At the top of a towering tree, its branches swaying in the wind, a silver-haired woman gazes up at the stars with a lone expression, illuminated only by the moon's soft glow in the dark of the night.

Her silver eyes were cold, like a sea of ice—empty, dead and deep. There's no life that could be seen in her as she wiped the remaining blood from the rogues she killed while traveling.

She stands at the base of a mountain near the Midnight Fangs pack, a location that strikes fear in the hearts of most wolves due to the dominant and fearsome alpha who leads the pack.

She looked up and saw the beautiful moon, reminding her of a memory . . .

"The moon is dazzling," the little girl said, while looking at the moon with her parents.

"Do you know the story of the stars?" her father asked.

"Story of the stars?" The little girl mimicked.

A bitter smile crossed the woman's face as she recalled the memory, a story ingrained in her mind from the countless times her father had recounted it to her.

As she reflected on the past, she recalled the same tale that her parents had told her on their deathbed.

"Mother! Father!" The little girl cried as she hugged her dying parents—bathing with their own blood.

Her mother's trembling hands motioned for her to stay silent as she pressed her fingers to her lips. "S—stop crying, my child. You know the s—story of the m—moon, right? I—it's almost time for bed time," her mother said, trying to calm her down.

The child was sobbing, shaking her head while her weakened mother keeps wiping her tears.

"I—n the early days of the world's existence, two deities were given the responsibility of o—verseeing its inhabitants: S—elene, the Goddess of the Moon, and Lucian, t—he God of the S—un. The world was once shrouded in darkness, which only a—dded to the Moon goddes—s's sense of isolation as she tho—ught of the children that like them, had been e—ntrusted with guiding on other worlds." she narrated then started coughing blood.

"Mother!" the child cried.

"I'm o—okay," her mother smiled at her warmly then continued her story. "L—lucian, seeing how lonely the moon goddess is, d—ecided to do something for her. The sun god started r—eaching for the jewels in the afterlife and scattered them to the sky to offer them to S—elene. Those jewels were h—omes for good souls, so since then, whenever a good person dies, their s—oul could live in the sky and watch over the world. S—eeing how the good souls made the dark skies lively, the moon goddess loved looking at them and adorned them every n—ight."

"S—stop talking, you're bleeding so much," she sobbed at the sight of her weakened mother.

"Remember child, we're not gonna die. W—we're simply gonna go to the sky and live there while watching over you. R—remember that we'll always be w—with you," her mother smiled at her warmly while wiping her tears.

The child shook her head, unable to accept that her parents would be gone at any moment as she felt their life force slowly fade away.

As she remembered the past, the silver wolf wiped away her tears. Then, she gazed at the concealing necklace and began to take it off, longing to transform into her wolf form after its long nap inside her.

"Elara. . ." she called her wolf, who had just woken up.

"It's been a while," her wolf replied, making her smile as she removed her clothes and shifted.

Her lustrous silver fur is radiating beautifully under the moonlight; her powerful howls sound like a melody that could enchant anyone who hears it, drawing them close to her.

"Let's hunt for our prey," she grinned at the back of her midn as she howled louder, drawing some rogues nearby.

She waited for them; bloodlust is evident from her eyes. The rogue wolves ran towards the howl's directly but halted the moment they saw what kind of being was waiting for them.

They took a step back, sensing its power and was about to retreat when the silver wolf suddenly pounced on them at the speed of light.

The powerful wolf mercilessly killed the rogues, scattering their blood all over the place. Killing them thrills her, it's the only thing that makes her feel alive.

"Spare me! I will change my wrong doings! You won't see me again!" The leader of the rogues begged desperately as it shifted to his ‌mortal form—Weak, tired and desperate.

However, the hybrid with a tremendous amount of power didn't seem to hear it as she ruthlessly clawed his heart out and crushed it like ‌rotten fruit.

"Yes, I am sure that I won't be seeing you again," she mumbled. "Spare a rogue? They kill children, attack weaker packs, take innocent lives like pests and he wanted to be spared?" she laughed, but her eyes remained cold. "What a joke," she added as she continued walking in her wolf form.

However, something suddenly caught her attention. After she removed her necklace after so many years, an alluring smell kept pulling her closer to the Midnight Pack's border, miles away from the mountain where she was. It is the most fragrant smell she has ever encountered and it's driving her crazy as she can sense that the smell is getting stronger each time.

"Mate! it's our mate!" Her wolf howled in delight.

"Elara!" She seethed, swiftly returning to her human form and hastily putting on the necklace. She had no use for a mate; he would only interfere with her goals.

She collapsed onto the ground, depleted of all energy, and clutched her knees in a state of anxiety. "This can't be happening . . . Who could it be?" She nervously pondered to herself. She nearly succumbed to the temptation of searching for her mate, but managed to restrain her wolf.

With ‌trembling hands, she repeatedly pressed the earrings, a communication device Nimue gave her, five years ago. "Nimue, my mate is nearby," she said, rattled.

It was the first time she felt it without her necklace. She's sweating bullets, still trying to stop herself.

"Do want to meet him?" Nimue asked through the earrings.

The silver wolf fell silent before she could compose an answer. "I can't. . . Not now, Nimue," she sighed. "I can't meet him Nimue, I had no idea he is here! Nearby at that!" She added, gritting her teeth.

Nimue just chuckled. "Didn't I tell you? No matter how hard you try to prevent fate, it will always find a way to unfold as it was meant to. You have no control over it, as it was the fate the moon goddess had bestowed upon you."

"I'm aware of that, Nimue! However, I can't meet my mate right now. Maybe once I killed that bastard, I'll be ready to do so. Just not now!" She exclaimed—frustrated.

"Then you have to control your emotions. You know that necklace won't be able to take too much of your power and what you are doing now is not helping as you're unleashing more than the power that the necklace could take. It's your only means to hide yourself from the world. The pendant will continue to crack if you don't calm down; it will be easier to know you then," Nimue warned.

The silver wolf just sighed harshly, trying to calm herself down.

"I'm sorry. I got carried away because this is the first time I really felt my mate nearby and I had the strong urge to find him," the woman said calmly.

"Don't worry too much and just be extra careful. I will inform you once I find something useful for your vengeance," Nimue responded.

"Yes, thank you so much Nimue," the silver wolf just smiled, ignoring her the longing she could feel deep inside her heart.

She paused, suddenly sensing someone approaching. Without hesitation, she cut off their communication and scanned her surroundings with heightened caution. 

***

As Hendrix Kayden walked around in the night following his training, a familiar and delightful scent suddenly enveloped his senses. It was the same fragrance that he always associates with his dreams whenever he encountered his mate.

His breathing hitched and his heart was pounding so loud it almost hindered his hearing.

'Mate! Mate! That's our mate! Finally!' His wolf rejoiced.

The reigning alpha's expression darkened as he immediately shifted into his wolf form—A gigantic big black wolf with slightly gold fur and tremendous power appeared as he ran at the speed of lightning to follow the fragrant smell of his mate.

He ran continuously outside the border. He could feel that he was getting near her as his heart was pounding with so much excitement.

Finally, he could be with his mate; that's all he could think about.

However, his excitement faded when strangely, the fragrant smell suddenly vanished—confusing him.

"What the hell?" he cussed, confused why the smell suddenly vanished like everything was a mere illusion. "Am I hallucinating earlier?" He asked himself.

He was on the verge of giving up, but he persisted in his desperate search for her. Then, all of a sudden, he caught a whiff of it once more.

He sprinted and sprinted until he reached the end of the valleys and saw a silver-haired woman standing still in the middle of the forest.

"Mate!" He exclaimed, although this time, his wolf appeared to be quiet.

The sound of his voice caught the woman's attention. She turned her head in his direction to look at him; her icy silver eyes met his—just like the ones he had seen in his dreams.

However, what he didn't like was seeing another man with the woman, pointing his blade at her—it was none other than Devon, the emperor's ghost. Anger rushed through him, and without hesitation, he ran towards him and engaged in combat.

Devon swiftly stopped the Alpha's attack with his bare hands, causing the ground to shake due to their clash.

Both of them possess tremendous strength that the other rulers pale in comparison.

As if two emperors are colliding. . .

"What the hell is your problem?" Devon exclaimed, confused with the Alpha's strange behavior.

"Who really are you Devon?" The Alpha asked, seeing how effortlessly Devon was deflecting his attack.

Even though Devon was perplexed by the situation, he maintained a detached demeanor behind his mask. "A random f*cker probably," Devon hissed, irritatedly.

Even in his mortal form, Devon was the only one who could still rival him. Alpha was aware that if Devon were to reveal his wolf to him, he'd be able to rival his power. "Show me your wolf," he growled.

"I told you I lost it," Devon, answered frigidly. "Why the hell are you even attacking me? Have you lost your mind?" Devon added in an annoyed tone. He's thinking that the Alpha might have some lose screws, but it's the first time he's openly attacked him for no reason.

He snarled, "The woman whom you pointed your blade at is my mate!"

Devon pushed him with force and glared at him. "How am I supposed to know that?" He exclaimed, then looked in the woman's direction. "I solely did my job to protect the pack as that woman is dangerous," Devon warned the alpha.

‌The Alpha's face twisted in irritation as he cradled his wounded mate and cast a disdainful glance at Devon before turning his back on him. "You do not decide that," he snarled. "Do not harm my woman, Devon, or I'll kill you myself."

"I am not your foe to be warry of, nor your ally to befriend. I am also not one of your subjects Hendrix, but you know exactly that I do not intend to bring you down—However, that woman in your arms certainly would," Devon warned.

"Why? Do you know her to say that?" Hendrix asked with a darkened expression.

The Alpha just gritted his teeth when Devon didn't answer him. He can't fully trust Devon's words as he himself has too many secrets he's keeping from him. Aside from being his Beta's cousin, he doesn't know his complete identity, not even his face.

However, he's aware that he can't just ignore Devon's warning. . .

Devon just grinned as he watched the Alpha and that woman's retreating back and then looked at the being, hiding behind the trees, not too far away from him. "Why are you here Lilith?"