Chapter 11

The clearing glowed with pale lavender light, the moon high above casting soft shadows across the forest floor. Avelyn stood barefoot on the moss, her palms upturned, her breathing measured. Selene circled her slowly, murmuring incantations that wrapped around the air like invisible thread.

"Again," Selene said, her voice low but firm. "Draw from within. Don't fight it. Feel it."

Avelyn closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Magic hummed beneath her skin, raw, unstable, but present. It was like trying to hold lightning in her hands. Since her training began, the forest itself had begun to respond to her presence. Flowers bloomed where she stepped. The wind shifted with her mood. And now, her energy vibrated like it had been waiting to be called home.

"I'm trying," she whispered.

"No. You're doubting," Selene countered, stepping closer. "You fear what you are, Avelyn. But your power won't bow to fear. It demands truth. Speak it."

Avelyn's jaw tightened. "I'm scared of what I'll become."

The air pulsed.

"There it is," Selene said, nodding. "Fear can't be ignored. It must be transformed."

As if summoned by her words, the wind gusted violently, whipping Avelyn's curls around her face. She lifted her arms instinctively—and the energy surged from her core like a storm released. Trees bent back, the grass flattened in a circle around her, and light burst from her fingertips in a flare of silver fire.

Selene shielded her eyes but smiled.

"Good. Again."

….

Meanwhile, Damien stood alone on the balcony of the Alpha's Hall, eyes fixed on the dark forest. The moonlight painted harsh lines across his face, but it was the weight in his chest that kept him still.

Something was wrong.

He'd felt it ever since Avelyn began her training with Selene. Not jealousy. Not even fear. Just… a deep, crawling tension in his gut. Like the earth beneath them had begun to shift, and he hadn't yet seen the crack.

Behind him, the fire crackled. He turned when he sensed movement and stilled.

The Oracle.

She stood in the center of his room, cloaked in deep blue, her silver hair unbound, her eyes as pale and distant as stars.

"You come uninvited," Damien said, stepping forward.

"You summoned me," she replied. "Not with words. But with your fear."

He crossed his arms. "Then speak plainly. What have you seen?"

The Oracle moved toward the fire and extended a hand. Flames rose higher, dancing with unnatural speed and shape. They twisted into forms, wolves fighting, a dark sky cracking with lightning, a figure cloaked in blood.

Damien's heart pounded.

"A storm approaches," she said. "One that love alone cannot weather."

He tried to hold her gaze. "You said the curse would end if I chose love."

"I said love was the key. But not all doors lead to light, Alpha."

He clenched his fists. "If you're here to speak in riddles, leave."

She turned to him then, and for a moment, her ancient mask fell away. Her voice dropped to a whisper, trembling with something close to sorrow.

"You will soon face a choice, her power or your throne. Your bond or your blood. And the betrayal… may come from the one you trust most."

The flames dimmed. The shadows thickened.

"Wait" he stepped toward her, but the Oracle vanished into mist, her final words lingering like ash in his mouth.

….

Avelyn collapsed onto the grass hours later, sweat clinging to her skin, her breath ragged.

"You did well," Selene said, crouching beside her. "But this is only the beginning. Your magic is tied to your emotions, to your connection with the Alpha. The deeper your bond grows, the more you awaken."

Avelyn stared at the sky. "So I'm becoming stronger because of him?"

Selene nodded. "Yes. And he will grow more vulnerable because of you."

Avelyn sat up. "What do you mean?"

"The curse was born from imbalance. Alpha blood thrives on dominance. Luna blood on surrender. But you…" Selene's gaze sharpened. "You are both. And that balance threatens the old order."

Avelyn swallowed hard. "Is that why Vaughn wants me dead?"

"He fears what you represent. As do others."

The wind shifted, and Avelyn stood. Her thoughts turned to Damien. Every step toward him had felt like walking a line drawn by fate, one misstep and they would both fall. And yet… she wanted to believe they were more than the prophecy. That they could write their own ending.

"I need to see him," she murmured.

Selene nodded. "Go. But don't lose yourself in him. You are not his shadow, Avelyn. You are his match."

….

Damien was already waiting when she returned.

He sat at the edge of the training ground, shirtless, bruised from his own sparring. His expression unreadable until he saw her and the fire in his eyes softened.

"You look like hell," he said.

She grinned. "You should see the trees."

He chuckled, but it faded quickly. The silence stretched, heavy with unspoken things.

"Did the Oracle visit you?" she asked quietly.

His eyes flickered. "Yes."

"And?"

"And nothing I haven't heard before. Doom. Choices. Betrayal."

She stepped closer. "Do you believe it?"

"I believe we're walking into something bigger than either of us."

She knelt beside him, brushing her fingers along his jaw. "Then we walk it together."

Damien leaned into her touch but closed his eyes. "I don't know how to protect you from it. From… me."

"You don't have to," she whispered. "Just let me stand beside you."

He pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. Her scent, her warmth, it calmed the storm inside him. But even as she rested her head on his chest, he couldn't shake the Oracle's warning.

The betrayal may come from the one you trust most.

He hated the fear it planted in him. Hated that he even let it in.

But he kissed her hair anyway. Because right now, she was real. She was his.

And he would die before letting anyone take her away.

Later that night, Avelyn dreamed of wolves running beneath twin moons. A silver crown falling into fire. And Damien bleeding in her arms.

She woke with a scream on her lips, and Damien gone from their bed.