The pack house had never felt this tense.
Even the fire in the massive stone hearth seemed quieter, its flames flickering low as if sensing the unease spreading through the room.
Kael stood at the head of the long wooden table in the council chamber. The heavy oak doors had been shut, sealing the room away from the rest of the pack house.
Only a handful of wolves were allowed here.
Rowan leaned against the wall with his arms folded.
Mira sat near the table, her sharp eyes constantly drifting toward Elara.
And Elara sat across from Kael, trying very hard not to feel like a prisoner.
Outside the chamber walls, the pack prepared for war.
Weapons were being gathered. Patrols were doubling along the forest borders. Wolves moved through the house with urgent purpose.
Six Lycans approaching Snow Hollow was not just a threat.
It was a declaration.
Rowan finally broke the silence.
"Well," he said, pushing himself off the wall, "this night just keeps getting better."
Kael ignored the sarcasm.
His thoughts were locked on the same question.
Why Elara?
Lycans did not hunt humans for sport.
They hunted power.
Which meant Elara was somehow connected to something far bigger than anyone in this room understood.
Kael turned his attention to her.
"Elara."
She looked up immediately.
"Yes?"
"Tell me everything you remember about your childhood."
She blinked.
"That's a very broad request."
"Start with your parents."
Elara shifted in her chair.
The firelight danced across her face as she thought.
"I was very young when they died," she said slowly.
"How young?"
"Four, maybe five."
Rowan frowned.
"That is early."
"I remember a house," Elara continued quietly. "Somewhere near mountains. My mother used to sing to me at night."
Her voice softened slightly.
"But most of it is a blur."
Kael leaned forward slightly.
"And your father?"
Elara hesitated.
"That's the strange part."
The room stilled.
"I don't remember him at all."
Rowan raised an eyebrow.
"Not even his face?"
She shook her head.
"No memories. No pictures. Nothing."
Mira tapped her fingers against the table.
"That is unusual."
Elara sighed.
"Trust me, I know."
Kael studied her carefully.
"After your parents died, who took care of you?"
"I was placed in foster homes."
"Many?"
"Too many."
She gave a small humorless smile.
"Every time I started settling somewhere, something would happen."
"What kind of something?" Rowan asked.
Elara frowned.
"Accidents. Strange things."
"Like what?"
She thought for a moment.
"Lights breaking. Animals acting strange around me. Once a dog attacked a social worker who tried to move me."
The room went quiet again.
Mira leaned forward.
"That is not normal human behavior."
Elara gave her an unimpressed look.
"Believe me, I figured that out tonight."
Before anyone could respond, the heavy wooden doors opened.
An older man stepped into the room.
The moment he entered, the entire atmosphere shifted.
Rowan straightened immediately.
Mira stood.
Even Kael's posture stiffened slightly.
"Elara," Rowan whispered quietly, "meet the pack elder."
The man walked slowly toward the table.
His silver hair fell past his shoulders, and deep lines marked a face that had clearly seen more years than any normal human.
But his eyes were the most striking part.
Bright silver.
Sharp.
Ancient.
"Alpha," the elder said calmly.
Kael nodded.
"Elder Thorne."
The elder's gaze moved across the room until it landed on Elara.
And then he froze.
Completely.
The silence stretched.
Elara shifted slightly under the intensity of his stare.
"Hi," she said awkwardly.
The elder took another slow step closer.
His expression was no longer calm.
It was stunned.
"This is the girl?" he asked quietly.
Kael nodded.
"Yes."
The elder studied Elara for several long seconds.
Then he whispered something under his breath.
"No…"
Rowan frowned.
"Elder?"
The old man turned sharply toward Kael.
"Where did you find her?"
"In the forest."
"And she triggered the bond?"
Kael nodded again.
"And the silver light appeared."
The elder closed his eyes.
For a moment he looked deeply troubled.
Elara leaned back in her chair.
"Okay, I officially hate when people react like that."
The elder ignored the comment.
Instead, he spoke a name.
"Lunara."
The word sent a ripple of confusion through the room.
Rowan frowned.
"I have heard that name before."
Mira nodded slowly.
"Ancient wolf legends."
Kael looked at the elder.
"What does it mean?"
The old man's gaze returned to Elara.
"Lunara was the first daughter of the Moon Goddess."
Elara blinked.
"I'm sorry. The what?"
The elder continued as if she had not spoken.
"According to the oldest stories, Lunara walked the earth long before the wolf packs were formed."
Rowan leaned forward slightly.
"She created the mate bond."
The elder nodded.
"Yes."
Mira's voice lowered.
"But Lunara disappeared."
"Not disappeared," the elder corrected quietly.
"Hidden."
Kael felt a cold sensation crawl up his spine.
"What does this have to do with Elara?"
The elder hesitated.
Then he spoke carefully.
"There was a prophecy."
Elara groaned softly.
"Oh great. I'm part of a prophecy now."
But no one laughed.
The elder continued.
"The prophecy says that one day the blood of Lunara will return to the world."
Silence fell over the chamber.
Rowan finally spoke.
"You are saying…"
The elder nodded slowly.
"That girl may carry the bloodline of the Moon Goddess."
Elara stared at him.
"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard."
But something inside her stirred uneasily.
Because when she had touched Kael earlier, that strange silver light had felt…
Familiar.
Kael's voice broke the silence.
"If that is true, then the Lycans are hunting her for a reason."
The elder's expression darkened.
"Yes."
"Why?"
The old man's voice became very quiet.
"Because if someone with Lunara's blood dies under the Blood Moon…"
Rowan's eyes widened suddenly.
"They could break the Moon Goddess's power."
Mira finished the thought.
"And whoever controls the Lycans could become stronger than every wolf pack combined."
Elara slowly leaned back in her chair.
"So let me get this straight."
She counted on her fingers.
"Monsters are hunting me because I might be related to a moon goddess, and if they kill me the entire supernatural balance of the world could collapse."
Rowan rubbed his temples.
"When you say it like that it sounds dramatic."
Elara stared at him.
"It is dramatic."
Kael stepped forward.
"There is only one question left."
Everyone looked at him.
"Who is controlling the Lycans."
The elder's expression grew darker than before.
"I may already know the answer."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Tell me."
The elder spoke one name.
"Aldric."
The word struck the room like thunder.
Rowan swore quietly.
"Impossible."
Mira's face turned pale.
"He died a century ago."
The elder shook his head slowly.
"No."
"He disappeared."
Kael felt a cold certainty settle in his chest.
Aldric.
The most powerful Lycan warlord in history.
The monster who nearly destroyed the wolf packs during the ancient wars.
If he was alive…
Then Snow Hollow was only the beginning.
Because Aldric was not coming for the pack.
He was coming for Elara.
And this time
he would not miss.