Chapter 2

The darkness behind the door seemed almost alive, its breath cold against my skin, carrying the bleakness of antiquity and an oppressive power.

I didn't flinch. This was the only path left to me.

I took a deep breath, barefoot, and crossed the threshold into the Blood Hallow, where no one had set foot in a thousand years.

The Blood Hallow was vast and empty, with only a massive wolf-head statue standing at its center. Its eyes were closed, yet it radiated a quiet majesty that commanded awe without wrath.

The air was filled with a strange blend of dust and sandalwood.

I walked up to the statue and knelt in reverence, following the ancient rite my mother had once spoken of, a tradition abandoned centuries ago.

My voice echoed through the vast hall, trembling but unwavering. "By the Progenitor's blood, and by the oath of my heart, I do swear. I, Luna Thorne, of the First Bloodline, hereby awaken the Heartsblood Bond."

The Heartsblood Bond was the highest vow a wolf leader could make with their mate in ancient times.

It wasn't governed by council decrees, but was directly linked to the fate of the wolf clan and the spirit of the Progenitor.

Once the bond was forged, their wealth, status, and very lives would be bound as one.

Those who honored the bond would prosper. Those who betrayed it would know only eternal ruin.

When Aldric and I were bound, he went through the motions of this ritual in my family's crumbling ancestral home, half-joking all the way, to prove how much he cared.

He thought it was some ancient game to humor me. But he never realized that only the purest blood of the Progenitor could truly awaken the bond. And I was the only key.

I pressed my still-bleeding palm firmly against the statue's icy base. "My mate, Aldric, has broken his vow and defiled our bond.

"Today, I offer my blood as proof and call upon the spirit of the Progenitor to judge. If this betrayal is proven, let all he holds be stripped from him and bestowed upon the faithful."

As my words faded, the entire hall began to shake.

The statue's eyes slowly opened, and two beams of ghostly blue light pierced the darkness, bathing me in their glow.

A torrent of raw power flooded through my palm and into my body.

Pain beyond words ripped through every fiber of my being, as if my bones were being shattered and reformed.

I stifled a groan, cold sweat drenching my back.

I could feel my blood leaving my veins, then flooding back, driven by that ancient power.

An ancient, intricate golden mark began to sear itself into the back of my hand, the heat almost unbearable.

It was undeniable proof. The Heartsblood Bond had truly awakened.

From this moment on, Aldric and I were once again inescapably bound by those ancient laws.

He thought he could strip me bare? He was about to learn the hard way how much he'd lose. Everything. His name, his status, his whole bloodline would all be mine.

I had no idea how much time had passed before that overwhelming power finally faded away.

Everything went quiet again, and the statue's eyes slid shut.

I collapsed to the ground, utterly spent, gasping for air.

The golden mark on the back of my hand had faded, but I knew it would reappear at my will.

I struggled to my feet and gave the statue a deep bow. Then I turned away and walked out of the Blood Hallow.

The first step was complete. Now for the second.

I got in my car and skipped going home. Instead, I turned toward a run-down cottage tucked away on the far side of the estate.

This was where Caspar Balckwood, Aldric's distant great-uncle, lived. Aldric thought he was nothing but an old relic, a burden who should've croaked long ago.

Everyone figured Caspar was powerless now, waiting out his final days. But I knew better. This old man was the anchor that kept the Blackwood family together.

He guarded the family's deepest secrets and oldest ties, revered by every elder wolf in the pack.

He had retired only because he was sick of Aldric's hollow success, propped up by cash and muscle.

I knocked on the old, creaky wooden door.

After a long pause, a raspy, weathered voice finally called out from inside. "Who is it?"

"Caspar, it's me, Luna," I replied.

The door creaked open, and Caspar appeared, his hair and beard white as frost, his back hunched with age. His cloudy eyes swept over me, surprised.

"What are you doing here so late?" His tone was cold.

I wasn't fazed. Caspar had never been on board with my marriage to Aldric, right from the start.

No words. I held out my right hand.

The moment I willed it, the golden mark of the Heartsblood Bond flared to life on the back of my hand.

Caspar's eyes narrowed sharply, locking onto the mark as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

His gnarled hand shot out and clamped around my wrist, his grip surprisingly strong.

"Is this the Heartsblood Bond? You actually awakened it?" His voice was thick with disbelief.