CHAPTER 95: CHAPTER 95: THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY

One Year Later Elara stood on the balcony of the Luna’s rooms, watching the sunrise paint the sky gold and pink.

Exactly one year ago, she’d been sleeping in the omega quarters, thinking of nothing more than getting through another day without being noticed. Now she was Luna of the most powerful pack in the area.

"Hard to believe, isn’t it?" Kael’s voice came from behind her. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back against his chest. "Which part?" she asked, leaning into his warmth.

"That I survived your father trying to use me as a weapon? Or that your old ancestor tried to turn you all into obsessed killers?" "That we all made it out alive," Kael said softly. The fight with the ancient Alpha had nearly destroyed them all.

If her father hadn’t arrived when he did, using his own Bridge Walker skills to shatter the old magic... Elara shuddered, remembering how close they’d come to losing everything. "Where are your brothers?" she asked. "Ronan’s training the new trainees.

He says fire training helps him forget how the cheating felt." Kael’s grip tightened slightly. "Darian’s in the vault, still studying bloodline magic. He wants to make sure nothing like that ever happens again." Elara turned in his arms. "And you? Are you okay?" Kael’s ice-blue eyes held clouds that hadn’t been there a year ago.

"I led you into that trap. I almost lost you because I wanted to prove I was worthy of being your mate." "You were already worthy," Elara said strongly.

"All three of you were. That’s why the evil couldn’t completely take hold." "The ancient Alpha said we were being honest about what we really wanted," Kael reminded her. "No," Elara shook her head. "He showed you warped versions of your feelings. Your real love saved me. All of you choosing to fight the evil together broke his hold."

A year ago, she would never have imagined having this talk. A year ago, she was nobody. Now she was mated to three Alpha sons, Luna of their pack, and according to the magical world, the most powerful Bridge Walker born in centuries. "Do you ever miss it?" Kael asked suddenly. "Miss what?" "Being simple. When your biggest fear was whether Celeste would be cruel to you that day."

Elara considered this. A year ago, her world had been small but safe. She’d known her place, even if that place was at the bottom. Now she had responsibilities she’d never dreamed of. Pack politics, magical treaties, supernatural threats that emerged weekly.

"Sometimes," she admitted. "But then I remember that simple life was also lonely. I had no real friends. No family. No goal beyond surviving." "And now?"

"Now I have you. All of you. I have a pack that looks to me for direction. I have power I can use to protect people." She smiled. "I have a life worth fighting for." Kael kissed her forehead. "Happy anniversary, Luna." "Happy anniversary, Alpha." They stood together watching the sun rise over their land.

Everything they could see belonged to the Blackwood Pack now. After Alpha Marcus had been stripped of his title for his crimes, the pack council had decided.

Kael had become Alpha six months ago, with his brothers as his seconds. And Elara had become the youngest Luna in pack history. "Luna!" A sound called from inside. "Emergency pack meeting!" Elara sighed. "So much for a peaceful morning."

They ran inside to find Ronan and Darian already in the main room, along with several pack leaders. Everyone looked tense. "What’s the situation?" Kael asked, instantly shifting into Alpha mode. "Three missing persons reports came in overnight," Beta Thompson noted.

"All young dogs. All disappeared without a trace." "Rogues?" Elara asked. "That’s what we thought," Darian said sadly. "Until this arrived." He gave her a piece of black paper with silver writing.

As soon as Elara touched it, cold magic shot up her arm. The message was simple: "The Bridge Walker’s first year of power ends today. Her second year of testing starts now. - The Council of Shadows" "Council of Shadows?" Ronan asked. "Who are they?" Darian’s truth-sight flickered as he studied the letter.

"I can’t read anything from it. The magic is too old, too strong." "But they know about me," Elara said. "They know exactly when I became Luna." "They’ve been watching," Kael realized. "All year, they’ve been watching and waiting." "For what?"

Elara asked. Before anyone could answer, the lights went out. Not just in the room, but everywhere. Through the windows, they could see the entire pack area had gone dark.

"Emergency power should have kicked in by now," Beta Thompson said nervously. In the darkness, Elara felt something shift. A presence that made her Bridge Walker powers scream warnings.

"They’re here," she whispered. "Who’s here?" Ronan asked, flames coming to life around his hands. "The Council of Shadows," Elara said. "I can feel them. They’re not just watching anymore." The temperature dropped. Frost formed on the windows despite Ronan’s fire. And in the sudden cold, they heard voices.

Dozens of them, speaking in unison from everywhere and nowhere. "Bridge Walker," the voices said. "Your year of grace is over. Your true testing begins." "What do you want?" Elara called out. "To see if you’re worthy of the power you’ve claimed.

To see if your mates are strong enough to stand beside you when real darkness comes." "We’ve already proven that," Kael said strongly. "Have you?" The voices laughed, and the sound made everyone’s teeth ache. "You faced one corrupted parent.

We are the united shadows of every supernatural being who ever died seeking power." "You’re dead," Darian stated. "How can you threaten us?" "Death is not the end for those who understand true magic," the voices answered.

"We are the test that every Bridge Walker must face. The trial that separates the good from the weak." "What kind of trial?" Elara asked. "Seven challenges. Seven chances to show your bond is unbreakable.

Seven chances to save the supernatural world... or watch it burn." The darkness around them began to shift and move, making shapes that hurt to look at directly.

"Your first challenge starts now," the voices continued. "Your lost pack members are alive. For now. Find them before dawn, or they become the first deaths of your testing." "Where are they?" Ronan snarled, his flames blazing higher. "Scattered across the area.

Each watched by one of our servants. Each trap built specifically for your unique weaknesses." "Our weaknesses?" Kael asked. "The ice prince who fears losing power.

The fire wolf who’s frightened of his own power. The truth-seer who can’t face his darkest secret." The voices turned toward Elara. "And the Bridge Walker who still believes she can save everyone." The shadows began to withdraw, but their words echoed in the air.

"You have until sunrise. Save your pack mates, and you pass the first test. Fail, and we will take one of your mates as payment for your weakness." "Wait!" Elara called out.

"What’s the second test? What are the other challenges?" But the darkness was already fading, leaving them in the emergency lights that had finally kicked in. In the quiet that followed, Elara felt the weight of what they were facing. A year ago, her biggest task had been surviving high school.

Now she had to face seven trials created by ancient supernatural beings, with her mates’ lives hanging in the balance. "Well," Ronan said sadly, "our first anniversary just got interesting." "Split up or stay together?" Kael asked. "Together," Elara said instantly.

"That’s what they’re counting on – us separating so they can pick us off individually." "But if we stay together, we might not find all three pack members in time," Darian pointed out.

"Then we’ll have to be faster and smarter than they expect," Elara said. She looked at her three mates – her Alpha, her guardian, her truth-seer. A year ago, she couldn’t have imagined being responsible for their safety. Now she would die before letting the Council of Shadows take any of them.

"Let’s go hunting," she said. But as they prepared to leave, Elara couldn’t shake the feeling that the Council of Shadows had already won something just by starting this test.

They’d taken her moment of peaceful thought and turned it into a race against time. Worse, they’d made her understand that becoming Luna had only been the beginning. The real tasks – the ones that would test not just her power but her heart – were just getting started.

And somewhere in the darkness, she could swear she heard old laughter, as if the shadows knew something about the seven trials that she didn’t. Something that would change everything once again.