The mountain was closer than it looked.
Kael had been walking for nearly three hours, yet the jagged peaks seemed no nearer than when he had first seen them beyond the forest.
The landscape had changed.
The trees were thinner now, their branches twisted and bare.
Snow covered everything except the occasional black stone protruding from the ground.
The farther Kael traveled from Blackthorn Valley, the quieter the world became.
Even the wolves had stopped following openly.
He knew they were there.
He could smell them.
He could hear their distant footsteps.
But they remained hidden.
Mara walked beside him, her cloak wrapped tightly around her body.
Neither had spoken much since leaving the forest.
There were too many questions.
Too many things neither of them understood.
Eventually Mara broke the silence.
“Are you going to tell me what happened?”
Kael looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.”
Kael sighed.
Mara stopped walking.
“So?”
He stopped too.
The wind moved through the valley.
“What do you want me to say?”
“The truth.”
Kael looked toward the mountain.
“I don’t know the truth.”
“You saw something.”
He said nothing.
“You saw something when you collapsed.”
Kael looked at her.
“How do you know?”
“Because you were screaming.”
Mara folded her arms.
“You kept saying one word.”
Kael frowned.
“What word?”
“Mother.”
His expression hardened.
Mara’s voice softened.
“Who did you see?”
Kael looked away.
“A woman.”
“Your mother?”
“I think so.”
“What did she look like?”
“She had silver hair.”
Mara’s eyes widened.
“Silver?”
Kael nodded.
“She wore a crown.”
“What kind?”
“Black.
It looked like antlers.”
Mara stared at him.
“Did she speak?”
Kael hesitated.
Then he remembered the voice.
**Hello, son.**
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
Kael swallowed.
“She called me her son.”
Mara looked at the mountains.
For several moments, she said nothing.
Then she asked the question Kael had been avoiding.
“Do you believe she’s alive?”
“I don’t know.”
“But you want to.”
Kael’s jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
Mara stepped closer.
“Then we’ll find her.”
Kael looked at her.
“You don’t have to come.”
“I know.”
“Veyra might come after you.”
“I know.”
“The hunters might kill you.”
“I know.”
“Whatever is waiting beyond those mountains could be worse.”
Mara smiled faintly.
“Then I suppose you’d better make sure I don’t die.”
For the first time since Blackthorn burned, Kael smiled.
It lasted only a second.
Then a howl echoed from somewhere ahead.
Both turned.
Kael’s smile disappeared.
That wasn’t an ordinary wolf.
It was a warning.
Something was coming.
He closed his eyes.
The world became sound.
Wind.
Snow.
Mara’s heartbeat.
His own.
Then—
Hooves.
Kael opened his eyes.
“Someone is coming.”
Mara reached for her knife.
“How many?”
“Six.”
“Human?”
Kael listened again.
“No.”
A moment later, six wolves appeared along the ridge.
They were enormous.
Each was larger than an ordinary wolf.
Their coats were dark gray, almost black.
At the center walked an elderly wolf with one blind eye.
It stopped several yards away.
Kael felt something strange.
The wolf lowered its head.
The others followed.
Mara stared.
“Why do they keep doing that?”
Kael shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
The old wolf transformed.
Its bones shifted.
Its fur receded.
Within moments, an elderly man stood before them.
He wore a long gray cloak.
A scar ran from his forehead to his jaw.
His remaining eye was golden.
“You are late,” he said.
Kael frowned.
“Late for what?”
The old man studied him.
“For becoming what you were born to be.”
Mara stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
The old man ignored her.
His attention remained on Kael.
“My name is Garran.”
He pointed toward the mountain.
“I am the last keeper of the Gate of Wolves.”
Kael looked at the mountain.
“What gate?”
Garran smiled sadly.
“You have already heard it calling.”
Kael remembered the voice.
**Open the gate.**
His stomach tightened.
“What is behind it?”
“Your inheritance.”
Kael frowned.
“That’s not an answer.”
“No.”
Garran’s expression became grim.
“It is a warning.”
The old wolf-man walked closer.
“Sixteen years ago, your mother brought you here.”
Kael’s breathing stopped.
“What?”
“She carried you through the mountain pass.”
Garran looked toward the peaks.
“She was being hunted.”
“By whom?”
“The King’s armies.”
Kael clenched his fists.
“Why?”
“Because the king feared your blood.”
“Who is the king?”
Garran’s eye narrowed.
“King Aldren.”
The name meant nothing to Kael.
“Why does he want me?”
Garran gave him a strange look.
“Because your existence is proof that he lied.”
Kael’s brow furrowed.
“Lied about what?”
“Everything.”
Before Kael could ask another question, a distant horn sounded.
Garran turned sharply.
His wolves raised their heads.
Mara whispered, “Hunters?”
Garran shook his head.
“Not hunters.”
Another horn.
Then another.
Garran’s expression darkened.
“Royal soldiers.”
Kael stared.
“How did they find us?”
The old wolf looked directly at him.
“They didn’t.”
He pointed toward Kael.
“They found you.”
Kael’s blood ran cold.
Garran grabbed his arm.
“Listen carefully.”
Kael looked at him.
“There is a path through the mountain.”
“Where does it lead?”
“To the kingdom beneath it.”
Mara frowned.
“A kingdom?”
Garran nodded.
“The first kingdom of the wolves.”
Kael stared.
“I thought werewolves lived in packs.”
“They do.”
“Then what kingdom?”
Garran’s voice lowered.
“Before humans built kingdoms, before the first human king raised a crown, wolves ruled these mountains.”
He looked toward the peaks.
“They had cities beneath the earth.
Great halls carved from stone.
Rivers that flowed beneath the mountains.
Temples dedicated to the Moon Mother.”
Kael felt a strange pull in his chest.
“The Moon Mother?”
Garran nodded.
“The first goddess worshipped by the wolf bloodlines.”
Mara looked at Kael.
“Is that connected to him?”
Garran didn’t answer immediately.
Then:
“More than you can imagine.”
The horns sounded again.
Closer.
Garran turned toward his wolves.
“Take them to the gate.”
One of the wolves growled.
Garran shook his head.
“No.”
The wolf growled again.
“I will stay.”
Kael frowned.
“You can’t fight an army alone.”
Garran smiled.
“I don’t intend to.”
He looked at the mountain.
“I intend to delay them.”
Kael understood.
“You’re going to die.”
“Perhaps.”
Garran placed one hand on Kael’s shoulder.
“But if you stay, you will certainly die.”
Mara stepped forward.
“We’re not leaving you.”
Garran looked at her.
“You are human.”
“So?”
“Humans don’t belong beneath the mountain.”
Mara’s expression hardened.
“Neither does Kael.”
Garran smiled.
“That is where you’re wrong.”
He looked at Kael.
“He belongs there more than anywhere else in this world.”
Another horn sounded.
Then came the thunder of hundreds of feet.
Garran pushed Kael toward the mountain.
“Go.”
Kael hesitated.
“How do we find the gate?”
Garran pointed toward a narrow opening between two cliffs.
“Follow the black river.”
Kael stared.
“I don’t see a river.”
“You will.”
Mara grabbed Kael’s hand.
“Come on.”
They ran.
Behind them, Garran transformed.
His body exploded into gray fur.
He became enormous.
The wolves surrounding him followed.
A roar shook the valley.
Kael looked back once.
He saw Garran standing at the center of the ridge.
Behind him were dozens of wolves.
Ahead of him came an army.
The two sides collided.
Kael turned away.
They ran deeper into the mountain.
The opening between the cliffs was barely wide enough for two people.
Inside, the temperature dropped immediately.
The daylight vanished.
Mara pulled out a small lantern.
Its flame flickered.
“Do you think Garran will survive?”
Kael didn’t answer.
They continued.
The passage descended.
Ten minutes.
Twenty.
Thirty.
The path became steeper.
Then Mara stopped.
“Kael.”
He turned.
She pointed.
Water flowed beneath their feet.
Black water.
It came from a crack in the stone wall and moved silently down the passage.
Kael crouched.
He touched it.
The moment his fingers touched the surface, his mind exploded with images.
A massive underground city.
Thousands of wolves.
Stone towers.
Blue flames.
A throne.
A woman standing before it.
Silver hair.
Black antler crown.
His mother.
Kael pulled his hand away.
Mara grabbed him.
“What did you see?”
“The city.”
“What city?”
“The kingdom.”
The passage suddenly shook.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Kael looked upward.
“They’ve reached the mountain.”
Mara swallowed.
“We need to move.”
They followed the black river.
The passage opened into a cavern.
Mara stopped.
Kael stepped beside her.
Neither spoke.
The cavern was enormous.
It stretched farther than they could see.
At its center stood a city.
A real city.
Ancient towers rose from the stone floor.
Bridges connected enormous buildings.
Blue flames burned along the streets.
Statues of wolves stood everywhere.
But there was no one.
No movement.
No voices.
The entire kingdom was silent.
Mara whispered:
“How is this possible?”
Kael didn’t answer.
They descended the stone staircase.
The moment Kael stepped into the city, every blue flame ignited simultaneously.
One.
Then another.
Then hundreds.
Then thousands.
The entire kingdom illuminated.
Mara’s eyes widened.
“Kael…”
He looked ahead.
At the end of the main avenue stood an enormous palace.
Its doors were carved with two wolves facing each other.
Between them was a crescent moon.
Kael walked toward it.
The closer he came, the stronger the pull in his chest became.
He reached the doors.
They opened.
No one touched them.
Inside was a throne room.
At its center stood a massive black throne.
Behind it was a mural.
Kael approached.
The painting showed an ancient wolf.
It was enormous.
Its fur was black.
Its eyes were white.
A crescent mark burned upon its forehead.
Kael stared.
The creature looked exactly like him.
Mara whispered:
“That’s you.”
“No.”
Kael stepped closer.
“Not me.”
He looked at the inscription beneath the mural.
Ancient symbols covered the stone.
Yet somehow, he could understand them.
He read aloud.
“The First Moon-Born.”
Mara looked at him.
“What does it say?”
Kael continued.
“Born of the Moon Mother.
Father of the First Blood.
King beneath the Mountain.”
He stopped.
Mara’s face changed.
“King?”
Kael looked toward the throne.
Then he saw the final line.
His voice became quiet.
“Slayer of the Moon Goddess.”
Silence filled the throne room.
Mara stared at the inscription.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.”
Kael stepped closer.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed behind them.
Both turned.
A figure stood in the doorway.
A woman.
Silver hair.
Pale skin.
Black gown.
Black antler crown.
Kael stopped breathing.
Mara whispered:
“Kael…”
The woman looked at him.
Tears filled her silver eyes.
“My son.”
Kael couldn’t move.
He had imagined this moment for years.
He had imagined his mother returning.
He had imagined embracing her.
He had imagined asking why she left him.
But reality was different.
Reality was terrifying.
Because the woman standing before him looked exactly like the figure from his vision.
Kael whispered:
“Mother?”
She smiled.
“Yes.”
He took one step.
Then another.
She opened her arms.
Kael froze.
Something felt wrong.
His instincts screamed.
His wolf wanted to run.
But his heart wanted to believe her.
“Why did you leave me?” he asked.
The woman lowered her arms.
“I didn’t.”
Kael frowned.
“Then why was I alone?”
“Because I was forced to hide you.”
“By whom?”
She looked toward the mural.
“The king.”
“King Aldren?”
She nodded.
“He wanted your blood.”
“Why?”
“Because your blood is the key to his immortality.”
Kael stared.
“Who is he?”
His mother looked at him.
Then she said something that made his blood turn cold.
“Your father.”
Kael felt the world tilt.
“No.”
His mother nodded.
“King Aldren is your father.”
Mara stepped closer.
“Then why did he try to kill Kael?”
The woman’s expression became bitter.
“Because your father feared what his son would become.”
Kael’s voice trembled.
“What am I?”
His mother looked directly into his eyes.
“The rightful king of the wolves.”
A roar echoed through the mountain.
The palace shook.
Kael looked toward the doors.
His mother whispered:
“They have arrived.”
“Who?”
“The king’s army.”
Another roar.
Then another.
The blue flames throughout the city began turning red.
Kael’s mother grabbed his hand.
“We have very little time.”
Kael pulled away.
“I have questions.”
“I know.”
“Who is the First Moon-Born?”
Her expression changed.
“You.”
Kael shook his head.
“The mural says he was the first.”
His mother looked at the ancient painting.
Then she said:
“That is what the king wants everyone to believe.”
Kael’s heart pounded.
“Then who was the first?”
She looked at him.
“You.”
Kael stared.
His mother whispered:
“You were born once before.”
The throne room seemed to freeze.
“Sixteen years ago, you were not born for the first time.”
She touched his cheek.
“You were reborn.”
Kael stepped backward.
“No.”
“You lived before.”
“Who was I?”
His mother’s eyes filled with sorrow.
“The first king.”
A massive explosion shook the palace.
The doors burst open.
Soldiers flooded the hall.
At their center stood a man wearing a crown of silver.
Kael recognized the golden eyes immediately.
Lord Varian stood beside him.
But Varian was no longer smiling.
The crowned man stepped forward.
His eyes fixed upon Kael.
“My son.”
Kael’s mother moved between them.
The king raised his sword.
“You were supposed to remain dead.”
Kael’s body went rigid.
Mara whispered:
“Kael…”
The king’s eyes began glowing gold.
“After a thousand years, I finally found you.”
Kael felt something awaken inside him.
Something ancient.
Something furious.
The wolf inside him roared.
The king smiled.
“Yes.”
He raised his sword.
“Now I remember why I was afraid.”
The red moon above the mountain suddenly cracked completely.
A wave of supernatural energy swept through the kingdom.
Every wolf statue opened its eyes.
And all across the underground city, thousands of ancient wolves began waking from their stone graves.
Kael looked at the king.
The king looked at Kael.
Father and son stared at one another across the ancient throne room.
Then Kael’s mother whispered:
“Run.”
Kael shook his head.
“No.”
His eyes began glowing white.
“I’ve been running my entire life.”
The king lifted his sword.
Kael stepped forward.
“This time…”
His claws emerged.
“…they can run from me.”
The ancient wolves roared.
And the kingdom beneath the mountain came alive.
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