Chapter Nine: The One Beneath the Ruins
1019 Words
Selene forgot how to breathe.
The world around her dissolved into distant noise—screaming guards, snarling creatures, Lucien shouting orders somewhere beside her. None of it mattered anymore.
Because the figure standing within the darkness should not exist.
Impossible.
Dead.
Buried long before the Alpha Kingdom was ever born.
The robed figure stepped forward slowly, silver eyes glowing beneath layers of shadow. Ancient symbols burned faintly across black robes that looked woven from darkness itself.
And somehow—
It smiled at her with familiarity.
“Welcome back, little moon,” the figure whispered.
A violent shiver crawled through Selene’s body.
Lucien immediately moved closer to her, Nightfang raised toward the stranger.
“Who are you?”
The figure ignored him completely.
Its gaze remained fixed on Selene alone.
“Interesting,” it murmured softly. “You returned earlier than expected.”
Lucien’s expression sharpened instantly.
Returned?
Selene’s pulse thundered painfully.
No.
This thing knew.
Not guessed.
Knew.
The robed figure tilted its head slightly, almost amused by the horror spreading across her face.
“You remember death,” it said quietly. “I can smell it on your soul.”
The corridor fell silent.
Even the corrupted wolves stopped moving.
Every creature bowed its head toward the figure instinctively.
Lucien stepped protectively in front of Selene without hesitation.
The movement startled her.
His voice turned lethal. “Answer me.”
The figure finally looked at him.
For one brief moment, the underground ruins trembled.
“Alpha king,” it said calmly. “Still standing beside the woman you failed.”
Lucien froze.
Selene’s blood turned cold.
No one else noticed the meaning behind those words.
But she did.
Gods.
This creature knew everything.
Nightfang gleamed brighter in Lucien’s grip. “Explain yourself.”
The figure laughed softly.
“You carry the same arrogance as your ancestors.”
Ancestors.
Ancient hatred dripped from the word itself.
The figure stepped closer into the torchlight at last.
And the guards recoiled instantly.
Its face looked almost human.
Almost.
Pale skin stretched too tightly across sharp bones while silver markings covered its throat like cracks through stone. Long white hair flowed over dark robes, moving unnaturally despite the still air.
But the eyes—
Those eyes looked ancient enough to swallow kingdoms.
Selene finally forced herself to speak.
“You’re one of them.”
The figure smiled wider.
“At last. Recognition.”
Lucien glanced toward her immediately. “You know this creature?”
Creature.
The figure’s smile faded slightly.
“How disappointing,” it murmured. “After all this time, your kind still chooses ignorance.”
Then its eyes returned to Selene.
“But you remember more than the others, don’t you?”
Selene remained silent.
The figure studied her carefully.
“Death changed you.”
A tremor shook the ruins again.
The corrupted wolves began circling the corridor restlessly while black smoke poured from deeper underground.
Lucien’s patience finally snapped.
“Enough riddles.”
Nightfang pointed directly toward the figure’s throat.
“You will explain what’s happening beneath my palace.”
The figure stared at the blade.
Then laughed.
This time the sound felt wrong.
Too deep.
Too many voices layered beneath one another.
“Your palace?” it whispered.
Suddenly the walls shook violently.
Ancient symbols blazed silver across the underground ruins while distant screams echoed from somewhere far below.
The figure slowly lifted one pale hand.
And the entire corridor bent.
Stone twisted.
Gravity itself seemed to distort around them.
Several guards collapsed instantly beneath invisible pressure.
Lucien remained standing only because his wolf forced itself forward against the crushing magic.
Selene’s eyes widened slightly.
Impossible.
Only Firstborn wolves possessed power like this.
Ancient beings created directly by lunar gods before kingdoms existed.
Most were supposedly extinct.
The figure’s silver eyes gleamed.
“You stand beneath sacred ground built long before your bloodline learned to crawl,” it said softly to Lucien. “And yet you dare call yourself king.”
Lucien’s wolf snarled violently beneath his skin.
Power exploded outward from him instantly.
Pure alpha dominance slammed through the corridor hard enough to c***k stone.
The guards gasped.
Even the corrupted creatures retreated instinctively.
Lucien Valeblood rarely unleashed his full presence.
When he did, weaker wolves usually collapsed immediately.
But the figure only smiled.
“Ah,” it whispered. “There it is.”
Something ancient stirred within the darkness below.
Responding.
Watching.
Selene suddenly understood.
The ruins weren’t awakening because of her alone.
They were reacting to both of them.
Moon blood.
Alpha blood.
Together.
The realization terrified her.
The figure looked directly at her again.
“You remember how the world ends, don’t you?”
Lucien’s gaze snapped toward Selene immediately.
Silence.
Terrible silence.
The figure smiled slowly.
“There it is,” it murmured. “The fear.”
Selene’s composure cracked for the first time.
Because this creature was exposing her too quickly.
Lucien stared at her sharply now.
“What is it talking about?”
Selene forced herself to breathe.
Think.
Think.
But before she could answer—
The Moonbound guardian behind them suddenly roared.
Not in rage.
Warning.
The creature lunged upward violently despite the corruption destroying its body.
A heartbeat later—
The ceiling exploded.
Something massive crashed through the ruins above them.
Black claws.
Silver eyes.
Wings.
The guards screamed in terror.
Selene’s heart stopped.
No.
No no no—
Not this early.
The creature unfolded itself slowly from shattered stone and darkness.
A dragon.
Or something close enough to become nightmares.
Its body resembled a wolf fused with skeletal wings large enough to blot out torchlight entirely. Silver corruption pulsed beneath black scales while ancient chains dragged behind its massive limbs.
The entire underground chamber trembled beneath its weight.
One of the guards whispered shakily, “Gods preserve us…”
The robed figure looked upward calmly.
“The prison weakens faster than expected.”
Lucien tightened his grip on Nightfang.
“What is that thing?”
This time—
It was Selene who answered.
Her voice came out barely above a whisper.
“The beginning of the end.”
- Writer
