Silence fell across the arena. Not because the battle had ended. Because everyone was staring at me.
The corrupted creature lay crushed against the floor, trembling violently beneath my command. Silver flames danced around my body, illuminating the shattered arena with an eerie glow.
And I was terrified. Because this time, I had done it on purpose. Not by accident. Not because my emotions exploded.
I had commanded it. And it obeyed. My raised hand began shaking. The silver flames slowly weakened.
"What… did I just do?"
I whispered.
Kaiden wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and immediately stepped toward me despite his injuries.
"Selene."
His voice snapped me back to reality. The flames disappeared instantly. The pressure around the arena eased.
And suddenly exhaustion hit me like a wave. My knees nearly gave out. Kaiden caught me before I could fall.
His arms wrapped around me instinctively. "You pushed too much," he said quietly. I could feel his heartbeat.
Fast.
Uneven.
He was hurt.
Magnus slowly rose to his feet nearby, blood staining his shoulder where the creature had struck him.
Yet instead of anger, he looked thoughtful. Very thoughtful. "That wasn't dominance," Mangu said calmly.
Lucien nodded grimly.
"No."
"Then what was it?" Orion asked. Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew. Or perhaps, nobody wanted to know. The chained creature beneath the arena stared at me with something that almost resembled reverence.
"The voice returns, one Elder staggered backwards.
"No…" Another Elder whispered in horror: "It really exists." I looked toward them.
"What exists?"
The lead Elder looked older than before. "The Royal Command." Silence swept through the arena. Lucien's expression darkened.
"I thought that was only a legend."
"So did we," the Elder admitted. Magnus folded his arms.
"Explain."
The Elder swallowed.
"The First Luna possessed a power that surpassed Alpha dominance. Her voice could command not only wolves, but any creature created by her bloodline."
My chest tightened. Created. Again.
Everything kept returning to that word. The creature beneath the arena smiled slowly. "She remembers."
"I don't remember anything!" I snapped. The creature tilted its head.
"Not yet."
Another roar echoed beneath the mountain. Then another. And another. Hundreds.
The sound made the blood drain from everyone's faces. The chained creature closed its eyes briefly.
Then it whispered: "He awakens." Every Elder froze. The lead Elder's voice shook.
"No…"
Magnus narrowed his eyes.
"Who?"
The answer came from the creature itself.
"The King."
The temperature inside the arena seemed to drop instantly. Lucien looked confused.
"King of what?"
The creature opened its glowing eyes again. "King of the First Pack." The words hit like thunder. Even Kaiden went still.
Because every wolf knew the oldest legend.
Before modern packs existed, before territories, before Alpha Councils, there had supposedly been one ruler.
One King. The mate of the First Luna. A story told to pups. A myth. Impossible. Yet tonight impossible things kept becoming real. Orion frowned.
"If the First Luna exists, "Then so did her King," Magnus finished quietly. The chained creature nodded.
"He sleeps beneath the deepest prison."
My breathing stopped. "Another prison?"
The creature laughed softly.
"The greatest prison." One Elder collapsed into a chair.
"We built the Council territory above him, Lucien looked horrified. "You built your capital on top of the most dangerous being in history?"
Nobody answered.
Because the answer was obvious. Outside, battle sounds still echoed throughout the fortress. But suddenly, every corrupted creature beneath the mountain fell silent. Completely silent.
The chained creature slowly bowed its head. Not to me. Not to the Alphas. To something below.
Then a single heartbeat echoed through the mountain, Boom, the entire fortress trembled, Boom, a crack spread across the walls. Boom, my mark exploded with pain.
And somewhere deep beneath the earth,
A male voice whispered inside my mind:
"My Luna, I froze, because somehow, He wasn't talking to the First Luna. He was talking to me.