The ground shook again.
This time, everyone felt it.
The walls of the apartment trembled.
The windows rattled.
The candles on the table went out one by one.
Kael did not move.
His entire focus was on one thing.
Eren.
“What did he call?” Kael asked.
Seraphina’s expression remained serious.
“I don’t know.”
Kael turned sharply.
“You don’t know?”
The woman who had predicted wars.
The woman who knew ancient secrets.
Admitting ignorance meant one thing.
Whatever happened was beyond normal.
“He didn’t summon a creature,” Seraphina said quietly.
“Then what?”
She looked at Kael.
“He opened a door.”
Kael rushed inside.
“Eren.”
Lyra was already there.
She held their son tightly against her chest.
But something was wrong.
Eren’s eyes were closed.
His body was relaxed.
Too relaxed.
“Wake him up.”
Lyra looked at Kael.
“I’ve tried.”
Her voice shook.
“He won’t answer.”
Kael knelt beside them.
For a moment, he forgot everything.
The council.
The war.
The betrayal.
There was only his son.
His hand touched Eren’s shoulder.
Immediately, a wave of energy moved through him.
And then he saw it.
Not with his eyes.
With his mind.
A battlefield.
Thousands of years ago.
An army of wolves kneeling before a single figure.
A man with silver eyes.
A man who looked exactly like Kael.
The vision disappeared.
Kael pulled back sharply.
Lyra grabbed his arm.
“What did you see?”
Kael looked at her.
“I saw myself.”
Nobody spoke.
Even Seraphina looked disturbed.
“That shouldn’t be possible.”
Kael stood.
“What does that mean?”
Seraphina looked at Eren.
“It means the ancient bloodline did not disappear.”
Lyra frowned.
“Explain.”
Seraphina hesitated.
“The Moonborn prophecy was never about a child inheriting power.”
She looked at Kael.
“It was about a child awakening memories.”
Kael’s expression changed.
“Memories of who?”
Seraphina answered:
“The first Shadow Alpha King.”
The room became silent.
Lyra looked at Eren.
“My son is carrying someone else’s memories?”
“Not someone else,” Seraphina said.
“The first version of himself.”
Kael’s jaw tightened.
He hated how little he understood.
Now he realized true power was knowing when you didn’t.
“What happens next?”
Seraphina looked toward the window.
“Now every Alpha who knows the prophecy will come.”
She was right.
By morning, the entire werewolf world knew.
The Moonborn Heir had awakened.
Messages arrived from every major pack.
Some claimed they wanted peace.
Others claimed they wanted protection.
Kael knew better.
Power always attracted people.
And Eren had more power than any child should possess.
Darius entered the room.
“We have a problem.”
Kael looked up.
“What?”
“The Bloodclaw Dominion has crossed the eastern border.”
Lyra immediately became tense.
“Why?”
Darius hesitated.
“Because they claim they are coming to rescue Eren.”
Kael laughed once.
But there was no humor in it.
“Rescue.”
He looked toward the window.
“They mean capture.”
By afternoon, Kael stood before the Moonfang council.
The same place where his life had been destroyed.
The same people who once watched him fall.
But this time, nobody looked at him with pity.
They looked at him with fear.
Roderick Moonfang stood at the center.
Smiling.
“Alpha King.”
Kael stared at him.
“You knew this day would come.”
Roderick smiled.
“I knew many things.”
“You knew about my son.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about Lyra’s bloodline.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about the false rejection.”
A pause.
Then:
“Yes.”
The room went silent.
Lyra’s face changed.
“You admit it?”
Roderick looked at her.
“Because there is no point hiding anymore.”
Kael stepped forward.
“Why?”
Roderick sighed.
“You still ask the wrong question.”
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
“Then what is the right question?”
Roderick smiled.
“Why do you think you were chosen?”
Nobody answered.
Roderick continued.
“You believe you were a victim.”
His gaze moved to Kael.
“You believe the council feared your strength.”
He shook his head.
“That is only part of the truth.”
Kael’s expression hardened.
“Speak clearly.”
Roderick looked at Lyra.
“Your mate was never chosen because she loved you.”
Lyra froze.
“She was chosen because she completed you.”
Kael’s eyes darkened.
“Careful.”
Roderick ignored him.
“Together, your bloodlines create something stronger than any Alpha throne.”
He leaned forward.
“A power that can control every wolf on earth.”
Silence.
Then Kael spoke.
“And you wanted that power.”
Roderick smiled.
“Yes.”
Finally.
The truth.
“I spent twenty years preparing for this moment.”
Kael moved instantly.
But before he could reach Roderick—
The council floor exploded.
A hidden symbol appeared beneath everyone’s feet.
A suppression circle.
Kael’s body slowed.
Lyra gasped.
“What is happening?”
Roderick stepped away.
“The problem with powerful bloodlines…”
He looked at Eren.
“…is that they are difficult to control.”
Kael forced himself forward.
“You won’t touch my son.”
“That is why we needed you alive.”
Kael froze.
“What?”
Roderick’s eyes became cold.
“The ritual requires three things.”
The circle glowed brighter.
“The heir.”
His eyes moved to Eren.
“The Luna bloodline.”
He looked at Lyra.
“And the original Shadow Alpha.”
His gaze settled on Kael.
“You.”
Kael’s heart sank.
All these years.
The exile.
The separation.
The suffering.
It was never just punishment.
It was preparation.
They did not want him gone.
They wanted him to return.
Because his return completed the ritual.
Lyra looked at him.
“Kael…”
For the first time, fear entered her voice.
“What are we going to do?”
Kael looked at her.
Then at Eren.
And something inside him changed.
The old Kael wanted revenge.
The old Kael wanted everyone responsible to suffer.
But this Kael had something else.
A family.
A reason to fight.
His aura exploded.
The suppression circle cracked.
Everyone stepped back.
Roderick’s smile disappeared.
“That’s impossible.”
Kael looked at him coldly.
“You made one mistake.”
The entire room shook.
“You thought losing everything made me weaker.”
The circle shattered.
“You were wrong.”
Kael grabbed Lyra’s hand.
The moment they touched, the bond between them exploded.
A wave of ancient power filled the chamber.
Everyone fell silent.
Because for the first time in seven years… their wolves answered each other.
Lyra stared at him.
“I can feel you.”
Kael looked at her.
“I know.”
Neither of them wanted to admit how much they missed that feeling.
But there was no time.
The entire territory suddenly went dark.
Then a voice echoed from outside.
Not Roderick.
Not Seraphina.
Someone else.
Someone powerful.
“Kael Veyron.”
Everyone froze.
The voice continued.
“You finally brought them together.”
Kael looked toward the broken doors.
A figure stood outside.
A figure he recognized.
Someone who should have been dead.
Someone from his past.
His mother’s voice.
“My son… you have no idea what you have awakened.”
Kael stopped breathing.
Because the woman standing outside was impossible.
His mother was alive.
And she was smiling.