Chapter 10 Ancient Truths

Selene led us deeper into the forest than I'd ever been, following paths that seemed to exist only when she stepped on them. The trees grew larger and more ancient the farther we went, their branches forming a canopy so thick that moonlight barely penetrated the gloom.

"Where exactly are we going?" Luca asked after we'd been walking for nearly an hour.

"The Nexus," Selene replied without looking back. "One of the few places on Earth where the veil between worlds is thin enough for proper training."

"Worlds?" I stumbled over a root and Luca's hand shot out to steady me. "What other worlds?"

"The one your power comes from, for starters." She paused at what looked like a solid wall of thorns and pressed her palm against one of the twisted vines. "The realm where the first spirits chose to bind themselves to human bloodlines, creating the Moonbound."

The thorn wall shimmered and dissolved, revealing a hidden valley bathed in silver light that had nothing to do with the moon. In the center stood a circle of standing stones, each one carved with symbols that hurt to look at directly.

"This is impossible," Luca breathed. "We're still in the same forest, but..."

"But the laws of physics work differently here," Selene finished. "Space and time are more... flexible. It's how I've managed to stay hidden from hunters for the past few centuries."

I stared at the stone circle, feeling drawn to it in the same way I'd been drawn to the forest that first night. The symbols carved into the stones seemed to pulse in rhythm with my heartbeat, and I could feel the power inside me responding to their call.

"What is this place really?"

"A sanctuary. A prison. A doorway." Selene moved to the center of the circle and gestured for us to join her. "It depends on your perspective."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only answer I can give you until you're ready to hear the truth." She looked at me with those ancient eyes. "Tell me, Aria-what do you know about the origin of werewolves?"

I glanced at Luca, who shrugged. "The usual stories. Curses, viral infections, genetic mutations. Nobody really knows for sure."

"All wrong," Selene said calmly. "Werewolves exist because of the Moonbound. Your ancestors created them."

The world tilted again. "What?"

"Thousands of years ago, the first Moonbound made a bargain with spirits from another realm. They wanted guardians, protectors who could defend human settlements from the darker things that stalked the night." Selene walked to one of the stones and traced a symbol with her finger. "The spirits agreed, but at a price. They would bind themselves to willing humans, granting them strength and speed and the ability to change their form. In return, the Moonbound would serve as their anchors to this world."

"So werewolves are..."

"Possessed humans," Luca said quietly, his face pale. "We're all possessed."

"Not possessed," Selene corrected. "Partnered. The relationship was meant to be symbiotic. The spirits gained physical form and the humans gained power. But over time, the balance shifted. The Moonbound bloodline grew weaker with each generation, while the wolf spirits grew stronger."

I felt sick. "So when werewolves look at me, they're not just seeing their leader. They're seeing their creator."

"And their potential destroyer." Selene's expression was grave. "The spirits have been bound to this world for millennia. They can't return to their realm without a Moonbound to sever the connection. But if that severance is done incorrectly..."

"Civil war," I whispered, remembering Marcus's words.

"Worse. The spirits would be torn from their human hosts violently. Most of the werewolves would die, and those who survived would be... changed. Driven mad by the sudden absence of their other half."

Luca was staring at his hands like he'd never seen them before. "You're saying I have some kind of spirit living inside me?"

"I'm saying you ARE that spirit, as much as you are Luca Thorn. The integration should have been seamless generations ago." Selene looked at him with something like pity. "But the Moonbound bloodline's absence has created... complications."

"What kind of complications?"

Before she could answer, a howl echoed across the valley-not from outside, but from within the circle itself. The stones began to glow more brightly, and I felt the power inside me surge in response.

"They've found us," Selene said grimly.

"Who?" I demanded.

"The Northern Pack. Your mother's allies." She moved to stand beside one of the larger stones, her hands beginning to glow with silver light that matched my own. "They can sense you now that your power is awakening. And they're not here to talk."

Shapes began to materialize within the stone circle-wolves with red eyes and foam flecking their muzzles. But these weren't the organized pack members I'd seen before. These creatures moved with a feral desperation that spoke of madness.

"What's wrong with them?" Luca asked, his voice tight with concern.

"They're infected," Selene said simply. "Your mother has been experimenting with ways to sever the spirit bonds artificially. These are her failures."

The lead wolf-larger than the others and covered in scars-fixed its red gaze on me and spoke in a voice like grinding stone: "Give us the Moonbound, and we will make her death quick."

"Over my dead body," Luca snarled, and I watched in fascination as his form began to shift. His bones lengthened, his muscles bulged, and silver fur sprouted along his arms and face. In seconds, he stood before me in a form that was half-human, half-wolf-beautiful and terrifying in equal measure.

"That can be arranged," the scarred wolf replied, and then they were charging.

Luca met the first wave with claws and fangs, moving with inhuman speed and grace. But there were too many of them, and more were materializing with each passing second.

"Aria," Selene called out, her voice strained as she fought to maintain some kind of barrier around the stones. "You have to choose. Use your power to fight them, or let us all die."

"But I can't control it-"

"Then learn. Now."

Another wave of the infected wolves broke through Selene's barrier. I watched in horror as one of them got past Luca's defenses and raked its claws across his chest. Blood bloomed across his shirt, and he stumbled backward with a grunt of pain.

That's when my control snapped again.

But this time, instead of wild light erupting from every part of my body, I felt the power flow like water through carefully constructed channels. I reached out with my mind and touched the essence of the wolf spirits bound within the infected creatures.

They were in agony. The artificial severance had left them half-mad with pain, caught between worlds and belonging to neither. Without the stabilizing presence of a Moonbound, they were slowly tearing themselves apart.

*I can fix this,* I realized. *I can se