< Seraphina's P.O.V. >
Warmth.
It cradled me like a lullaby, like the scent of the moon-kissed woods after rain. My body was heavy, but not in pain. For the first time in what felt like forever, I wasn't scared. I wasn't running. I was just... held.
My cheek was pressed against something strong and warm — the steady thrum of a heartbeat beneath my ear. Fingers, impossibly gentle, stroked my hair.
I stirred slowly, blinking away the remnants of sleep, only to find myself in a place beyond words. The ceiling above me shimmered like the night sky, only closer — as if the stars had lowered themselves to watch over me. Silver vines twisted through marble pillars, and glowing flora hummed with life around us. A scent like divine incense floated in the air — cool, celestial, calming.
And then I tilted my head and saw him.
The being whose lap I had been sleeping on — his silver hair fell in waves over his shoulders, eyes glowing like twin moons, skin kissed by starlight itself. My breath caught in my throat.
"Father...", I whispered.
Lunaris, the God of Werewolves — my divine father — smiled, his gaze tender as he looked down at me.
"You drool in your sleep.", he teased gently, his voice like the distant howl of a sacred wolf — deep, resonant, eternal.
Heat rushed to my cheeks. "I do not—!"
"Oh, but you do~", he chuckled. "Like a little pup."
Before I could hide my face completely in embarrassment, a soft presence made itself known. A priestess — tall, ethereal, with glowing robes woven from moonlight — approached with a warm glass of milk in her hand.
"You must be thirsty, child.", she said, offering the glass.
My fingers trembled as I took it, realizing how dry my throat was. I drank it slowly, the warmth soothing something deep inside me.
Lunaris watched me in silence for a moment, then asked, "Why did you love him, Seraphina?"
I blinked. "Who?"
"Rowan."
The name hit me like a splash of cold water. I looked down at the now-empty glass. "I—I don't know. Even when everything in me flinched, when his scent felt like thorns, I loved him. Even when he frightened me... I stayed."
His gaze deepened. "Your wolf rejected him, didn't she?"
I looked up at him, startled. "My wolf?"
He arched an elegant brow. "You didn't know you had one?"
I shook my head slowly. "I mean, I assumed I did... like the others. But she never came out. I never shifted. Not once."
Lunaris leaned forward, intrigued. "How did you call to her?"
I shrugged. "Like everyone else. I stood in the Lykae temple when I was sixteen and shouted, 'My wolf!' as loud as I could."
He blinked. "You shouted at her?"
I squirmed under his stare. "That's what the priest told us to do. Rowan did the same. After that, his wolf came out. He started training, sparring, even mind-linking. But when I called out like that... nothing happened."
There was a pause — then a loud, unrestrained laugh burst from Lunaris' lips. "By the moons! That priest is an imbecile!"
I frowned. "What?"
He waved a hand, still chuckling. "You're my daughter. A divine werewolf. You think your wolf will respond to barking orders like a soldier? No. She's sacred. Unique."
I felt something flutter in my chest.
He leaned in, voice softening. "Close your eyes, Sera. Mind-link with her. Listen for her howl."
I hesitated… then obeyed.
Darkness behind my eyes. My breath evened. I reached inward, past the static, past the old doubts, and then — like a whisper wrapped in thunder — I heard her.
"So, you finally came."
I gasped in my mind.
"You abandoned me, Seraphina. Years passed. I howled, and you never heard me."
"I didn't know...", I whispered in my thoughts. "I was calling, but…"
"You called like a child calls the moon to fall from the sky. But I've been here. Waiting."
Tears prickled behind my lids. "I'm sorry."
"Then come. I've waited long enough."
A warmth surged through my bones. My skin tingled, spine arching. Light — not fire, not pain — shimmered beneath my skin as fur, silver-white like starlight, burst across my body. My hands became paws. My heart beat in rhythm with something ancient and wild.
And then I was her. We were one.
I stood — no, she stood — in the Celestial Sanctuary. My wolf. My true self.
A majestic, silver-furred she-wolf, eyes glowing with moonlit power, Sylara, my own wolf form.
Lunaris watched, pride shining in his eyes. "You see? She was always there. Your silence wasn't her rejection. It was your doubt."
I stepped forward, then shifted again, back into my human form. The transformation was painless — seamless.
I touched my chest, breathless. "So… now I'm complete?"
Lunaris nodded. "You are now a true divine werewolf. Which means—"
"I'll find my fated mate?"
"Yes.", he smiled. "And he will know you, body and soul."
I felt joy bubble up in my chest. "I have a wolf! I can shift. I'm complete.", I laughed, a bright, raw laugh. My fingers trembled with wonder.
But then… something faltered.
Lunaris tilted his head. "What is it?"
"I miss them..", I whispered. "Papa. Mama. My home. I… I miss my parents."
His expression grew solemn.
He looked past me — past the veil of safety and stars — as if he saw what lay ahead.
He nodded slowly. "Your fate is calling, daughter. The next part of your journey awaits. And it will not be easy."
I clenched my fists. "But I'm ready."
"I know you are."
He rose, wrapping his arms around me for a long moment. Then he raised a glowing hand. The sanctuary shimmered around us. Stars realigned, and moonlight gathered beneath our feet.
"Let us return to the Lykae."
***************************************
In a blink—a simple blink—we stood on solid earth again. The divine winds that carried us from the sanctuary to this mortal plane vanished into silence. My bare feet touched ground, no longer heavenly marble, but something cold, damp, and brittle beneath my soles. Dust. Rubble. Ashes.
I turned to Lunaris, a question trembling on my lips before it even reached my mind. My heart constricted.
"This isn't Lykae Mansion..", I whispered, blinking rapidly as my gaze swept across the ruined structure before me. Cracks ran through the once-majestic pillars, and vines had taken root where laughter once echoed. "This… this is a broken palace. Not my home."
Lunaris remained quiet.
"Father.", I said again, louder this time. "This isn't my home… is it?", My voice cracked.
Still, he said nothing. His lips pressed into a thin line, his golden eyes clouded with something I couldn't read—Grief? Guilt?
My stomach dropped, and my knees weakened. "Answer me!", I cried, my voice sharp like a child desperate for truth. "Tell me this isn't Lykae Mansion!"
But silence greeted me. Silence and smoke.
My heart knew before my mind accepted it.
"No… no, no, no—", I bolted toward the broken gates, the scent of cinders sharp against my nose. "Papa? Mama!" I shouted. "I'm here! Come out, please!", My voice echoed through the cold stone halls. "Where are you? I'm home!"
But only wind answered me. Not the warm laughter of my father, not the soft humming of my mother. Only wind… and dust.
I ran faster, weaving through collapsed corridors and shattered windows, my eyes burning as tears blurred my sight.
"Mama! Papa!", I screamed, louder now, hoarse from desperation.
My foot caught something—solid, heavy. I stumbled forward, landing hard against the debris-strewn floor.
And then I saw it.
A body. Burned, twisted, unmoving. Skin blackened, hair scorched away. The stench of death curled into my nose like smoke wrapping around my throat.
I screamed—a sound so primal, it didn't feel like mine.
"No, no, no!", I whispered, crawling toward it. My knees scraped across broken stone and burnt wood. I reached out, trembling, and my fingers brushed against a silver chain—partially buried beneath the ash.
A locket.
My father's locket.
I choked.
"Papa…", my voice shattered into pieces. I clutched the locket to my chest and let out a cry that tore through the stillness. "Please… come back. Please, both of you—come back to me…", my tears fell on the body like baptismal rain, but no miracle came. Just silence. Heavy, cruel silence.
I pressed my forehead to the scorched chest, sobbing like the little girl I once was, back before fate had carved so many cracks into my soul. "You promised..", I whispered. "You said you'd always be there. You both promised…"
Lunaris stood behind me. I felt his presence before he even touched me. His warm hand settled on my head—a comfort, a wound.
"Please…", I turned to him, face soaked, voice ragged. "Please, Father… bring them back. I know you can. You're a god—you can do anything. Revive them. Please…"
He said nothing.
"Please!", I begged again. "I'll give you anything! My powers, my life—just give me my parents back!"
He looked at me, golden eyes dimmed with sorrow, and said gently, "I… can't."
But in his silence, something stirred. I knew.
He wasn't saying he couldn't. He was saying he wouldn't.
"Why?", I cried. "Why?! Why not?!"
But I already felt the answer crawling into my bones.
They're gone.
They're gone, and I wasn't there to save them.
I clutched the locket to my chest again and collapsed into Lunaris's arms, weeping until my cries were hoarse whispers. "Papa… Mama…"
Lunaris wrapped his arms around me tightly as though trying to keep the pieces of me from breaking further. He rested his chin on my head and whispered, "I'm sorry… my star."
My vision spun. The world grew dark at the edges. My soul felt too heavy for my body to carry. My breath hitched—once, twice—and then everything faded.
Darkness swallowed me.
***************************************
< Narrator's P.O.V. >
When the silence had settled like a final breath over the ruins of Lykae Mansion, a soft, silver glow began to unfold across the broken stones and ash-laden air. The light did not come from the sun or stars, but from something far more ancient—far more eternal.
It was as if the very moonlight had descended in its purest form, washing away the shadows of despair with a glow that was gentle, yet powerful enough to still time itself.
A figure emerged from within that luminance—radiant, serene, and otherworldly. Each step she took was soundless, but the earth itself seemed to hum in reverence.
Her hair cascaded like a waterfall of moonlight, flowing and untethered, as though kissed by the tides. Her skin glimmered with the sheen of polished pearl, untouched by mortal imperfection. And her eyes—those ancient eyes—held the weight of the oceans, full of both sorrow and serenity.
She came to a stillness beside Lunaris, who cradled Seraphina's unconscious form as though holding a fallen star.
Lunaris looked up, the sorrow etched in his face shifting into something softer—something close to relief.
"Selanora…", he murmured, reverence lacing his tone. "You've come."
The Moon Goddess—the divine consort of Lunaris, and the spiritual mother of Seraphina—stood before them, her presence casting warmth into the chilled air like the hush of nightfall.
Her luminous gaze dropped to the unconscious girl in Lunaris's arms. Tear-streaked. Pale. Unmoving.
She knelt beside them, her robes flowing like liquid starlight across the ground. Her fingers, glowing with divine grace, brushed against Seraphina's forehead.
"Was it necessary to give her so much pain?", Selanora asked softly, her voice a balm—like lullabies sung to crying children under moonlight. There was no anger in her words. Only heartbreak.
Lunaris held his daughter a little closer. "She is the divine protector of this realm..", he replied, eyes glistening. "She will become the beacon of hope when the shadows come. But first, she must learn to protect without leaning on others. She must rise—independent, unwavering."
Selanora's brows furrowed faintly, sorrow threading through her radiance. "She is the kindest soul I've ever touched..", she said. "There is so much light in her heart."
"Yes..", Lunaris said, his voice a mixture of grief and faith. "And it's that very light that must grow strong enough to illuminate an entire world. Even when she feels alone. Even when she is broken."
The Moon Goddess sighed, then leaned down toward the sleeping girl. Her hands—gentle as snowflakes—cradled Seraphina's face.
She pressed a kiss to her brow. Divine energy shimmered where her lips met skin.
Then, with all the tenderness of a mother to her child, Selanora whispered, "May you achieve everything in life through your own strength, Seraphina. And when your heart grows too heavy, ask for me. I will always hear."
A glowing crescent mark formed briefly beneath her fingertip as she traced it across the girl's forehead. A quiet warmth spread through Seraphina's spirit, not enough to wake her, but enough to hold her in peace.
Then, like silver mist fading at dawn, the Moon Goddess vanished into the light from which she came.
And Seraphina lay still—cradled in her father's arms, kissed by the moon, and held between grief and destiny.
She did not dream of fire, nor loss, nor darkness.
She dreamed of stars.
Of home.
And of a love not lost… but waiting.
---
End of Chapter Six.
To be continued...