Chapter 20
The Abyssal stepped back.
That single movement was enough to silence the entire terrace.
A creature built to kill Sovereigns-a monster that had just thrown the Dragon King across the sky like a toy-was retreating.
From Kael.
For a moment, no one moved.
Ariana's heart hammered against her ribs as she watched him slowly rise from the ruins of the broken pillar. Dust slid from his shoulders. Small fragments of stone tumbled to the ground around his boots.
But Kael barely seemed to notice.
Something had changed.
The air around him trembled faintly, like the calm before a storm.
His eyes were no longer gold.
They shone white.
Not glowing like magic.
Not flickering like Ariana's power.
But burning with something older.
Something primal.
Kael flexed his hand slowly, as if testing a strength he hadn't felt before.
Inside him, the wolf was no longer pushing against the surface.
It had taken control.
The mate bond between him and Ariana surged violently.
The force of it stole the breath from her lungs.
"Kael…"
Her voice was barely more than a whisper.
But he didn't answer.
His gaze remained fixed on the Abyssal.
The creature's silver eyes flickered.
For the first time since it arrived,
it looked uncertain.
The man in black and gold standing beside Ariana spoke under his breath.
"That power…"
Ariana turned quickly.
"What is it?"
The man swallowed hard, his expression tense.
"That's the blood of the First Alpha."
Ariana blinked in confusion.
"The what?"
He didn't take his eyes off Kael.
"Before wolf packs existed… before the first Alphas ruled their territories…"
"There was only one."
Wind tore across the terrace as dragons clashed high above the city. Fire streaked through the clouds in bursts of gold and crimson.
But Ariana barely noticed.
Her entire focus remained on Kael.
"The first wolf king," the man continued quietly.
"The one who stood beside the original Sovereign."
Ariana tried to process the words.
"You're saying Kael is,"
"Yes."
The man nodded slowly.
"His bloodline comes from the very first wolf ever created."
Kael stepped forward.
The stone beneath his boots cracked instantly.
The Abyssal reacted.
Its massive wings snapped open, shadow pouring from them like liquid darkness.
But it didn't attack.
It waited.
From the floating fortress above, Malrec's voice cut across the battlefield.
"What have you done?"
His silver eyes locked onto Kael.
"That bloodline should have died centuries ago."
Kael's lips curved into a faint smile.
But there was nothing friendly about it.
"Looks like someone missed one."
Malrec's expression darkened.
"That power belongs to the Sovereign."
Kael tilted his head slightly.
"Funny."
His voice was deeper now.
Rougher.
Older.
"Because my wolf disagrees."
The Abyssal roared.
Shadow erupted from its jaws as the creature lunged toward Kael once again.
But this time,
Kael didn't move.
He simply raised his hand.
The moment the creature's claw came down-
Kael caught it.
The entire terrace shook.
The Abyssal froze.
Ariana's eyes widened.
"He just… stopped it."
The man beside her whispered in disbelief.
"That creature weighs more than the palace gates."
Kael tightened his grip.
The muscles in his arm tensed.
The Abyssal snarled and tried to pull its claw free,
But Kael held it in place.
Like the monster weighed nothing.
Then he shoved.
The enormous creature flew backward across the terrace and slammed into the palace wall.
Stone exploded outward.
The Abyssal roared in fury.
Even the dragons above the battlefield hesitated.
The Dragon King's voice suddenly echoed inside Ariana's mind.
The Wolf King awakens.
Ariana blinked in confusion.
"Wolf King?"
The man beside her nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"When the blood of the First Alpha awakens…"
"He becomes more than just an Alpha."
Kael rolled his shoulders.
The power moving through him felt different.
Stronger.
Clearer.
Like the wolf inside him had grown into something ancient and unstoppable.
The Abyssal lunged again.
This time Kael ran to meet it.
Halfway across the terrace,
He shifted.
Bones snapped.
Muscle expanded.
But the wolf that exploded forward was no longer the same creature Ariana had seen before.
It was enormous.
Larger than any wolf she had ever imagined.
Its fur was darker than night.
And its eyes,
Burned white like distant stars.
The massive wolf slammed into the Abyssal with brutal force.
The two creatures crashed across the terrace, tearing through pillars and shattered stone.
Claws slashed.
Shadow burst across the ground.
The palace trembled beneath their battle.
Ariana watched in stunned silence.
"That's Kael?"
"Yes," the man said quietly.
"But not just Kael anymore."
His eyes remained fixed on the enormous wolf battling the Abyssal.
"That's the Wolf King."
High above them, Malrec watched with cold fury.
"So the prophecy was true."
Ariana looked up at him.
"What prophecy?"
But Malrec wasn't speaking to her.
His gaze remained locked on Kael's wolf.
"The Sovereign reborn…"
"And the Wolf King beside her."
The words made Ariana's chest tighten.
Her mind flashed back to the symbol she had seen carved into the chamber floor.
Five lines.
Four spreading outward.
One rising through the center.
Suddenly it made sense.
Malrec slowly raised both hands.
The runes carved into the fortress flared violently.
The sky darkened.
Below, Kael's wolf slammed the Abyssal into the ground again.
Claws tore through its shadow scales.
The creature roared.
But it was losing.
The Wolf King was stronger.
Faster.
More brutal.
Malrec noticed.
His silver eyes narrowed.
"Then we'll end this properly."
The runes along the fortress blazed with dark light.
The sky above the battlefield began to tear open.
Ariana's stomach dropped.
"Oh no…"
The man beside her stared upward in alarm.
"What is he doing?"
Malrec's voice echoed across the mountains.
"You awaken the Wolf King…"
"Then I will awaken something worse."
The tear in the sky widened.
Darkness spilled through it.
But not the same shadow as the Abyssal.
This darkness felt deeper.
Heavier.
Ancient.
The Dragon King roared in sudden alarm.
No.
Ariana looked up at the massive dragon circling above them.
"What is it?"
The ancient dragon's voice shook inside her mind.
That gate leads to the prison.
Ariana felt cold dread settle into her bones.
"What prison?"
The Dragon King answered with a single word.
Augustus.
The tear in the sky widened further.
Something enormous moved behind it.
Something powerful enough to make the dragons hesitate.
Kael's wolf froze mid-battle.
Even the Abyssal stopped fighting.
Because whatever was waking on the other side of that gate-
Was far more terrifying than any dragon.
And it was about to enter their world.