Reign of the Forsaken Moon - Chapter 34: Chapter 34

The drums of war echoed through the Silverwood.
They were low at first—distant, like thunder rolling across unseen hills—but with each hour, the rhythm grew stronger. Wolves across the realm began to stir. Packs that had remained hidden in neutrality since Seraphina’s return now faced a choice: to stand with the Twice-Born Luna… or be devoured by the storm following Lady Celestine.
From the tower spires of Windrest, Seraphina listened.
And she knew.
Her past had come to claim her future.
A Call to the Moon
Seraphina stood at the heart of the sacred moon circle, surrounded by elder stones etched with age-old runes. The crescent sigil at her feet flared as she lifted her face to the sky.
By her side, Darian clasped her hand. Mira, Kael, and a small envoy of Windrest warriors formed a protective half-circle.
When Seraphina began the invocation, her voice rang clear.
> “By blood and by bone, by silver and ash—
Let the packs remember the Luna’s call.”
Wind rushed through the glade. The moon pulsed above, shimmering like it wept.
Suddenly, runes carved across the ancient stones lit up—one by one—until the entire circle glowed.
From far corners of the realm, the response came.
A howling chorus, carried by wind, echoing across trees and valleys.
The old allegiance… awakened.
The Gathering Begins
Within days, emissaries from distant packs arrived at Windrest.
Some came with fire in their eyes and weapons at their backs. Others came wary, speaking in riddles and old customs. All of them remembered Seraphina's former reign—but many had also heard rumors of her death, the Gate, Lucien’s shadow… and now, Celestine’s claim.
They needed more than words.
They needed proof.
So Seraphina did not just speak—she showed them.
She walked among them, displaying her scar, her shard-bound magic, the bond with her mate, and her unwavering will. She fought sparring matches with the Alphas who doubted her strength. She bore the pain of memory and spirit.
And slowly, the tide began to shift.
Celestine’s Challenge
But Celestine moved swiftly.
From her stronghold in the ruins of Hollowfang, she sent out her own envoys—not of diplomacy, but of domination.
At the River Vale, the Greenwood Pack fell in one night, their Alpha slain and their Beta bound in cursed chains.
At Frostfen Ridge, blackened wolves—creatures of bone and void—emerged from frozen caves and tore through ancestral tombs.
Celestine wasn’t uniting the scattered, disillusioned remnants.
She was conquering them.
And those who resisted her found their dreams haunted by whispers.
> The Twice-Born has failed you once.
She will fail you again.
Come. Be reborn.
Fractures Within
Back in Windrest, cracks began to form even within Seraphina’s growing alliance.
One Alpha, Rynn of the Stormfen, questioned the presence of Lucien in the court.
“You claim loyalty, Luna, yet keep the cursed blood beside your hearth. The Virethorn legacy cannot be trusted.”
Lucien, who stood behind Seraphina during the council session, didn’t flinch.
“I could leave,” he offered, eyes never leaving Rynn’s. “But my knowledge of Hollowfang’s corruption could be the edge you need.”
Seraphina placed a hand on his shoulder—not for affection, but for control.
“You don’t have to trust him,” she said to the room. “You only have to trust me.”
“And if you fall again?” Rynn sneered.
Darian stepped forward, his voice quiet but fierce.
“Then we all fall together.”
The council chamber hushed. For a moment, Seraphina feared the fragile unity would shatter.
But then, slowly, Rynn bent the knee.
Others followed.
Beneath the Surface
Despite the momentum, unease gnawed at Seraphina.
Something still felt wrong.
The wards held, the allies came, and Darian remained at her side… yet the shadows lengthened.
That night, she wandered to the Hall of Memories once more.
And there, in the very stone of the wall, a new name had been carved:
Elric.
Her son’s name.
No one had seen it before.
No one had carved it.
And when she touched it, the stone was warm—freshly etched.
She staggered back.
Behind her, the Raven Seer appeared like a flicker of smoke.
> “The Gate listens when you grieve,” the Seer whispered.
“And Celestine speaks not only to the living… but to the dead.”
Seraphina’s heart turned to ice.
“She’s trying to raise them?”
“No. She’s trying to use them.”
The Bond Tested
Later, when the wind howled through the upper towers, Seraphina lay with Darian beneath the canopy of their shared chamber.
“I’m scared,” she admitted, voice barely audible.
He turned toward her, brushing his fingers across her cheek. “You’re allowed to be.”
“I’ve fought death and betrayal. I’ve rebuilt my kingdom from ash. But this… this is different. Celestine doesn’t want to rule. She wants to rewrite the story. She wants to undo me from the inside.”
Darian pulled her close.
“Then we fight her from the inside out.”
She buried her face in his chest.
“Promise me… if something happens to me—”
“No.” His voice was firm. “You don’t get to finish that sentence. Not tonight.”
She laughed wetly. “You’re stubborn.”
“You love that about me.”
“I do,” she whispered. “Moon help me, I do.”
Celestine’s March
At the edge of the Black Hollow, Celestine stood before a massive pyre.
Bones burned. Spirits rose.
And from the smoke emerged her army.
Wolves whose eyes bled shadows.
Creatures made of mourning and rage.
And beside her, a figure cloaked in death itself.
> “She has her Twice-Born throne,” Celestine whispered.
“But I have the Twice-Born crown.”
And with that, the Hollowfang banner rose above the treeline.
Seraphina’s war was no longer approaching.
It had arrived.