BloodMoon: Captivated by the Forbidden Lycan Alpha
Chapter 291: AN ALLIANCE SEALED IN THE LIGHT OF A NEW DAWN

Chapter 291: AN ALLIANCE SEALED IN THE LIGHT OF A NEW DAWN

{ "Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success."}

We were all seated in the Royal Garden, the dawn casting gold over the marble paths and ivy-wrapped columns. Freyr and I sat at the head of the long obsidian table carved with ancient Bay Shifter runes, our hands close, but not touching, though I could feel his steady presence like a tether grounding me through it all.

Around us sat those we trusted most: Spark beside Wave, General Mortas, Enforcer Troy, General Tiger, Ralph, Qadira, Aurora, Nessa, Rolan, Elle, and Rou. All eyes were on Spark as he sat forward and began to speak, and Elder Mercury and Elder Crystal watched over us, joined by Aurora, Nessa, and Commander Belisont.

His voice was calm, but the tension that laced it raised the hairs on my neck.

"The Omega Chamber... it rumbled," Spark began, locking eyes with me. "We felt it—Wave and I. Something ancient was stirring deep within the seal. We did not wait. We rushed to the Royal Garden and found General Mortas already securing the perimeter."

Troy gave a curt nod. "It wasn’t just a tremor; it was a warning."

Spark continued, "General Tiger and Ralph joined us moments later. That is when we saw him Rurik. He came from the sea, surrounded by corrupted creatures. The intent to destroy was written all over him."

My jaw clenched as Spark went on. "He was ready to tear through the barrier," Spark said, his hand brushing Wave’s as if grounding himself. "But then... the moon rose. She appeared. The Moon Goddess."

A hush fell across the garden. "She stopped him," Spark’s voice softened with something like awe. "She pulled the darkness from him, ripped it from his soul like it was poison. And he fell to his knees and begged."

"Begged for forgiveness," added General Mortas, his voice rough.

Spark nodded. "And she gave it to him, but not without consequence. She cleansed him, yes, but she punished him, too. He is to be confined to the Haven Chambers in Ragar Mountain among the oldest Lycans. A prison of peace, where he can live in atonement."

I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of that justice. "He was one of us once," I murmured, my voice low but clear. "He betrayed us... but he did not choose the darkness. Ashanai forced it on him."

"Even so," said Freyr quietly, "that darkness almost cost us the Omega Seal. And the pups Wave carries."

The room fell into silence again, all eyes shifting to Wave, whose hand instinctively moved to his stomach. I could feel the pulse of life within him, four heartbeats that had become the rhythm of our hope. The gravity of what Spark had shared settled over me like a mantle. Ashanai was growing stronger. Her reach had nearly taken one of our own. If not for the Moon Goddess...

I looked to Spark, to my brother, and then to Freyr. "We were not so lucky in Hanka Island." Freyr reached for my hand under the table and squeezed gently.

I took a breath, heavy with the memory that still pulsed in my bones like an ache that would not fade. Everyone at the garden table had gone quiet, waiting. The breeze shifted, carrying with it the faint scent of salt and ash. Hanka Island still lingered on me. I leaned forward, bracing my elbows on the carved obsidian. My voice came quieter than I expected.

"We felt it before we saw it," I began. "The waves. They rose unnaturally high, like the ocean itself was in pain. The sky cracked open. And from the depths of that tide, Ashanai came."

Even saying her name tasted like ash on my tongue. "She came with the sea at her back," I went on, eyes sweeping across those gathered. "With her... the Rogourau beasts, twisted by her will, creatures that should never have risen again. And behind her, darkness spread like a disease, draining the Island of its strength. She was not just invading, she was feeding."

Freyr’s hand settled lightly over mine. I drew strength from it, from him. I needed it.

"Gerod stood against her," I said, my voice thickening with grief. "The last of the Great Dragons, and the protector of Hanka Island. He unleashed everything he had—fire that lit the sky, wings that shook the mountains. While Rou and Commander Elle fought the creatures that swarmed the cliffs and forests, Gerod faced Ashanai."

"She wanted the Heart Spring," I continued. "It was hidden deep in the Haven Cave, the source of balance for the entire Island. The ancient heart of the land. Ashanai could feel its power. She wanted it needed it. To fuel whatever darkness she plans to unleash."

I shook my head slowly, anger burning behind my ribs.

"Gerod... he sent us and Freyr and me to protect the Heart Spring. We made it to the cave. We tried. Gods, we tried."

My voice faltered, and I hated the weakness in it. "But she was too strong. Her power ran like rot through the veins of the Island. The spring started to fade, swallowed by the earth as if the land itself were giving up. And Gerod... he..."

I looked down, my jaw tight.

"He gave everything. He pushed all of his essence, his flame, his soul... into Hanka Island. To keep it alive. To restore the spring. I watched him watch our last dragon fade before my eyes."

My throat tightened. "His last words were: ’I have restored the Heart Spring. I will rise again when peace prevails.’"

Silence followed, thick and reverent. "I won’t let his sacrifice be for nothing," I said, meeting every gaze around that table. "Ashanai wants destruction. She thinks fear will fracture us. But she is wrong. Hanka Island still lives. And so do we."

I looked at Freyr to everyone who had lost and still stood. "She took one sacred place from us. She will not take another." And as I sat back, the grief still raw in my chest, I knew one thing with absolute certainty: we would fight, and we would end her. For Gerod. For the realm. For every drop of peace yet to be reclaimed.

Wave stood slowly, the golden glow of the early sun catching on his silver-blue hair, casting him in a halo that felt almost too fitting. The garden quieted. Even the rustling leaves stilled. We all turned to him, my brother’s mate, the Omega guardian, and now, the bearer of new life.

I watched his hands settle protectively over his abdomen, and I felt it again—that thrum in the air, soft but powerful, like the hum of something ancient awakening. The heartbeat of his pups... and something older still.

Wave’s voice came steady, but there was a tremble beneath it. Not fear—reverence.

"I felt it," he said, his gaze sweeping across us all. "When the seal flared with light and the barrier rose against Rurik... I felt them."

His eyes turned to mine, wide with memory.

"The ancient Omegas. Their power... it is not just a relic. It is alive. Inside the seal. Inside me."

A hush fell over us, heavy with the weight of his words.

Wave swallowed. "If Ashanai gets her hands on this, it will not just be the Bay Shifter Pack that falls. It will be the entire realm. The seal was not meant for someone like her. She would twist it, consume it. Everything would burn."

My spine straightened. The thought of her touching even a sliver of that power made me sick.

Wave looked to the skies for a moment before continuing. "I think the Moon Goddess knew. She sensed that Ashanai was coming not just for the seal, but for the pups I carry. The combination of both would be a double gift. One she could never resist."

That truth settled into my bones like ice. "And that’s why she took Rurik," Wave added, voice quieter now. "She purified him and removed him from Ashanai’s reach. He was her weapon. Her loyal soldier. But now? Now she is desperate."

I stared at him, then looked to Spark beside him. My brother’s hand was on Wave’s back, steady and firm, anchoring him. Wave was not just a mate. He was not just an Omega. He was the vessel of something sacred. Something that could tip the balance, and I stood slowly, heart pounding.

"Then we protect the seal," I said, my voice low but resolute. "We protect you. And we make sure she never lays a finger on what you carry." Wave met my eyes, and in that moment, I saw it, the fire that lived behind the softness.

Aurora rose with quiet grace, and immediately, the chatter around the garden hushed. The breeze caught her silver cloak, fluttering it like a banner of moonlight. There was power in her stillness, a calm that stilled even my warrior’s heart. She inclined her head, her golden eyes meeting each of ours in turn. "May I speak?" she asked gently, though there was no mistaking the strength in her tone.

Freyr was the first to respond, his voice carrying with a confident edge. "You may," he said, rising slightly from his seat beside me. "You are the Lord of the Coven, Aurora. You need no permission here. You are welcome to address us."

She smiled at him a warm, almost knowing smile that softened the regal set of her features. Then she turned her gaze on us all.

"Thank you," she began, her voice steady and clear, "for allowing me into this sacred space. We stand now at a precipice. One where the past and the future are at odds. Where decisions will either unite us... or doom us."

I leaned forward slightly, every word drawing me in like a spell. "For centuries," Aurora continued, "there has been silence, distance, even distrust between the Bay Shifter Pack and the Paradise Coven. Old wounds. Ancient grudges. Beliefs that we are not the same." Her gaze swept over us all, resting briefly on Wave and Spark, then on Freyr, and finally on me.

"But the truth is, we are the same. We are of the realm. We bleed when it suffers. We fought together at Blood Stone Mountain. We bled together. We wontogether."

The words stirred something in my chest. The ghosts of that battlefield flickered in my memory Freyr’s roar, the fire, the blood, the way our enemies fell when we stopped seeing only difference and started fighting side by side. Aurora’s tone grew firmer. "And now... another evil rises. One is just as cruel. Just as insidious. Ashanai threatens not just your lands, but ours too. The Heart Spring. The Omega seal. The unborn. The balance itself."

I looked at Wave then, who sat silently beside Spark, a quiet storm in his own right. Aurora was right. We could not afford to fall back into old shadows.

"We cannot afford to lose any more lives," Aurora said, stepping closer, her hand lifting to her heart. "Not over pride. Not over history. And not when we know the only path forward is together."

She paused, then looked directly at me. "So I offer you this, everything the Coven can give. Our soldiers. Our magic. Our loyalty. Not because we owe you, but because it is right. And I stand here today to say: we no longer carry the banners of division. We carry only one banner piece. Unity. Victory."

I stood slowly, heart tight with the weight of her words. The sun had fully crested now, spilling light into the garden, as if the realm itself were listening. I nodded once, voice low but sure. "Then we welcome your aid, Coven Lord Aurora and the people of Paradise Coven. We welcome your people as our own. We stand together for the realm." Freyr placed his hand over mine, and I felt the pulse of something powerful.