The forest blurred around them as the mare thundered across the shadow-drenched underbrush. Damien held the reins tight with one hand, his other arm wrapped protectively around Avelyn's waist. Her back pressed against his chest, heart pounding in rhythm with the hooves below.
Behind them, the howls grew louder, closer. Rogue hunters. Not bound by council laws. The kind who didn't care if you were Alpha or Luna. Only if you bled.
"Almost there," Damien muttered.
"Where?" Avelyn called over the wind.
"You'll see."
The mare broke into a clearing, darted between two old trees woven together like twisted arms, and disappeared behind a veil of ivy. The forest shifted. Sound dimmed. The air thickened. Avelyn blinked as light bent strangely around them, it felt like stepping into another realm.
The horse slowed as they entered a narrow stone passage, its walls carved with glowing runes like the ones at the ruins.
"Where are we?" she asked, sliding off the horse as Damien dismounted.
He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he reached out and brushed aside a wall of vines. Behind it, a wide mouth of a cave yawned, ancient and humming with energy. The entrance was framed with markings that pulsed faintly as Damien stepped through.
"Sanctum Noctis," he said at last. "The Night's Sanctum. My ancestors' sacred ground. Only Bloodthorne wolves can enter."
Avelyn hesitated at the threshold. "But I'm not"
"You are now," Damien said, holding out his hand.
Her pulse skipped. She took it.
Inside, the cave widened into a cathedral of stone and silver. Moonlight filtered in through slits in the ceiling, illuminating crystals embedded in the walls. At the center stood a shallow pool, its water still and glassy, reflecting not the roof, but stars.
Avelyn's breath caught. "This place… it's beautiful."
"It's old," Damien said, his voice quiet. "Older than the pack. Older than me. It remembers bloodlines, secrets… and betrayal."
She turned to him. "Why bring me here?"
He stepped closer, shadows sliding across his face. "Because the bond isn't just pulling me to you. It's changing me."
Avelyn tilted her head. "Changing you how?"
Damien hesitated. Then he reached behind his neck and pulled the collar of his shirt aside.
Her eyes widened.
Just above his shoulder blade was a mark, identical to hers. The same crescent moon entwined with ancient script. But his glowed with faint golden edges, darker than hers.
"You were marked?" she whispered.
"It appeared the night you crossed into my land. Same night the moon turned crimson."
"But that means"
"We're not just bonded. We're chosen."
Silence thickened between them like fog.
Avelyn stepped closer, her fingers reaching toward his mark. "And yet you tried to reject it."
He didn't flinch. "I was protecting you."
"From what?"
"From me."
The words were a confession. His voice cracked like something raw had slipped free from his chest.
"I've killed for this pack. Bled for them. Lost people I loved. And every time, the bond would whisper… that my Luna would be the one to end it all."
She stared at him. "Do you want it to end?"
His eyes searched hers, fierce and soft all at once. "I don't know."
Avelyn stepped back. "Then why bring me here? Why risk both of us?"
"Because something in me needs you," he admitted. "Even if it kills me. Even if the prophecy is true."
She looked at the pool again. "Or maybe it's not about dying. Maybe it's about changing what we've inherited."
Damien exhaled. "You sound like her."
"Who?"
"My mother."
That stopped her.
"She died when I was ten," he said. "Not in battle. Not to hunters. She took her own life. Said the bloodline was poisoned. That it needed to end with me."
Avelyn's chest ached. "I'm sorry."
He looked at her then, like he wanted to say more, but the words got caught somewhere between guilt and longing.
A crack sounded behind them.
Damien whipped around, eyes glowing.
Avelyn stepped closer. "More hunters?"
"No," he said. "Worse."
The runes on the walls flared bright, then dimmed.
The pool in the center rippled, though no wind stirred.
Suddenly, the cave's air thickened, oppressive. A voice echoed, not aloud but inside their minds.
"The Luna has returned. The final bond shall be tested."
Avelyn gasped. "What the hell was that?"
Damien moved in front of her. "An ancient guardian. Every Bloodthorne Alpha must face it before claiming his Luna."
"No one told me that was part of the deal."
"Because no one thought it would ever happen again."
The cave trembled. Runes lit one by one in a slow clockwise circle. The pool glowed red.
Then a figure rose from the water.
Tall. Armored. Eyes like molten silver. A relic of a forgotten past.
It spoke again.
"Alpha Damien. Luna Avelyn. Step forward and face the trial of truth."
Damien looked at her. "We don't have to do this now."
"Yes, we do," she said. "Because whatever this bond is, be it a curse or gift, I won't run from it."
She reached for his hand.
And together, they stepped toward the water.
The moment their boots touched the luminous rim of the pool, the air shifted again. Time slowed. The cave darkened as the glowing runes dimmed, leaving only the pulsing red of the water between them and the towering guardian.
The armored figure raised a hand.
Suddenly, the pool flared with light, and Avelyn gasped as her knees buckled.
Damien caught her before she hit the stone floor.
Her body had gone cold, her limbs shaking violently. She was caught in something she couldn't see like her spirit was being pulled through a tunnel of ice and fire.
"Avelyn!" Damien lowered her gently, cradling her in his arms as she trembled against him. "Talk to me. What's happening?"
Her eyes fluttered, mouth opening but no words came. Her fingers clawed weakly at his chest, struggling to ground herself.
Then her mark blazed with sudden intensity, bright silver streaking across her shoulder like lightning and Damien felt a searing heat on his own skin. His mark was glowing too, golden and hot.
"She's not ready," the guardian's voice boomed in their minds. "Her memories remain locked. Her truth, unfinished."
"What are you doing to her?" Damien snarled, placing himself between the guardian and Avelyn's trembling form. His arms held her close, fiercely protective.
"This is her trial as much as yours," the guardian said. "But the Luna resists her past."
"She's not resisting," Damien growled. "She doesn't remember!"
The armored figure tilted its head. "Then give her something to anchor her."
Damien's gaze dropped to Avelyn. Her breathing was shallow. Her skin was too pale. His heart stuttered, panic, sharp and unrelenting, rose in his throat.
"Stay with me," he whispered, pressing his forehead against hers. "Don't you dare leave me, Avelyn. I can't do this without you."
Her lips moved.
"D… Damien?"
He exhaled, relief crashing into him. "I'm here."
"I… I saw something," she whispered, voice raw. "Wolves. Fire. Blood… My mother."
The cave quieted.
She blinked up at him, wide-eyed and lost. "It felt real."
"It was," Damien said gently. "It's your memory. Or part of it."
"I was so scared." Her voice cracked. "I thought I was going to drown in it."
"You're not alone anymore." His thumb brushed her cheek. "I've got you."
Their faces were inches apart now, the warmth of his breath mingling with hers. His eyes searched hers, storm meeting wildfire.
She reached up, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt.
For a moment, nothing else existed. No prophecy. No guardian. No war.
Just breath. Skin. A bond neither of them could explain or deny.
Damien's hand slid along her jaw, cradling her face. He leaned in slowly, eyes flicking to her lips, but stopped a breath away, trembling with restraint.
Avelyn closed her eyes, leaning in too, waiting, wanting,
But he pulled back.
Not out of rejection.
Out of fear.
"I won't take what isn't fully yours to give," he whispered. "Not like this."
Her eyes opened, pupils blown wide with heat and something far more dangerous.
Trust.
"You already have it," she said softly. "Whether I gave it or not."
His chest tightened painfully.
The runes sparked again, and this time, the guardian lowered its blade. The pool dimmed back to silver.
"The bond strengthens," the voice echoed. "But the truth remains hidden. Until the Luna accepts her origin, the curse cannot be unraveled."
Then, the figure sank back into the water without a splash.
The light returned.
The hum faded.
And they were alone again.
Damien helped Avelyn to her feet, his hands never leaving her waist.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice no longer Alpha-commanding, but tender. Raw.
She nodded shakily. "Yeah. Just… exhausted."
"Let's get out of here," he said.
But as they stepped back through the tunnel, the cave whispered one last time:
"The bond is not the curse. The truth is."