Beneath the Alpha's Moon
Chapter 165: What Just Happened?

Chapter 165: What Just Happened?

LUCIAN’S P.O.V. .

The journey into the forest was a comedy of errors wrapped in the seriousness of doom. Elizabeth led the way, muttering incantations under her breath while clutching an ancient-looking spellbook to her chest. She looked more like a nervous intern about to give her first presentation than the all-powerful witch we all knew her to be.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Rylan asked for the tenth time, squinting at the dense canopy above. His Beta instincts were clearly not vibing with the whole, ’we’re dragging two unconscious people into the middle of nowhere to wake them up as potential signal of doom’ scenario.

Elizabeth whirled around, her red hair glowing faintly in the moonlight. "Unless you want to try finding a ’better place,’ Beta, I suggest you let me concentrate."

Rylan held up a hand in mock surrender. "Alright, alright. No need to get witchy about it."

Juliette snorted, elbowing Adrian, who was walking beside her with his usual infuriating calm. "Do you see what I had to deal with when I was here? And people wonder why I drink."

Adrian, ever the unbothered vampire, merely smiled. "Patience, my love. Even the most irritating of companions can prove useful in time."

I couldn’t help but smirk. "Does that include you, Adrian? Or are you the exception?"

"Touché," he replied, inclining his head.

Behind us, Luke’s unconscious body was being carried by Rylan, while I had the honor of carrying Teresa. My mate. My fierce, sassy, infuriatingly lovable mate who’d somehow managed to get herself cursed alongside her brother. Even unconscious, she looked like she was plotting something. Her lips were slightly parted, her brows furrowed like she was dreaming about more ways to make me fall for her harder.

"Careful there, Alpha," Juliette teased as she noticed me staring. "Drool on her and she might murder you when she wakes up."

"Shut up, Jules."

We finally arrived at a clearing that seemed to hum with an ancient, almost tangible energy. The air was thick, heavy, and the ground pulsed faintly beneath our feet. Elizabeth stopped abruptly and turned to face us, her expression grim.

"This is it," she announced.

"Great," Rylan muttered. "Love a good cursed forest vibe."

Adrian stepped forward, his presence immediately commanding attention. "Elizabeth, proceed. We’re all here to ensure this goes smoothly."

"And if it doesn’t?" Juliette asked, crossing her arms.

Adrian’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. "Then we improvise." Thank God they left their demon baby with Katrina because a very spooky feeling was crawling up my spine, and I didn’t need him here to make it more scarier.

Elizabeth knelt in the center of the clearing, motioning for us to place Teresa and Luke on the ground before her. As I laid Teresa down, I hesitated, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face.

"You’ve got this, right?" I whispered, more to myself than to anyone else.

Elizabeth began chanting, her voice low and melodic, weaving an intricate spell that seemed to draw the very life out of the forest. The trees bent inward, their branches trembling as if bowing to her power.

"Uh, is it supposed to do that?" Rylan asked, his voice rising with unease.

"Shut up, Rylan," Juliette hissed, though her own stance had shifted, ready for a fight.

Suddenly, the earth beneath us began to quake. A deep, resonant rumble that felt like the heartbeat of the planet itself.

"Okay, that’s definitely not normal!" I shouted over the noise, steadying myself.

Elizabeth’s chanting grew louder, her words almost lost in the chaos. Teresa and Luke’s bodies began to glow, veins of golden light spreading across their skin like a map of constellations.

"Lucian," Ares growled in the back of my mind, his tone a combination of awe and alarm. "Something ancient stirs."

"Yeah, no kidding," I muttered, watching as Teresa’s back arched, and strange wings began unfurling in a cascade of shimmering leaves from her back. Luke’s wings followed, crystalline and refracting the light in a riot of colors.

Rylan let out a low whistle. "Well, that’s... not what I expected."

"You and me both," I replied, though my voice was tight with awe and a creeping sense of dread.

The transformation wasn’t gentle. It was raw, chaotic, and overwhelming. The ground split open, vines and flowers erupting in their wake. The air grew thick with the scent of earth and magic, a heady mix that made it hard to breathe.

Teresa’s eyes snapped open first, glowing with an unnatural light. She sat up slowly, her movements fluid and otherworldly. Her gaze landed on me, and for a moment, I thought she didn’t recognize me.

"Lucian," she said, her voice a strange mix of her usual sass and something... older.

"Teresa," I breathed, relief flooding through me.

Her lips curved into a smirk. "Miss me?" Goddess, what was going on?

Before I could respond, Luke stirred, his transformation equally as mesmerizing. He looked at Teresa, then at the rest of us, his expression a mixture of awe and irritation.

"Okay," he said, his voice dry. "What the hell did you all do to us?"

"Great question," Teresa said, flexing her fingers as vines sprouted at her command. "Because I feel like I just got upgraded to demigod status, and nobody sent me a memo."

Elizabeth, looking pale but triumphant, stood shakily. "You’re... Fae Titans. Children of Old Magic. Legends say you’re supposed to be guardians of life... and chaos."

"Chaos?" Luke echoed, his tone darkening. I didn’t like the sound of that.

"That’s cool," Teresa muttered, inspecting her shimmering wings. "I always knew I was special."

"Teresa," I said, stepping closer. "Are you... okay?" She sounded strange. Really strange.

She tilted her head, her glowing eyes meeting mine. "Define ’okay.’ Because I feel like I could grow a forest or level it, depending on my mood. So, yeah. I’m peachy."

Luke groaned, rubbing his temples. "This is insane. I have a wife and kids to think about. How am I supposed to explain this to them? This is not real is it? I most be dreaming."

"Tell them it’s an extended cosplay," Rylan offered helpfully.

Luke shot him a glare that could’ve withered the vines at his feet.

Adrian, who had been silent until now, stepped forward. "I have heard about your kind but had never seen one before. This is not a curse or a punishment. It’s a calling. Why did someone take the pains to keep you hidden?"

"A calling?" Teresa echoed, arching a brow. "Sounds boring."

Adrian’s lips twitched in amusement. "Oh, I like this new version of you already."

Juliette smirked, leaning against a tree. "Well, this just got a whole lot more interesting."

Teresa turned to me, her expression softening slightly. "So, Alpha, what now?"

I hesitated, unsure of how to compute what I was witnessing. But then I looked at her—at the fierce woman I’d fallen for—and I knew we’d figure it out.

"Now," I said, slowly walking up to her and taking her hand, "we find out what the hell just happened."

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