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Chapter 32

Later that evening, Nancy found herself in the ceremonial glade. Lanterns lit the clearing, where Valchren stood—calm, elegant, dressed in deep emerald robes embroidered with arcane symbols.

He turned as she approached, smiling. “Nancy. A pleasure, at last.”

She didn't take his hand. Her wolf bristled, low growls rumbling within.

“I know what you are,” she said coolly. “You stink of the Void.”

Valchren chuckled, eyes gleaming gold. “Honest. I like that.”

He paced slowly around her, voice soft. “You’re strong. You could be more. The Moon Goddess bound you with promises of peace and balance. But balance is a cage. I offer freedom.”

“Freedom at the cost of our souls?”

“No. Enlightenment.” He leaned in. “Your pack sees it. Even your beta does. Perhaps… you’re the one in denial.”

Nancy turned sharply, refusing to give ground. “I’ve seen lies before. I know how they feel.”

“Do you?” he murmured. “Or are you afraid your faith was never real to begin with?”

Nancy let out a growl. “Who are you? And what do you want with my pack?"

Valchren was unphased. He chuckled, the sound extremely annoying to Nancy. “Now that's a question that has already been answered. I didn't take you to be so dumb, Nancy. I hear you even worked for the dark Lord.”

Nancy's eyes darkened, her rage no longer subtle. "You…"

Valchren’s face lit up in amusement. "What? Did I hit a nerve? It's quite a shame though. You left the winning team, what were you thinking?"

Nancy's fists clenched beside her. “The darkness never wins. You should know that by now."

A wicked smirk formed on his lips. “What if I'm here to change the narrative? Turn the tables over. You should join me, that way you can stay aboard when it all crumbles."

She didn’t answer. She didn’t need to. She walked away—teeths clenched.

Over the next few nights, Nancy moved silently through Crescent Fang, following shadows and whispers. Her instincts led her beneath the central temple—once dedicated to the Moon Goddess.

There, hidden behind false walls, she found a network of tunnels. The air was heavy with incense and ancient decay. Symbols etched in obsidian pulsed faintly on the walls, matching no language she had ever seen.

She paused at a narrow doorway, peeking inside.

A group of young warriors knelt before a stone altar. Valchren stood above them, hands outstretched. Shadows coiled around his wrists, merging with the altar. A black relic—a fractured stone wrapped in glowing red metal—hovered above the altar.

“Today, we reject false light,” he intoned. “Today, we claim truth.”

As one, the warriors echoed, “We reject false light.”

Nancy's heart thundered.

As the ritual ended and the chamber emptied, she slipped inside and snatched the relic. It burned her fingertips, pulsing with corrupt energy. She wrapped it in cloth and bolted back through the tunnels.

The forest was unusually still, shrouded in a dense fog that glowed faintly silver beneath the half-moon. Nancy sat atop the cliffs near her old training grounds, the corrupted Crescent Fang lands stretching below like a dying canvas. Her hands rested on her knees, the dark relic she’d stolen still hidden deep within her cloak. The pulsing from it had lessened—but the dread in her chest had not.

A faint rustle made her tense. Her claws unsheathed by instinct.

“Easy,” came a soft voice. “It’s me.”

Nancy turned sharply, ready to strike, until she saw Callen stepping out from the tree line. He looked thinner, his eyes tired, but they still held the warmth she remembered. One of her most loyal students once. Now, maybe her only ally.

“What are you doing out here?” she hissed. “You could’ve been followed!”

“I had to find you. I couldn’t risk a note. Not anymore.” He glanced over his shoulder before kneeling beside her. “Things are worse than you think.”

Nancy stiffened. “Tell me.”

Callen hesitated, then spoke low, like the trees themselves might be listening. “Valchren… he’s not just corrupting minds. Some of them—our pack—they’re not even fully themselves anymore. I’ve looked into their eyes. It’s like the soul is… gone. Replaced.”

Nancy’s jaw tightened. “Possession?”

“Something like it. And he’s preparing a ceremony. Tomorrow night. The pack thinks it’s a unity ritual. A celebration of strength.” He looked at her, desperation flashing in his gaze. “It’s not. It’s an ascension. He’s turning the land itself.”

Her blood ran cold. “A shadow node,” she breathed. “A tether point for darkness.”

He nodded. “If he completes it, Crescent Fang will be lost.”

Nancy rose to her feet, fists clenched. “Then we stop it. No matter what it takes.”

That night, she penned a letter by moonlight. The relic hummed softly on the table beside her.

To Avynna: I was right. Something is truly wrong. We've been invaded by dark forces. I need all the help I can't get, but first, deliver this message to Atena.

Atena, she wrote. Something dark has taken root here. They've turned away from the Moon. Even Soran. I don’t know what to do, but I’m not giving up. I need your guidance.

She sealed the letter and sent it with a trusted hawk, praying it would reach the right hands before it was too late.

Nancy stood in the center of her room, staring out at the village that had once been her home.

Now it was a battlefield. And she would fight to save it—even if she had to fight alone.

Her thoughts was immediately broken as loud noise reached her. It was coming from the huge field used as the training grounds.

Nancy raced towards it, without a second thought. However, what she saw there, made her heart freeze.

The clearing had been transformed. Blackened torches ringed the space, their flames unnatural—twisting with hints of green and violet. Pack members stood in perfect formation, dressed in ceremonial cloaks. They chanted in unison, eyes glassy, smiles serene.

Valchren stood at the center, cloaked in silver-trimmed black. His arms were raised to the heavens, shadows swirling around his body like affectionate serpents.

“Tonight,” he called out, voice echoing unnaturally, “we transcend what we once were. We are no longer bound by the lies of the Moon Goddess. We embrace truth—power—freedom!”

The crowd erupted in cheers.

A small child was brought forward—a young pup, no more than six, eyes wide but vacant. They placed him at the altar, where a black symbol had been burned into the earth.

Nancy burst through the treeline.

“Stop!” she shouted, stepping into the corrupted circle.

Gasps rippled through the crowd. Some wolves recoiled, their true selves surfacing briefly at the sight of her. Valchren, however, simply smiled.

“Nancy,” he said with mock affection. “Come to join the celebration?”

“I see what you are,” she snarled. “And I won’t let you take them.”

She moved toward the altar, but two possessed warriors blocked her path.

Valchren’s voice dropped an octave. “You can save the child. Or you can stop me.” His eyes gleamed with wicked pleasure. “But you can’t do both.”

Nancy’s breath caught. She looked at the boy—then at the swirling mass of darkness growing behind Valchren. A rift was forming. The ascension was near its peak.

She made her choice.

With a roar, she lunged for the child, scooping him into her arms and leaping back as a blast of black energy slammed into where they stood. The shockwave knocked several wolves unconscious. The ritual faltered—but didn’t stop.

Valchren snarled. “You delay the inevitable.”

Then he plunged his hands into the earth. Dark energy crackled outward, forming a jagged rune that burned itself into the land.

A shadow node was born.

The air trembled as a pulse spread across Crescent Fang. The ground hissed. The sky darkened.

Nancy clutched the child close, heart breaking. She had saved one—but lost the territory.

Meanwhile,

Somewhere deep in the coma-world, Bavanda stood in a silver glade, surrounded by drifting mist and the echo of distant howls.

Then, it changed.

Flames flickered at the edge of the glade. The trees blackened. Crescent Fang appeared before her—burning.

She saw Nancy, alone, wounded, clutching a child as a shadow swept over her.

She saw Valchren laughing, the land beneath him pulsing with malevolent energy.

“No,” she whispered, stepping forward. “This… this isn’t right.”

Her glowing wolf soul appeared beside her, growling at the vision.

“Do you see now?” came a soft voice.

The Moon Goddess. Radiant and calm, watching her with sad eyes.

“The world needs you. But your path will not be easy. You must awaken… fully. But choose wisely, Bavanda. Power must serve love—or it will consume everything.”

Bavanda looked at the flames, then down at her glowing hands.

“I won’t let them fall.”

Light erupted around her.

Somewhere, back in the real world, her fingers twitched.

Hey Guys please check my other stories: The Lycan and His healer mate, His Purchased Wife, 365 Days in Dmitry Cage, The fatal Lycan and his mysterious mate, Xiol's Treasured Mate, The luna and the lycan, Flash Marriage: President's Seduction, In Adonis world, Alpha's little Vampire Mate on R.a.d.i.s.h.

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Betrayed by My Ex, Claimed by His father on Goodnovel