The Order

Chapter 17

Noel's POV

My wolf is annoying. There, I said it. He doesn’t shut up, and he’s too strong for me to control. Like, why did I get blessed with this? All my life, I’ve dreamed of having a badass wolf like Azura, but no—what did I end up with? Kai. The most talkative, sarcastic, and aggravating wolf in existence. I miss the silent days in my head.

“Never getting those back, pup.” Kai snorts. “Stop sulking. Stand tall. Straighten your back. For the love of the goddess, act like the Alpha you are, not some pup who lost his chew toy.”

Groaning, I plop down next to Aurora. She instantly throws her legs across my lap. Oliver growls low in his throat, and Kai, ever the instigator, chuckles gleefully.

“Why is she twitching like that?” Aurora murmurs, her tone heavy with concern.

Caleb and Austin are too busy glaring daggers at Damien—who still hasn’t let go of Annalise’s hand—to notice the rising tension in the room. But I do. Aurora is brimming with magic, and seeing Annalise like this is feeding her emotions straight into it.

“I don’t know,” I reply. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

As if the universe heard Aurora’s question, Annalise’s entire body begins to glow. Damien jumps back as the rest of us watch in stunned silence. The glow intensifies, and Annalise transforms. Her jeans and T-shirt morph into an old fighting uniform—the same one we wore as the First Order. The glow deepened, pulsating in waves.

As the light fades, we see her clutching a sword. The sword hummed, a low, steady sound that filled the room. My heart pounded in rhythm with it, each beat laced with both awe and fear. Around me, I could feel everyone holding their breath. My breath catches. I know that sword. I gave it to her on her eighteenth birthday—the day we became the First Order. It’s as pristine as the day I gifted it to her, the engravings on its blade shining as if they were just carved.

Damien takes another step back, his face ashen, eyes wide with worry. Caleb and Austin finally shift their focus to him, their bodies going rigid.

“What is happening?” Caleb growls, his wolf pushing forward.

“She’s on a mission. She’s...I don’t know.” Damien stammers, his usual sharp tongue uncharacteristically faltering.

Annalise’s hands tighten around the hilt of the sword, and her twitching worsens. Her breathing becomes erratic, and we all rush to her bed—but her mates get there first. Each places a hand on her, and just like that, her body stills.

For once, Kai is silent. And for the first time since I got him, I seek him out.

"Kai, what’s happening?"

"I can’t reach Nova. I don’t know." His voice is a whisper.

The silence in the room feels heavy, oppressive. As the Alpha of all Alphas, I can feel the emotions radiating from everyone: confusion, fear, love, and a faint trace of doubt.

Aurora tugs me back to the couch near Annalise’s bed. Just as we’re about to sit, both of us freeze. We sense it—magic. Ancient and powerful.

Aurora and I are instantly on high alert as a soft lavender scent invaded my senses. The lavender scent grew stronger, intoxicating and overwhelming. My chest tightened, and Kai surged forward, clawing at my mind. “Mine,” he growled, his voice echoing in my skull. My knees almost buckled under the weight of it—the connection, the longing, the undeniable truth

My entire body stiffens as my eyes lock on the woman before me. She’s stunning—piercing green eyes, pale skin, and long black hair, a striking contrast to the woman standing beside her.

“What the—” Oliver starts, but his words are cut off as Aurora speaks, her voice trembling.

“Moon Goddess.”

The Moon Goddess steps forward, her silver hair glimmering as if woven from starlight. Her presence fills the room with an overwhelming aura of power, silencing even Kai in my head. The woman standing beside her—my mate—doesn’t speak, but her emerald eyes lock on mine, and a jolt of recognition and longing surges through me.

"Say something, you i***t!" Kai growls, desperate to connect, but I’m frozen in place.

The Moon Goddess looks at Annalise, her glowing eyes narrowing. "As she instructed, we’ve come,” she says softly. Her voice is melodic yet commanding, leaving no room for doubt about who she is.

My mate finally speaks, her voice gentle but steady. "She’s in pain. I can feel it." Her gaze shifts to the sword clutched in Annalise’s hands. "The connection is...unbalanced."

Damien steps forward, his jaw tight. “What do you mean? What’s happening to her?”

The Moon Goddess doesn’t answer right away. Instead, she approaches the bed, her gaze sweeping over Annalise’s trembling form. Then, without warning, Annalise screams. Her body arches off the bed, and a stab wound appears on her side, blood seeping through her uniform.

Aurora gasps, reaching out instinctively, but the Moon Goddess holds up a hand. “Don’t touch her.”

My mate kneels beside the bed, her hands hovering over the wound. A soft green glow emanates from her palms as she murmurs something under her breath.

“It’s not healing,” she says, her voice tight with frustration. “There’s...something in it. Something foreign.”

Oliver growls low. “What do you mean ‘something’? Fix it!”

“She’s trying!” Aurora snaps, her magic crackling dangerously.

The tension is thick as my mate looks at the residue in the cut. Both as one, we all leaned over to look, but before anyone can question her further, Oliver and Damien exchanged a look. Damien’s face hardens. “Ash,” he mutters. “The same ash they used in the gym.”

The Moon Goddess’s head snaps up at his words. She moves closer, her expression darkening. “Let me see,” she says, her tone leaving no room for argument.

My mate steps back, and the Moon Goddess extends her hand over the wound. Slowly, particles of ash rise from Annalise’s side, shimmering faintly. The goddess catches them in her palm, her eyes widening in recognition.

“This...this is ash from the burned-out star in the Realm of Lost Souls,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper.

"The Realm of lost souls?" I reapeat.

"Yes, that is where Annalise is. She's on a mission to find a safe place for the star. She told us to come here to inform her mates",

The moon Goddess's focus remains on the particles floating in her hand. "This just makes things more dangerous for us all".

The room falls deathly silent.

“What does that mean?” I ask, finally finding my voice.

“It means,” the Moon Goddess says, her gaze heavy, “that as long as Annalise remains connected to that realm, she won’t heal. The ash anchors her to it, preventing her body from recovering.”

Damien swears under his breath, and Aurora steps closer, her voice trembling. “How do we fix it?”

"I'm not sure, give me some time with her", she said as she takes a seat on the couch next to Annalise bed.

A sharp knock at the door broke the heavy silence. Damien moved swiftly to open it, revealing one of the house staff. Their whispered exchange sent a chill through me, and when Damien turned back to the room, his expression was grim.

All the hairs on the back of my neck stood on edge as he spoke." There’s been an attack on your pack.”

Oliver, Landon, and Aaron stiffened, their wolves surfacing in their glowing eyes and clenched fists. Damien raised a hand to silence them before they could explode.

“Most of the pack survived,” he continued. “Your father moved as many as he could to the cave, while Cade and Collin took the rest. But...” His voice trailed off, and I could see the hesitation in his eyes. “A message was sent. They want the Star before the alignment, or they’ll start sending rogues and attacking both packs.”

The Moon Goddess’s granddaughter stiffened beside her. Her eyes clouded over for a moment, her expression vacant. When she snapped back to attention, her gaze locked with her grandmother’s.

“They need a distraction,” she said firmly. “Send word that the Star is here. Let them focus their attention on us instead of the pack with all of us with powers we will be able to hold them off until Annalise places the star in its new home",

My mate said with determination set in her voice, a wave of pride passed through me, now all that needs to be done is to have the courage to speak to her. What if she doesn't like me?

"Speak for yourself, pup, my mate will love me".