The third moon hovered over the ruins, its silver light warped, as though it filtered through memory rather than atmosphere. And as it rose, so too did Elara's heartbeat. Not with fear—but recognition.
She had seen this moon before.
Not in the sky.
But in her dreams.
In them, she stood alone, cloaked in white fur, eyes glowing silver. Before her were two altars: one of stone, cracked and ancient, and one of bone, fresh and warm.
In the dream, she chose the bone.
And when she did—
The world burned.
"Elara?" Kaelen's voice was barely a whisper.
She blinked, his face swimming into view. "I… I know this place."
"We were never here before," he said, frowning.
"No. I was."
She stepped forward slowly, arms out, letting the wind wash over her. It whispered names she couldn't place, prayers in languages long lost. The pendant around her neck flickered.
Kaelen reached for her, but the mist parted before her like it recognized her presence. And then, in the silence, a shape emerged from the stones—an obelisk, wrapped in ivy and time.
Aiden stared. "What is that?"
Elara didn't answer.
She knew.
It was the Temple of the Bonded Flame.
A place erased from werewolf history. Said to be the origin of the first Alpha pair—not one, but two souls who forged the primal Oath.
She reached the temple's threshold.
Kaelen called out. "Wait. This isn't safe."
But Elara stepped across the boundary.
And suddenly—everything changed.
The light dimmed.
The mist cleared.
And time stopped.
Within the temple, Elara stood alone.
Before her, a mirror rippled—not glass, but memory.
Her reflection smiled.
Not kindly.
Not human.
Not her.
"You chose the Oath once, Elara."
"And you chose to break it."
Elara shook her head. "I never—"
"Not in this life," the mirror said. "But in the first."
Images flashed across the temple walls—Elara standing in battle beside Kaelen, blood on her claws, fire in her eyes. Then alone, kneeling in betrayal. Offering the blood of her mate to something ancient.
To seal the gate.
"You were the Bonded," the mirror said. "The fire to his moon. The heart of the pact."
Elara's hands trembled.
"I don't remember."
"But he does," the mirror whispered. "And he's hiding it from you."
Outside the temple, Kaelen staggered back as the mist thickened. Aiden pulled his blade again.
"What the hell is going on?"
Kaelen didn't respond.
He stared at the third moon, eyes wide.
"She's waking up," he said.
"Who?"
"Elara," he said, his voice cracked. "The real Elara. The one I—"
He stopped himself.
But Aiden saw.
"You lied to her," he said.
Kaelen said nothing.
Inside, Elara stepped toward the mirror.
"What am I supposed to do?"
The reflection smirked.
"Choose."
Two paths shimmered before her.
On one: the Gate reforged, Kaelen bound inside it forever.
On the other: the gate shattered, but the gods sealed by a different sacrifice—
Her own.
Elara fell to her knees, breath shallow.
She remembered now.
The first time she made this choice… she chose him.
She chose to bind Kaelen in the Hollow, to stop the gods from rising.
It cost her everything.
It cost him his soul.
And now… she had the chance to choose again.
Kaelen broke through the mist, entering the temple.
"Elara!"
She turned to face him, eyes filled with tears and fire.
"I remember."
He stopped in his tracks.
"I chose you once," she whispered. "And damned us all."
Kaelen approached slowly. "We didn't have a choice. We did what we had to."
"No," she said. "You chose duty. I chose love."
She lifted the pendant.
It now burned red.
Aiden reached the threshold of the temple but was unable to cross.
A force stopped him.
A wall of ancient magic.
He pounded on it. "What's happening?!"
Kaelen looked at Elara, agony written on his face.
"I tried to protect you from it. From who you were."
"You lied to me."
"To give you a future. One that wasn't chained to the Oath."
"But I am chained to it," she said softly. "We both are."
And with that, she stepped into the center of the temple and called the flame.
The pendant exploded with light.
The temple erupted.
And Kaelen screamed.
He rushed forward—
—but she was gone.
In her place stood a column of fire.
And from within it—a new Elara emerged.
Eyes silver and gold.
Cloaked in the Bonded Flame.