CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE MOON'S PROPHECY
857 Words
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The headquarters had never been this quiet.
Not because there was peace.
But because everyone was waiting.
The previous night's battle had shaken the entire territory. The rogues had retreated, but not before witnessing Lydia's impossible display of power. The silver light that erupted from her body wasn't something any ordinary werewolf possessed.
Rumours spread through the city before sunrise.
Some whispered that the Alpha had found his destined mate.
Others claimed he had awakened a forgotten monster.
Neither rumor was entirely wrong.
---
Lydia stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the sleeping city. Dawn painted the skyline in shades of orange and gold, but she barely noticed.
She couldn't stop staring at her hands.
The silver veins had disappeared again.
They only appeared whenever she fought... or whenever Kael came close.
"What are you hiding from me?" she whispered to herself.
"You should be asking what your blood is hiding from you."
The unfamiliar voice made Lydia spin around.
An elderly woman stood in the doorway.
She was dressed completely in white, her silver hair falling almost to her waist. Deep wrinkles covered her face, yet her blue eyes were bright and piercing.
Helena immediately bowed.
"My Lady."
Even Kael lowered his head.
Lydia frowned.
"You bowed."
Kael rarely bowed to anyone.
"This is Elder Selene," he said quietly.
"The oldest living guardian of our kind."
Selene smiled faintly.
"And you're much prettier than your mother."
Lydia's heart skipped.
"You... knew my mother?"
Selene nodded.
"I knew her before you were born."
---
An hour later they gathered inside the council chamber.
Unlike the rest of the headquarters, this room looked ancient.
Massive stone pillars surrounded a circular table engraved with strange symbols.
The walls were covered with paintings of wolves beneath blood-red moons.
Lydia felt strangely drawn to them.
As though she'd seen them before.
Selene noticed.
"You recognize them."
"I've never been here."
"But your blood has."
Silence settled over the room.
Selene placed an old leather-bound book on the table.
Its pages were brittle with age.
The cover carried a silver crescent moon surrounded by vines.
"The Book of Origins," Selene said.
"It records every Alpha... every royal bloodline... and every prophecy."
Lydia laughed nervously.
"You can't seriously believe I'm in that book."
Selene slowly opened the pages.
Dust floated into the air.
She stopped at a page that looked older than the rest.
A sketch stared back at them.
A young woman.
Long dark hair.
Silver light running beneath her skin.
Lydia's breathing stopped.
The drawing looked exactly like her.
Beneath it were the words:
"When the city is consumed by darkness, the daughter of silver shall awaken beneath the midnight sky. She will either unite the broken packs... or become the beginning of their extinction."
The room fell silent.
Lydia looked from the book to Kael.
His face had gone pale.
"You've seen this before."
He didn't answer.
"You knew."
Still silence.
"Kael."
He finally lifted his eyes.
"I've known about the prophecy for six years."
Lydia stepped backward.
"You knew... before we even met?"
"Yes."
"And you never told me?"
"I couldn't."
Her voice cracked.
"You let me believe everything was happening by chance."
"It wasn't."
"Then what was it?"
Kael closed his eyes.
"The day your mother died... I was there."
The words hit Lydia harder than any blade ever could.
"What?"
"I wasn't the reason she died."
"Then why were you there?"
"I made her a promise."
Lydia felt the room spinning.
"My mother knew you?"
"She saved my life when I was younger."
Helena looked away.
Selene sighed.
"It was supposed to remain a secret until your powers awakened."
Lydia laughed bitterly.
"A secret?"
"My whole life has been one lie after another."
She looked directly at Kael.
"When were you planning to tell me?"
"When you were strong enough."
"No."
Her voice echoed through the chamber.
"When I trusted you enough."
Kael had no answer.
---
Later that evening, Lydia climbed onto the highest rooftop alone.
The city lights flickered beneath her like tiny stars.
For the first time since meeting Kael...
She questioned everything.
Was he protecting her?
Or had she simply become another piece in someone else's plan?
A cool breeze brushed against her face.
Then...
She heard footsteps behind her.
She didn't turn.
"If you've come to apologize..."
"It isn't Kael."
The voice belonged to a stranger.
A young man stepped from the shadows.
He looked no older than twenty-five.
Ash-blond hair.
Amber eyes.
A scar running across his jaw.
Unlike Kael, he wasn't intimidating.
He smiled kindly.
"My name is Rowan."
Lydia frowned.
"I don't know you."
"No."
"But I know you."
He looked toward the moon.
"I've spent years searching for the Silver Blood."
Lydia's pulse quickened.
"What do you want?"
Rowan's smile slowly disappeared.
"To warn you."
Her heartbeat echoed in her ears.
"About what?"
He took one step closer.
"The prophecy isn't complete."
"What do you mean?"
"There was another page."
Lydia stared at him.
"It was torn out."
Rowan's voice dropped to almost a whisper.
"And Kael was the one who tore it out."
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- Writer
