5

The temple had spoken. The Forgotten Pack was no longer just a lost whisper in history—it was waking up.

And so was Selene.

She felt it the moment she stepped out of the ruins and into the Whispering Forest. The very air had changed, thick with something unseen, something watching. The trees no longer felt like indifferent sentinels; they seemed to hum with recognition, bowing under the force of something long buried but never truly gone.

The energy pulsing in her veins wasn’t just hers anymore. It was old. Ancient. Something that had been locked away for centuries was now inside her, coursing through her bones like wildfire.

And the supernatural world had noticed.

The first sign came as a shift in the wind, a low howl echoing through the trees, followed by silence—an unnatural, deafening quiet. The second came in the form of a ripple in the mate bond, a sharp, electric pull that nearly sent her to her knees.

Alec.

Kael.

Lucian.

They had felt it too.

Selene barely had time to catch her breath before the presence of others pressed against her senses. Not her mates this time. Something else.

Something coming.

She turned, scanning the darkened woods. The Whispering Forest had always been a forbidden place, a realm of untamed magic and creatures older than memory. Even the strongest wolves of the Shadowfang Pack dared not venture too deep.

But now, the forest wasn’t just a place of caution.

It was a battlefield.

And she was standing in the center of it.

A growl sounded from the trees, low and menacing. The first figure emerged from the darkness, its glowing amber eyes locking onto her with predatory intent.

A werewolf—but not just any werewolf.

A warrior.

His armor was dark, sleek, unlike the traditional leather and fur the Shadowfang warriors wore. He wasn’t from her pack. He wasn’t from any pack she recognized.

And he wasn’t alone.

More figures stepped out from the shadows, wolves shifting into their human forms, their eyes sharp with calculation.

Selene’s pulse pounded.

She knew what this was.

The awakening of the temple wasn’t just an event—it was a shift in power. A call to those who understood what it meant.

The Forgotten Pack had once ruled all of wolfkind. Its fall had created a power vacuum that the current packs had spent centuries trying to ignore.

But now?

Now the past was no longer content to stay buried.

Selene took a step back, instincts screaming at her to run. But before she could make a decision, a deep, commanding voice cut through the air.

“Stand down.”

The warriors hesitated.

And then, from the shadows, he emerged.

Alec Stormbane.

His presence was as consuming as ever, radiating dominance, his golden eyes burning like molten fire. He stepped forward with the controlled, lethal grace of a predator who knew exactly how dangerous he was.

And he wasn’t alone.

To his left, Kael stood with his arms crossed, his expression unreadable. His storm-gray eyes flickered over her, but if he felt anything through the mate bond, he didn’t show it.

And then there was Lucian.

Silent. Calculated. Green eyes dark with something she couldn’t name.

Her mates had come for her.

But they weren’t here to embrace her.

They were here to control the situation.

Selene’s fists clenched. Of course, they were.

The supernatural world had just been shaken to its core, and to them, she wasn’t their mate—she was a problem to be handled.

Alec’s gaze locked onto hers, sharp as a blade. “What did you do?”

Selene’s heart twisted. Not Are you okay? Not What happened to you? Just cold suspicion.

Something inside her snapped.

She lifted her chin, forcing steel into her voice. “I woke up.”

A flicker of something passed through Alec’s eyes, but it was gone before she could place it.

Kael let out a low chuckle, shaking his head. “Of course, you did.” His voice was laced with sarcasm, but there was an underlying tension beneath it.

Lucian remained silent, his gaze flickering between the warriors surrounding them and the temple behind her. His mind was already working, already analyzing what this all meant.

Selene crossed her arms. “Why are you here?”

Alec’s expression darkened. “Because the entire supernatural world felt what just happened.”

Selene swallowed. “And?”

Kael smirked. “And they’re coming for you, princess.”

Her stomach dropped.

Lucian finally spoke, his voice quiet but firm. “What exactly happened in that temple, Selene?”

She hesitated. Should she tell them? Would they even believe her?

She met Alec’s gaze, then Kael’s, then Lucian’s.

The mate bond still pulsed between them, fragile but present. But the wounds of rejection were still raw.

And yet…

Something had changed.

She wasn’t the same girl they had cast aside.

And she wasn’t about to beg for their acceptance.

She took a step forward, meeting Alec’s unyielding gaze head-on.

“I don’t know everything yet,” she admitted. “But I know this—the Forgotten Pack isn’t just a story. It’s real. And it’s waking up.”

Silence stretched between them.

Alec exhaled slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You have no idea what you’ve done.”

Selene lifted a brow. “And you have no idea who I’m becoming.”

Kael let out another amused chuckle, shaking his head. “Moon above, this is going to be fun.”

Lucian, however, wasn’t smiling. His gaze was unreadable as he studied her.

Then he spoke, his words sending a chill down her spine.

“If the Forgotten Pack is waking up… then war is coming.”

The words settled between them like a prophecy.

Selene’s pulse thundered.

A war.

And somehow, she was at the center of it.

Whether she wanted to be or not.

Her heart was filled with fear of the powerful unknown, but at the same time, she was also filled with anticipation.

Perhaps this was the real turning point in her fate.