CHAPTER 8 : " The Rise of the Lunar Queen "

The bells echoed through the fortress like a death knell.

Selene stood still, her breath caught in her throat.

In the distance, beyond the black stone walls of her keep, the treetops blazed with torchlight. And through the thickening fog, the outline of an army sharpened, figures armored in polished steel, bearing crimson banners with Cassian’s sigil.

He’d returned. Not alone.

At his side stood Elder Malrik, the highest of the Elders’ council. Beside him was Liora, her face cold and unreadable.

Ryker appeared at Selene’s side, his blade already drawn. “They’ve aligned with the Elders. He’s brought them to unseat you.”

Selene’s voice came low. “Then let them try.”

The Moon Keep’s great hall filled with her inner circle. Beta Callen. Gamma Irisa. Ryker. Warriors and advisors stood in tense silence as Selene paced before the war table.

She slammed her hand down. “They seek to challenge my leadership. Good. Then I’ll give them a stage.”

“Selene,” Callen said cautiously, “they’re not just attacking with force. They’re invoking the ancient rite. A Trial of the Alpha. One we cannot refuse.”

The room fell quiet.

The Trial hadn’t been invoked in over a century. It was brutal. Public. Decided not by war, but by the gods and blood.

“Then I’ll meet them,” she said. “At dawn.”

Irisa stepped forward, voice trembling. “Selene, you’re powerful—but Malrik and the Council have the backing of the Ancients. If you fall ... " 

“.... I won’t,” Selene interrupted. “Because I was never meant to kneel. I was meant to rule.”

That night, she walked alone to the sacred Moonborn sanctum. The sky above was thick with storm clouds, the moon veiled.

The altar stood at the center, ancient runes carved into obsidian.

Selene knelt before it.

She cut her palm again and let her blood fall onto the stone.

“Moon Mother,” she whispered, “I was born under your light. Give me your strength now. Let me burn with what was stolen from me.”

Lightning crackled across the sky.

Wind howled through the trees.

And then.

A voice. Not human. Not wolf.

Older. Deeper. Divine.

> “You dare claim the flame that scorched the stars?”

“I do,” she whispered. “Because it is mine.”

The altar blazed to life, engulfed in silver fire.

Selene screamed ... not from pain, but from the force of magic searing itself into her bones. Her body lifted, suspended in moonlight.

And when she landed, she was no longer the same.

Her eyes now shimmered with silver-gold light. A crescent moon glowed on her forehead. Her heartbeat echoed with divine power.

Dawn broke, but no warmth came.

The field was silent as Selene stepped into the sacred circle, flanked by Ryker and her pack. Across from her stood Cassian, Elder Malrik, and their followers.

Thousands surrounded them; packs from all territories had come to witness the Trial.

Malrik’s voice thundered. “By the laws of the Ancients, we call the Trial of the Alpha. To determine who is fit to lead.”

Cassian stepped forward. “She’s no alpha. She’s a creature of chaos.”

Selene met his eyes, steady and unshaken. “And you’re a coward who fears a woman stronger than you’ll ever be.”

A low growl rippled from his chest.

Malrik raised his staff. “Then the Trial begins.”

Three phases. Power. Wisdom. Loyalty.

The first ; a contest of strength.

Cassian shifted first ; his wolf form massive, jet black, and brutal.

Selene stood still, her human form glowing with moonlight. Then.

She exploded.

Her transformation was blinding... white-gold fur, eyes of fire, fangs long and wicked. She wasn’t just a wolf.

She was Lunar-born.

They collided like storms.

Cassian was fierce, but Selene moved like lightning. Every blow she struck cracked the ground beneath them. The air itself rippled with power. When she pinned him, teeth at his throat, the crowd gasped.

“Yield,” she snarled.

He spat blood. “Never.”

She bit down , just enough to draw blood , before rising and walking away.

Round One: Selene.

Next came wisdom.

The Elders presented three ancient riddles, drawn from sacred text.

Cassian struggled through the first, guessed the second... and failed the third.

Selene spoke her answers calmly. With grace. With power behind every syllable.

Malrik’s scowl deepened.

Round two : Selene 

This was the cruelest.

A prisoner was brought forward.

Callen. Her beta.

Bound and bloodied.

“You will choose,” Malrik said coldly. “Save him… or step into the fire that grants final Alpha ascension. Only one path.”

Cassian hesitated.

Selene didn’t.

She turned to Callen, whose face was streaked with blood and tears.

“I will not choose between power and my people,” she said. “I choose both.”

And then she stepped into the fire.

The flame engulfed her.

People screamed.

But Selene didn’t burn.

She emerged… changed.

Her aura shook the earth. Her voice rang like thunder. “I am not yours to command. I am the Lunar Queen.”

The fire around her exploded outward, sending the Elders staggering.

Malrik fell to his knees.

The Trial was over.

Silence fell.

The ancient spirits themselves descended. Glowing forms of white wolves, walking through the circle.

They bowed.

To Selene.

Then the spirits raised their voices in unison:

> “The Moonborn has risen. The Queen has returned.”

Selene stood tall, golden circlet forming above her head, hovering, pulsing.

Ryker knelt first. “My queen.”

The crowd followed.

One by one...wolves bowed.

Even those who once followed Cassian.

Even Liora, who dropped her torch and fell to her knees, weeping.

Cassian stood alone. Rage boiling.

He fled, vanishing into the woods with a snarl.

And Selene?

She smiled. Cold. Powerful. Unbreakable.

That night, celebration rocked the Moon Keep. Bonfires burned high. Songs were sung. The Lunar Queen had risen.

Selene stood on the tower balcony, the circlet still pulsing above her. Ryker wrapped his arms around her from behind, his mouth brushing her shoulder.

“You did it,” he whispered. “You’ve claimed your throne.”

But Selene’s smile faded. “Something’s 

wrong.”

She turned, and suddenly collapsed, clutching her chest.

Ryker caught her, panicked. “Selene?”

Her skin glowed too bright, her veins lit with gold.

And then.

The Moonborn circlet seared into her skin, fusing to her forehead.

Her scream tore through the night.

And from the shadows, a figure emerged.

Elder Malrik, bleeding and broken, holding a black talisman.

“I warned you,” he hissed. “The Moonborn gift is cursed. And now… you are bound.”

Selene’s eyes flew open. No longer silver.

Black. Pitch black.

The Moon had turned its back.