the creature.
“Yes.”
The guards exchanged uneasy glances.
Lucien’s voice hardened slightly. “Explain.”
The beast suddenly lifted its head higher.
Its silver eyes locked onto Lucien.
Then it growled.
The sound shook dust from the ceiling.
“False…king…”
Every guard stiffened instantly.
Lucien’s expression darkened dangerously.
The creature’s gaze returned toward Selene.
“Moon blood…belongs…below…”
A violent tremor shook the corridor.
Stone cracked overhead while ancient symbols began glowing faintly across the underground walls.
Selene’s stomach dropped.
The seals.
Gods.
The seals beneath the palace were opening.
Lucien noticed her reaction immediately. “What’s happening?”
Before Selene could answer, the creature screamed.
Not a roar.
A scream.
Agony ripped through the corridor as the beast suddenly slammed itself against the stone floor, claws tearing through rock while silver markings across its body flared violently.
The guards panicked instantly.
“It’s attacking!”
“No,” Selene snapped sharply.
The creature wasn’t attacking.
It was suffering.
Dark veins spread rapidly beneath its fur while black smoke began leaking from its mouth.
Corruption.
Selene remembered this too.
Moonbound guardians eventually became unstable when exposed to blood magic for too long.
Something beneath the palace was poisoning it.
The creature lifted its head again slowly.
This time its eyes looked wild.
Painful.
Desperate.
“Seal…” it rasped. “Seal…the gate…”
Lucien stepped closer cautiously. “What gate?”
The creature’s massive body trembled violently.
Then suddenly—
It looked directly at Selene.
And for the first time since appearing—
Fear entered its eyes.
“Too late.”
The walls exploded.
A deafening roar tore through the underground chamber as black energy erupted from deeper within the ruins. Several guards were thrown violently across the corridor while torches shattered against stone.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Selene felt Lucien grab her arm instinctively before another tremor nearly collapsed the floor beneath them.
Dust choked the air.
Screams echoed.
And from somewhere deep below—
Something laughed.
The sound was low.
Ancient.
Inhuman.
Every instinct inside Selene screamed danger.
The creature collapsed fully now, breathing heavily while corruption spread across its body like rot.
Lucien pulled Selene behind him immediately.
“Everyone fall back!”
But the corridor behind them had already collapsed.
Stone sealed the exit completely.
The guards froze in horror.
Trapped.
Selene stared toward the deeper ruins ahead.
Black smoke poured from ancient stairways descending further underground while strange symbols burned along the walls with silver light.
Memories clawed through her mind violently.
In her previous life, Lucien discovered these ruins after the civil war began. The royal archives claimed the underground chambers once belonged to the First Wolves—the original rulers blessed directly by moon gods.
And hidden within those ruins…
Something had been imprisoned.
Something powerful enough to destroy kingdoms.
Lucien turned toward Selene sharply.
“You knew this place existed.”
Not a question.
An accusation.
Selene met his gaze evenly despite the chaos surrounding them.
“Yes.”
His silver eyes narrowed dangerously.
“How?”
Think.
Careful.
One wrong answer would destroy everything.
But before she could speak, one of the guards suddenly screamed.
A shadow burst from the darkness ahead.
Fast.
Too fast.
Claws ripped through the knight’s chest before anyone reacted.
Blood exploded across the walls.
The body hit the floor lifeless.
Chaos erupted instantly.
More shadows moved within the ruins.
Not one creature.
Many.
Lucien’s wolf surged violently beneath his skin as he raised Nightfang.
“Protect the queen!”
The remaining guards formed around Selene immediately while snarls echoed from every direction.
Then the creatures emerged.
Smaller than the Moonbound guardian but far more twisted.
Their bodies resembled wolves skinned alive, black veins pulsing beneath exposed flesh while silver eyes glowed unnaturally in the darkness.
Corrupted.
Dozens of them.
The first creature lunged.
Lucien moved instantly.
Nightfang sliced through the air with terrifying precision, severing the beast’s head before it reached them. Black blood splattered across the stone floor.
Another attacked.
Then another.
The corridor exploded into violence.
Guards screamed while claws tore through armor. The corrupted wolves moved unnaturally fast, ripping soldiers apart before disappearing back into shadows.
Selene’s wolf roared beneath her skin.
Moonfire surged through her veins instinctively.
Silver flames burst across her hands.
One corrupted beast leaped directly toward her.
Selene raised one hand calmly.
The creature disintegrated midair.
Moonfire consumed it completely, reducing flesh and bone into silver ash before it even touched the ground.
The corridor fell silent for half a second.
Every surviving guard stared at her in horror.
Selene barely noticed.
Because something else had entered the ruins.
A presence.
Cold.
Ancient.
Watching her.
Slowly—
Very slowly—
A figure emerged from the deeper darkness below.
Tall.
Wrapped in black robes older than the kingdom itself.
Its face hidden beneath shadows.
But its eyes—
Its eyes glowed silver.
Just like hers.
The figure smiled.
And Selene’s blood turned ice cold.
Because she recognized it.
Impossible.
No.
No, it couldn’t be—
“Welcome back,” the figure whispered softly.
“Selene.”
- Writer
