The path to the Veiled Pass was a ghost trail forgotten by most, feared by all.
No maps marked it. No birds sang above it. The trees grew taller, darker, almost sentient. Alera could feel their branches turning toward her, not with malice, but curiosity. Like the forest itself was watching to see if she was truly worthy.
The warriors riding beside her were the elite of Kael's Bloodguard loyal, battle-scarred, and lethal. But even they kept their weapons drawn and eyes alert.
"Are we sure this is the right way?" one of them, a tall brunette named Calya, asked as the trail narrowed.
Alera nodded. "The forest is testing us. It knows who I am."
She could feel the power in her chest growing, humming beneath her skin like lightning behind clouds. The Awakening hadn't just marked her it had changed her. Her bond with her wolf was no longer a whisper. It was a chorus. A rhythm synced with every heartbeat. She could feel the threads of magic weaving through the land.
The Veiled Pass didn't want just anyone to enter.
It only opened for queens.
And so it did.
As they turned a final bend, the trees parted like curtains, revealing a mountain ridge with a glowing archway carved from stone and ancient light.
The warriors behind her gasped. Calya whispered, "Moon preserve us…"
But Alera didn't stop. She dismounted, her feet touching the sacred earth, and stepped through the arch.
The moment she crossed the threshold, the world shifted.
The air changed denser, charged with power.
She was no longer in her realm.
The Veiled Pass was a bridge between worlds between life and death, between the seen and unseen. Mist coiled around her feet. Shadows flickered at the edge of her vision.
But she wasn't afraid.
She walked.
And with each step, the pass revealed more of its secrets statues of ancient rulers, symbols carved into stone, memories lingering in the air like perfume.
Then came the voices.
Not whispers.
Echoes.
From the past. From her bloodline.
"Do not trust the one who wears the crown of ash."
"Only one path leads to peace. The others lead to ruin."
"Your wolf will guide you but only if you listen."
The final voice wasn't an echo. It was… her mother's.
Alera, my love… don't lose yourself. Not even for him.
She stopped walking. The ground trembled.
"Mother?" she whispered.
No answer came.
Just silence.
And then
A scream.
Not hers. Not from her warriors.
But from deeper within the Pass.
Alera ran.
She reached a clearing.
And froze.
There, bound by glowing chains, was a woman. Dark-haired. Pale-skinned. Her eyes were hauntingly familiar.
It was… her.
But not her.
A shadow version. Broken. Bleeding. Eyes wide with terror.
"What is this?" Alera asked aloud.
The air shimmered.
And a figure stepped out of the mist.
Tall. Elegant. Male. Dressed in black and silver armor, his face half-covered by a wolf mask. The crown on his head burned with embers ash and flame.
Kael?
No. This man wasn't Kael.
But he felt… connected to him.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
The masked man's voice was like velvet and smoke. "I am the future you create… if you choose him."
Alera's heart pounded. "I already chose him."
"Then you have chosen ruin."
Behind him, the chained shadow-Alera screamed again. This time, her voice sounded like it was being torn from her soul.
"I don't understand"
"You will," he said. "When the truth bleeds from the ones you trust most."
He stepped forward.
Alera summoned her power. Light burst from her hands, golden and wild, crackling with the magic of her bloodline.
The masked man laughed low and cruel.
"Fight me now, little queen. Let us see if you are strong enough to rewrite fate."
The battle exploded around them.
Alera moved on instinct. Her body and wolf in perfect sync. She dodged a blast of dark energy, spun, and sent a wave of light crashing into the masked figure. It knocked him back, but he only grinned.
"I see the Luna Queen lives in you after all."
He lunged.
Their powers clashed darkness and light, future and fate. The Veiled Pass cracked beneath their feet.
The ghost version of herself cried out, and Alera spun toward her.
This wasn't just a fight.
This was a test.
She ran toward her chained self and placed her hand on the bonds.
Light flared.
The chains shattered.
And with a scream that shook the heavens, the shadow version dissolved becoming pure energy and surging into Alera's chest.
A memory slammed into her mind
Kael, kneeling in a field of ash, crown broken, whispering her name as her body burned.
"No," she whispered. "Not that future."
When she turned back, the masked figure was gone.
So was the clearing.
So was the Veiled Pass.
She collapsed on a grassy hill.
Her warriors rushed to her side.
Calya knelt beside her. "What happened?"
"I saw the future," Alera said, trembling. "And I chose to change it."
They returned to the fortress at dawn.
Kael was waiting, standing atop the battlements, his eyes scanning the horizon with desperate intensity. When he saw her, something inside him broke and healed all at once.
He ran.
She ran too.
And when they collided, it was more than an embrace. It was a promise.
"I saw you die," she whispered into his shoulder.
"And I felt you leave," he replied hoarsely. "But you came back."
"I always will."
That night, the council gathered.
War was coming.
But Alera now knew what was at stake. And more importantly, she knew who she was.
She stood before the council, no longer unsure or hesitant.
"I am not just his mate," she said, voice steady. "I am the light born of Luna's blood. The keeper of the moonfire. The breaker of chains."
She stepped forward and lifted her chin.
"And when the war comes, I won't just fight beside the king…"
Her voice rang out across the great hall.
"I will lead."