26

I woke to the sound of chanting.

Ancient voices wove through the air in harmonies that seemed older than stone, their words in a language that bypassed my conscious mind and spoke directly to my blood. The melody was hauntingly familiar the same lullaby that had echoed through my visions, the song that had burned itself into my dreams.

My eyes opened to find myself lying on cold marble beneath a vaulted ceiling that disappeared into shadows. Moonlight streamed through stained glass windows, painting the floor in patterns of silver and blue that pulsed in rhythm with the chanting.

The Hollow Moon Temple. I recognized it from my time as a servant, though I had never been inside before. This was where the Nightshade pack worshipped their ancestors, where ancient rituals were performed under the moon's watchful eye.

"You're awake." Moira's voice came from somewhere to my left. "Good. I was beginning to worry we'd lost you entirely."

I tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. Pain lanced through every muscle, and the ritual marks carved into my skin felt like they were on fire. "How long was I unconscious?"

"Three days. Your body shut down completely after the power expenditure." Moira appeared in my peripheral vision, her face etched with exhaustion and concern. "The awakening channels were never meant to carry that much energy. You nearly burned yourself out permanently."

Three days. I had been unconscious for three days while... "What happened to the armies? The battle?"

"Ended when you collapsed. Most of Bloodfang surrendered immediately seeing their leaders defeated and their cause revealed as lies broke whatever fight remained in them." Moira helped me sit up slowly, supporting my weight as the world spun around me. "Kael is alive but broken. His magical enhancements were completely destroyed, and something about the power backlash damaged his mind. He barely remembers his own name."

"And Maris?"

"Recovering. The artificial grafts left her system poisoned, but she should survive. Whether she'll retain any memories of her actions..." Moira shrugged. "Time will tell."

I looked around the temple, noting the way moonlight seemed to bend and focus on the altar where I lay. "Why am I here instead of the healing tents?"

"Because normal healing couldn't help you. The damage you sustained wasn't physical it was spiritual, supernatural. Only the old rituals could reach the kind of trauma an Eclipse Covenant awakening inflicts."

The chanting grew louder, and I realized we weren't alone in the temple. Figures in silver robes moved through the shadows, their faces hidden by deep hoods. But their voices were familiar Nightshade wolves I had worked beside, fought beside, bled beside.

"They've been here for three days," Moira explained. "Maintaining the ritual that's keeping you anchored to this world. The awakening tried to dissolve you back into pure energy. Without their constant effort..."

She didn't need to finish. I would have died, consumed by power too great for any mortal frame to contain.

"Thank you," I whispered to the chanting figures. Several nodded acknowledgment, never breaking the rhythm that held me together.

"There's more," Moira continued. "While you've been unconscious, representatives from other packs have been arriving. Word of the Eclipse Covenant's return has spread across the entire region."

My heart sank. "How many?"

"Seven major packs so far, with more expected. Some come as allies, drawn by the promise of fighting beside legendary power. Others..." Her expression darkened. "Others remember why the Covenant was exterminated the first time."

I closed my eyes, feeling the weight of history pressing down on my shoulders. My awakening hadn't just changed my own fate it had destabilized the entire regional balance of power.

"Where's Darius?" I asked.

"Meeting with the representatives. Trying to prevent a war that would consume every pack in the mountains." Moira's voice carried deep worry. "So far he's managed to keep them talking instead of fighting, but patience is wearing thin."

"They want to see me."

"Some want to test you, to determine if you're truly as powerful as the stories claim. Others want to kill you before you become too dangerous to stop." Moira met my eyes directly. "And a few want to worship you as the return of divine power to the world."

The last option was somehow more terrifying than the others. I had never wanted to be anyone's goddess, never sought the kind of reverence that turned people into fanatics.

"I need to see Darius," I said, trying to swing my legs over the altar's edge.

"You need to rest," Moira countered firmly. "The awakening nearly killed you. Pushing yourself too soon could finish what the power expenditure started."

But even as she spoke, I could hear commotion from outside the temple. Raised voices, the sound of weapons being drawn, the distinctive tension that preceded violence.

Through the stained glass windows, I caught glimpses of torchlight and moving figures. Too many figures, arranged in what looked suspiciously like battle formations.

"They're not going to wait for me to recover," I realized.

Moira followed my gaze, her face paling as she took in the scene outside. "The negotiations must have failed."

I forced myself upright, ignoring the protests from every part of my body. The chanting voices rose in pitch, their rhythm becoming urgent as they sensed the approaching crisis.

"Help me to my feet," I commanded.

"Selene, you're not ready "

"I'm never going to be ready," I interrupted. "But ready or not, my people need me."

The word surprised me as soon as it left my mouth. My people. When had I started thinking of the Nightshade wolves that way? When had their survival become more important than my own?

But there was no time to examine the shift. Outside the temple, steel was beginning to ring against steel as diplomatic words gave way to deadly action.

Moira helped me stand, her hands glowing with healing energy that did little to ease the bone-deep exhaustion. "If you insist on this madness, at least take some protection."

She gestured to the altar behind us, where someone had laid out a set of armor unlike anything I had ever seen. The metal gleamed with its own inner light, silver plates inscribed with symbols that seemed to move when I wasn't looking directly at them.

"Eclipse Covenant battle gear," she explained. "Found in the temple's deepest vaults, waiting for someone with the bloodline to claim it."

I reached for the armor with trembling fingers, gasping as the metal responded to my touch. It was warm, almost alive, molding itself to my frame as though it had been crafted specifically for me.

The moment the final piece settled into place, power flowed back into my depleted channels. Not the overwhelming flood of the awakening, but a steady stream that reinforced my failing strength.

"Better?" Moira asked.

I flexed my fingers experimentally, watching silver light dance across the armor's surface. "Much."

The temple doors burst open, admitting Darius and several warriors whose faces showed panic and desperation. Behind them, the sounds of battle were growing louder.

"Selene," Darius said, relief flooding his voice when he saw me upright. "Thank the goddess. We need you out there."

"What's the situation?"

"Seven packs have formed a coalition against us. They're demanding your surrender for execution, claiming you're too dangerous to let live." His gray eyes were grim with the weight of impossible odds. "We're outnumbered ten to one."

I walked toward the temple doors, my armor humming with contained energy. "Then we'd better even those odds."

As I stepped into the night air, I could see the coalition forces surrounding the compound like a living wall of steel and fang. Hundreds of wolves from across the region, united in their fear of what I represented.

But they had made one critical mistake in their calculations.

They had assumed I would fight like the Eclipse Covenant of legend alone, isolated, relying solely on individual power.

They were about to learn that this Covenant heir had something her ancestors never possessed: a pack willing to stand with her against the world.

Silver fire blazed to life around me as I strode toward the gates, and behind me, every Nightshade wolf felt their strength double.

It was time to show them what unity truly meant