The storm had washed the blood from the battlefield, but it couldn't erase the scars left behind.
As Elaina walked through the ruins of the Temple with Lucien by her side, every step felt heavy, as if the very ground mourned with her. The others followed closely—Daisy alert, Kade limping dramatically, and Draven(Lucien's most trustworthy beta)silent, his crimson gaze lingering on the shadows.
"We need rest," Lucien said quietly, his hand brushing against Elaina's lower back protectively. "You're exhausted."
"I'm fine," Elaina lied.
Lucien stopped walking and turned her to face him, his golden eyes fierce but tender. "You almost burned yourself out back there. Don't pretend you're invincible."
The worry in his voice cracked something inside her. She bit her lip, fighting back the sudden sting of tears.
"I had to," she whispered. "I couldn't let them hurt anyone else."
Lucien's jaw tightened, but he said nothing. Instead, he leaned in and pressed his forehead to hers, just breathing her in.
For a moment, the world shrank until it was just the two of them—battered, bruised, but still standing.
"Next time," he murmured, "you don't fight alone."
Kade cleared his throat loudly from behind. "As touching as this moment is, some of us are dying of blood loss and attention deprivation."
Daisy smacked him on the back of the head. "You're fine. Baby."
Kade stumbled forward dramatically, clutching his heart. "Betrayed. By my own comrades."
Elaina giggled softly despite herself, the sound easing the tightness in her chest.
But before they could tease each other further, Draven suddenly stiffened.
"I sense something," he said, voice low and sharp.
Lucien immediately shifted closer to Elaina, his body tense.
From the deepest part of the ruined Temple, a low hum began—a sound like ancient voices whispering just beyond hearing.
Elaina's fingers tingled.
Drawn forward by a force she couldn't explain, she moved toward the largest altar stone. Strange symbols glowed faintly on its cracked surface.
Without thinking, she pressed her hand to it.
The world tilted.
Flashes of memories—places she'd never been, people she'd never met—rushed through her mind. A woman in silver armor. A wolf crowned in moonlight. A blood-red throne.
And her own face… but older, fiercer… and so terribly, terribly alone.
She gasped and stumbled back, Lucien catching her before she fell.
"What did you see?" he asked urgently.
"I…" Elaina shook her head, trembling. "I think… I think I've been here before. A long time ago."
Lucien's expression hardened. "Your past life."
It wasn't a question.
Daisy looked uneasy. "Is that even possible?"
"In this world?" Kade shrugged. "Anything's possible. Hell, maybe I was a famous poet in a past life. That would explain my tragic good looks."
Draven's voice cut through the moment, dark and steady. "If her memories are awakening, it means the bond she shares with the Alpha King... is far deeper than even fate."
Elaina's heart thudded painfully.
She wasn't just anyone.
She was something ancient.
Something powerful.
And that power was waking up.
Lucien's hand tightened around hers. "Whatever it is," he said fiercely, "we'll face it together."
The vow in his voice made her chest ache.
But deep inside, a whisper slithered through her mind—a voice that sounded too much like the woman she'd seen in the vision.
"Not everyone who walks with you now will survive the storm ahead."
Elaina shivered.
The battle with Valen had been only the beginning.
Somewhere beyond the horizon, something darker waited.
Something that would tear apart everything she loved—unless she became strong enough to stop it.
The forest beyond the ruins was dense, ancient, and heavy with mist. Each step Elaina took seemed to echo louder than it should, as if the trees themselves were listening.
Lucien walked beside her, silent but alert. His hand brushed against hers occasionally, a silent reassurance that he was there—that he wasn't going to let her face whatever came next alone.
Behind them, Kade muttered to Daisy, "If a creepy old witch appears and offers me immortality, just let me take it. No need for a dramatic rescue."
"You? Immortality?" Daisy snorted. "You can barely survive a common cold."
Kade clutched his heart dramatically. "Cruel. Beautiful, but cruel."
Elaina gave a small, grateful laugh. The brief moment of lightness helped soothe the dread curling in her stomach.
They soon reached a clearing, where the mist thinned and moonlight poured like liquid silver over the ground.
In the center stood an ancient stone well, overgrown with ivy and runes that pulsed faintly under the moonlight.
Draven stepped forward first, his crimson eyes narrowing. "This is it. The Wellspring of Memory."
"The what now?" Kade asked, peeking around him.
"It holds the truth of your past," Draven said, looking directly at Elaina. "And your destiny."
Elaina swallowed hard.
The vision she had seen in the Temple flashed again in her mind—the lonely queen, the blood, the endless war.
What if she wasn't strong enough to face what lay ahead?
Lucien seemed to sense her fear. He gently touched her chin, tipping her face up to meet his gaze.
"You're stronger than you think," he said, voice deep and steady. "You always have been."
Elaina's throat tightened. She wanted to believe him. Needed to believe him.
Gathering her courage, she stepped forward.
As soon as her hands touched the stone of the well, a pulse of energy shot through her, like a shockwave.
The world blurred—
And she was somewhere else.
A grand hall stretched around her, lit by a thousand torches. Wolves, both human and beast, knelt before a throne of dark obsidian. On it sat a woman—a queen—with Elaina's face but older, harder, her eyes filled with sorrow and rage.
At her side stood a man.
Lucien.
But not this Lucien. He was wearing black armor, a crown of silver and bone atop his head, his face drawn and haunted.
"You promised me," her older self said bitterly, voice thick with pain. "You promised you'd never leave me."
Lucien's past self knelt before her, blood trailing down his arm. "Forgive me. I failed you."
The queen turned her face away, tears gleaming on her cheeks even as she clenched her fists.
"You left me alone in this cursed world."
The vision shattered like glass.
Elaina fell to her knees, gasping, as Lucien caught her again.
"What did you see?" he asked urgently, brushing sweaty strands of hair from her face.
"I... We were..." She shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes. "Lucien, we've been through this before. We failed. I lost you. I lost everything."
Lucien's face darkened, pain flickering in his golden eyes. But he cupped her face with trembling hands and said, "Then this time, we win. I swear it, Elaina. I will never leave you again."
The oath hung between them like a brand, searing into her heart.
Kade wiped his eyes mockingly. "Ugh, you're both so dramatic. Makes my nonexistent love life look even worse."
Daisy smacked him again. "Shut up, idiot. It's romantic."
Even Draven cracked the faintest of smiles.
For a moment, despite the pain, despite the fear, Elaina smiled too.
They still had each other.
And this time, they were ready for whatever destiny had planned.
But deep in the misty woods beyond the clearing, unseen and waiting, someone watched them.
Someone whose obsession had only just begun.
And he would stop at nothing to claim what he believed was his.