ARIA POV
I lunged forward, breaking free from Kael’s controlling grip. My wolf clawed just beneath my skin, begging to be freed, but I kept my human form as I charged toward the woman with my face.
"WHO ARE YOU?" I scread, stopping just short of the imaginary territory line that separated us from the Broken Moon cult.
The woman’s smile didn’t shift. "My na is Lyra. And unlike that fake behind you," she nodded toward Thorne, "I actually am your mother."
"Impossible," Thorne growled, stepping up beside . "Selene died giving birth to Aria."
Lyra laughed, the sound like breaking glass. "Selene wasn’t her mother. I am. And Darius isn’t her father." She pointed at Darius, who stood quietly beside Elder Malin. "Though he did raise her, thinking she was his. Another of Elder Malin’s clever lies. "
My head spun. Nothing made sense anymore. If neither Darius nor Thorne was my father, and Selene wasn’t my mother, then who was I?
"Enough gas," Kael ordered. "Release Lucien!"
Lucien knelt on the ground, bruised and bloody but still aware. His eyes t mine, filled with pain but also purpose.
"He’ll be freed," Elder Malin said smoothly, "when Aria agrees to hear the full truth. Alone."
"Not happening," Jaxon snapped.
I raised my hand, stopping him. "If I co with you, you’ll let him go?"
"Aria, no!" Lucien fought against his chains.
Elder Malin smiled. "You have my word. You and your mother need to talk."
"She’s not my mother," I said, but doubt crept into my voice.
"One hour," I replied. "And you release Lucien the mont I cross the line."
"Deal," Elder Malin agreed too quickly.
"Don’t do this," Thorne begged. "Whatever she tells you will be lies."
I turned back to him. "Like yours weren’t? You claid to be my father."
Pain flashed across his face. "I truly believed I was."
With a deep breath, I stepped across the territory line. True to their word, they freed Lucien’s chains. He stumbled forward, instantly caught by Kael and Jaxon.
"Don’t trust anything they say," Lucien called to weakly.
Two cult mbers grabbed my arms, taking toward a small clearing where a fire burned. The woman—Lyra—followed, her moves eerily similar to my own.
"Eighteen years ago," Lyra began once we were sat by the fire, "I was the Luna of the Shadow Pack. Our Alpha was strong, but Elder Malin ca to us with warnings of a great threat—human scientists making wolf-human hybrids. He convinced us that the only defense was ancient magic."
Elder Malin nodded sagely. "The ritual required the sacrifice of a Luna carrying a female child."
My stomach turned. "You sacrificed a pregnant woman?"
"No," Lyra anded. "I was that Luna, pregnant with you. The ritual didn’t call for death, but for change. My consciousness was split—part of stayed in my original body, and part was transferred into my unborn child."
"That’s... that’s sick," I whispered.
"It’s survival," Elder Malin maintained. "The human danger was real. But the ritual had an unexpected result. Instead of simply protecting you, it made a unique being—a child with two spirits."
"I don’t believe you," I said, but my voice shook. The strange dreams, the spirit walking, the feeling of being torn between two worlds—it all suddenly made terrible sense.
"Why should I believe anything you say?" I asked. "You’ve been trying to kill and my pack!"
"No," Lyra shook her head. "We’ve been trying to finish what was started. Don’t you see? You’re special, Aria. You’re the bridge between worlds because you already exist in both."
"What does that even an?"
Elder Malin leaned forward. "It ans that half of your mother’s spirit lives inside you. The other half stayed in her original body, which has been kept alive all these years, waiting for reunification."
"After the ritual," Lyra continued, "you were put with Darius’s pack. Selene had just lost her baby—a stillborn girl. Elder Malin told Darius the baby was his, that Selene had survived. They raised you as their own, never knowing the truth."
"And Thorne?" I asked. "Where does he fit in?"
"Thorne was always the complication," Elder Malin revealed. "He was Selene’s true mate, not Darius. He felt sothing was wrong with the child, that you weren’t truly theirs. That’s why Darius expelled him—on my advice."
My hands balled into fists. "So my entire life has been a lie? A trick by you?"
"For the greater good," Elder Malin insisted. "The First Wolf is waking because the ti has co for worlds to rge. And only you can decide how it happens."
"The seven doors," I rembered. "You need my blood to open them."
"We need both halves of your mother’s spirit to reunite," Elder Malin anded. "When that happens, the doors will open naturally, safely."
"And if I refuse?" I challenged.
Lyra’s eyes darkened. "Then the First Wolf will tear open the barriers fiercely. Thousands will die, including your friends. Your... mates."
I thought of Lucien, hurt but alive. Of Kael, whose touch made my heart race despite my bond with Lucien. Of Jaxon, who had beco a true friend and partner.
"What would I have to do?" I asked reluctantly.
"Join hands with ," Lyra said, stretching hers toward . "Our spirits will know each other. They will rejoin, and you will finally be whole."
"And then what happens to ?" I asked, not reaching out.
Lyra and Elder Malin exchanged looks.
"You will evolve," Malin said carefully. "Beco sothing greater."
"You an I’ll disappear," I realized. "My consciousness will be absorbed into hers."
"You’ll be part of sothing magnificent," Lyra insisted. "Isn’t that better than watching everyone you love die?"
I stood up quickly. "My hour isn’t up. I need ti to think."
"Of course," Elder Malin said easily. "But don’t wait too long. The First Wolf grows stronger by the hour."
As if called by his words, a distant roar shook the trees around us.
I found Lucien being treated by Dr. Lena when I returned to our area. Kael and Jaxon stood guard nearby with Thorne.
"What did they tell you?" Lucien asked the mont he saw .
I repeated everything, watching their expressions change from shock to horror.
"They’re lying," Thorne declared. "They must be."
"About which part?" I asked angrily. "Everything makes sense now—why I can spirit walk, why I connected with all three triplets during the Blood Moon ritual, why I’ve always felt... different."
"Even if part of it is true," Kael said slowly, "trusting them is dangerous."
"What choice do we have?" I asked. "The First Wolf is coming. They say if I don’t reconnect with... with my mother, it will destroy everything."
"There’s always another way," Jaxon countered.
A noise outside drew our attention. Pack mbers were screaming, pointing at the sky.
We rushed outside to see the moon—full and blood red—directly overhead. It wasn’t the ti for a Blood Moon. This was sothing else.
As we watched in horror, a dark shadow started to cross the moon’s surface. Not a natural eclipse, but sothing that looked almost like a huge paw print.
"It’s starting," Thorne whispered. "The First Wolf is reaching through the barrier."
Dr. Lena appeared at my side, her face grave. "Aria, I found sothing strange in your blood work. Sothing impossible."
"What now?" I asked wearily.
"Your DNA..." she paused. "It’s changing. Rewriting itself by the hour."
"What does that an?" Lucien demanded.
Before she could answer, I fell to my knees, a searing pain tearing through my body. My vision blurred, and when it cleared, I could see ghostly outlines of doors appearing around —seven of them, each having a symbol I sohow recognized.
"Aria!" Kael caught as I fell backward.
"It’s too late," I gasped through the pain. "She’s already inside . She’s been here all along."
My voice changed, becoming deeper, older. Words I didn’t control spilled from my lips: "The doors are opening, children of the moon. Your Alpha Luna holds the key."
I fought against the presence taking over my mind, long enough to et Lucien’s horrified look.
"Help ," I begged in my own voice. "Sothing’s waking up inside . Sothing that’s been sleeping for eighteen years."
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