The moon hung high over the forest, casting silver beams through a curtain of low hanging mist. The air shimmered with an otherworldly energy that made Rhea's skin prickle. Every sound seemed louder tonight the rustling leaves, the faint growl of distant wolves, the hollow echo of her own heartbeat. The dreams had returned. Vivid, surreal, and unmistakably prophetic.
This time, she wasn't a passive witness. She stood in a grand stone hall, ancient and circular, lit by violet flames suspended in air. She wasn't alone. At the center stood Callum, his eyes not the warm gold she remembered but glowing silver, like the Hollow Moon. Runes floated around him, whispering in forgotten tongues. And standing behind him, a shadow draped in ragged cloaks, red eyes glowing like embers watching.
Rhea jerked awake, gasping. Her palm flew to her belly. The child within stirred gently, a pulse of warmth flowing from her womb through her entire body. It was comforting but fleeting. The image of Callum surrounded by runes still clung to her mind like cobwebs.
She stood, moving toward the window. The Crescent Moon Pack's camp was quiet, cloaked in slumber, but Rhea knew tonight would not pass quietly. The dream had changed something. She could feel it in the earth beneath her feet, in the hum of magic threading the trees. Something was coming.
—
In another cabin across the camp, Callum sat at the edge of his bed, drenched in sweat. He had seen it too.
The same hall. The same runes. The same presence.
But more than that he had felt Rhea. Not just as a distant mate bond, not as a shadowed memory, but as a force of light colliding with his darkness. And for the first time in weeks, he wasn't afraid of it.
He stood, moving to the door, the ache in his chest pulling him forward like a tether.
—
They met beneath the ancient wolf statue in the heart of the camp. The place where generations of Crescent Moon Alphas had sworn oaths to protect the pack. Tonight, under the moonlight, it felt like sacred ground again.
"You saw it too," Rhea said, voice low.
Callum nodded. "The hall. The runes. The shadow."
Their eyes locked, and something between them shifted. The silence that followed was thick with unspoken truths and memories clawing their way back to the surface.
"It's not just a dream, Callum," Rhea whispered. "It's a memory. Or... a warning."
He reached for her hand. She let him.
"Then we face it together. No more running. No more doubt."
A wolf howled in the distance long, mournful, and unfamiliar. Rhea stiffened.
"That wasn't one of ours."
Before either could speak, a ripple of energy surged through the ground. The statue cracked. A low hum vibrated in the air, the same frequency as the whispers in their dreams.
From the shadows, Lysandra emerged. Her cloak fluttered like smoke.
"The bond has awakened," she said simply.
Callum stared at her. "The bond between us? Or something older?"
Lysandra's gaze was unreadable. "Both. The dreams you share are echoes of the First Alpha and his mate the origin of the bond that binds all wolves. Your child is connected to that thread. That's why the Shadow Alpha wants it. Not for power. For rebirth."
Rhea's heart thudded. "Rebirth of what?"
"The original curse. The hunger. The Hollow Moon. The Shadow Alpha is not just a being he is a cycle. And your child... is the end or beginning of it."
Lightning cracked across the sky. The statue split down the center, revealing a glowing crystal embedded in its core. A spiral symbol pulsed faintly on its surface the same one from their dreams.
Callum stepped forward. "What is that?"
Lysandra looked up at the moon. "The Bondstone. It was placed here to guard the memory of the First Flame. Only those with awakened bonds can reveal it. You two just did."
Rhea's breath caught. The prophecy was real. All of it.
The shadows moved behind Lysandra. Wolves gaunt, black eyed, and cloaked in smoke emerged from the tree line. The Shadow Pack.
Callum growled, stepping in front of Rhea.
Lysandra didn't flinch. "You'll need more than claws. Protect the stone. Let the bond guide you."
The first attacker lunged. Callum shifted mid-air, fur rippling silver in the moonlight. His teeth sank into the creature's throat as they crashed to the ground. Rhea backed toward the statue, palm glowing with soft blue fire instinct, not spellcraft.
Three more wolves charged. Lysandra raised her hand, chanting. Vines erupted from the soil, snaring the beasts mid-leap.
Rhea pressed her hand against the Bondstone. A pulse rippled outward, sending shockwaves through the clearing. Callum paused, snarling as the energy washed over him.
And then it happened.
Their memories aligned snapping into place like stars in a constellation. They saw the first time they met beneath the Blood Moon. The night he marked her. The night he forgot.
They remembered everything.
Callum looked at her, wide-eyed. "Rhea... I never stopped loving you. Not for a second. I just couldn't remember."
Tears welled in her eyes. "I know. And I never stopped believing you would."
The Bondstone pulsed again, this time brighter. The ground shook, and the Shadow Pack screamed as light erupted from the stone, incinerating them in a burst of silver flame.
Silence fell.
Lysandra knelt beside the cracked statue, placing a hand over her heart. "The bond is restored. But this was just the first wave. The Shadow Alpha knows you're awakening. He will come in full force next time. And he will not stop until the child is his."
Callum helped Rhea to her feet, never letting go of her hand. "Then we stop him. Together."
The moon dipped behind clouds, but the light between them did not fade. For the first time since the Hollow Moon's rise, hope flickered like a flame refusing to die.
And somewhere deep in the Vale, the Shadow Alpha stirred, his red eyes snapping open.
The bond had awakened.
And so had he.