Chapter 3
Aurora
Seven days later, the full moon hung high like a silver disk, casting moonlight like flowing water.
On the Sacred Moon Altar, I stood alone at the center, my silver gown shimmering in the moonlight. Below the platform, the entire Silver Moon Pack formed a semicircle, hundreds of eyes fixed on me—some expectant, some doubtful, but most curious.
Tonight was my moment to prove myself!
"According to ancestral law, the heir must pass The Moonlight Trial to prove the Moon Goddess's approval." Chief Elder Aldric's voice echoed in the night wind. "Only those truly blessed by the Moon Goddess can invoke the sacred resonance!"
I laughed coldly: "If you want a trial, I'll show you what a true child of the Moon Goddess looks like!"
Below the platform, Zane stood in the front row, his deep black eyes filled with trust and love. He said softly: "Go, my Queen. Show them your power."
Kieran was also in the crowd, his expression dark, with Sera close beside him. Sera wore a smug smile, as if she could already see my failure.
Too bad for them—the truth would soon shock them all.
"The Moonlight Summoning Dance begins!"
I took a deep breath and slowly raised my arms. As an ancient melody began playing in my heart, I started to dance.
My silver gown bloomed like a flower as my body moved light as a swallow, spinning and leaping in the moonlight. The moonbeams seemed drawn to my dance, beginning to gather around me and form a faint silver aura.
"Look! There's actual moonlight around her!"
"This... this is the legendary Moon Goddess resonance!"
"How is this possible?"
Gasps of amazement rose from below, even the elders' eyes widened.
But I knew the real climax was yet to come.
The dance grew more intense, the moonlight brighter, and as power surged through me, the memories I'd suppressed came flooding back—
The blood-red sunset. The betraying lover. The cold poison.
"Why?" My past self lay in a pool of blood, looking desperately at Kieran and Sera.
"The Silver Moon Pack is finally ours." Kieran watched me die with cold indifference. "Easier than I thought."
"She actually believed you loved her!" Sera laughed triumphantly. "The forbidden drug worked perfectly—completely blocked her ability to sense her true fated mate's scent."
Flames of fury burned in my chest, making my dance more powerful, more wild! My will for revenge made the moonlight blaze like fire, surrounding the entire altar with silver radiance!
"In this life, I'll never let you succeed again!" I roared in my heart.
Suddenly—
"Ah!" Kieran cried out in shock, staggering backward, eyes wide as he stared at me. "This scent... it's you! The fated mate scent I sensed three years ago was you!"
Finally! Finally he could sense it!
The powerful Moon Goddess energy broke through the forbidden drug's restraints, and the truth finally surfaced!
"No! Impossible!" Kieran fell to his knees, clutching his head in pain. "I was deceived! Sera, what did you do to me? Why did I sense wrong?"
Everyone stared in shock at this scene, completely confused about what was happening.
I stopped dancing and looked at Sera with a cold smile: "What's wrong? Can't keep up the act anymore?"
Sera's face went pale, but she quickly recovered with a maniacal laugh: "Since I've been found out, I'll stop pretending!"
"That's right!" She shouted to everyone. "I used forbidden drugs to interfere with Kieran's senses! I made him think I was his fated mate!"
The crowd erupted!
"What? Forbidden drugs?"
"She actually dared use forbidden drugs to deceive the pack!"
"This is blasphemy against the Moon Goddess!"
"You bitch!" Kieran angrily stood up. "You ruined my life!"
"Ruined your life?" Sera laughed maniacally. "You should have been mine from the start! What right does Aurora have? What right does she have to be born with everything?"
I calmly smoothed my skirt: "I've known about your little scheme for a while. Now I can finally expose it publicly."
"You... you knew?" Sera stared at me in shock. "Impossible! How could you..."
"The Moon Goddess gave me a revelation—to settle accounts for your sins!"
Sera completely lost it, her eyes gleaming with malice: "Since I'm exposed, you die first!"
She suddenly lunged at me, claws aimed straight for my throat!
At this critical moment—
BANG!
A flash of golden light, and Zane instantly appeared before me, sending Sera flying with one strike! His eyes blazed with golden light, his powerful aura making everyone present tremble with fear!
"Dare to harm my Queen? You're asking for death!" Zane's voice rumbled like thunder, so commanding it made people shiver.
Sera was thrown dozens of feet, crashing heavily into the steps and coughing up blood. But when she crawled up, the hatred in her eyes was even more intense:
"Aurora! I swear I'll destroy everything you have! Your family, your lover, everything!"
"Enough!" Chief Elder Aldric rose in fury. "Using forbidden drugs to deceive pack members and interfere with sacred senses—this is blasphemy against the Moon Goddess! Sera, you are permanently banished from the Silver Moon Pack!"
"Banish me then!" Sera struggled to her feet, glaring at me with venom. "You think you've won? Aurora, the game has just begun!"
With that, she rushed into the darkness without looking back.
The crowd below fell silent, everyone stunned by what they'd just witnessed.
I walked up to Kieran, looking down at this male kneeling on the ground: "Now do you understand? There was never any missed love between us—it was a complete conspiracy from start to finish."
"Aurora, I... I really didn't know..." Kieran looked up painfully. "If I had known you were my fated mate..."
"There are no ifs." I cut him off. "And even without the forbidden drugs, I wouldn't have chosen you."
I turned to look at Zane, who was gazing at me tenderly, the golden light in his eyes subdued but that mysterious powerful presence still there.
"Because," I extended my hand, and Zane immediately took it, "I've already found someone truly worth entrusting my life to."
Just then, the full moon in the sky suddenly became even brighter, and a pure silver beam of light shot down from the moon, enveloping me perfectly!
"The Moon Goddess is manifesting!" someone cried out.
Within the silver beam, ancient Moon Goddess runes began appearing around me, slowly rotating and emitting sacred radiance. These runes flickered as if telling some ancient prophecy.
Even more miraculous, the Moon Goddess statue on the altar began to glow! The thousand-year-old stone sculpture's eyes lit up with silver light, slowly turning toward me as if watching me!
"This... this is the mark of approval personally bestowed by the Moon Goddess!" The Second Elder was too shocked to speak.
"A thousand years! For a thousand years, no one has been able to invoke such powerful Moon Goddess resonance!" The Third Elder trembled with excitement.
Within the light beam, I felt a warm and powerful force flowing into my body—the Moon Goddess's blessing! My eyes also began to emit a faint silver glow, like the legendary Moon Goddess messengers.
The entire process lasted a full minute. When the light beam disappeared and the runes scattered, the Moon Goddess statue's eyes also returned to normal.
But everyone knew they had just witnessed a miracle.
The Chief Elder looked at me deeply, his voice trembling as he announced: "The Moon Goddess has sent down her divine decree! Aurora, you have not only passed the Moonlight Summoning Dance trial, but have received the Moon Goddess's personal approval! In three moons' time, the Alpha Ascension Ceremony shall commence!"
Cheers echoed through the night sky. I thought the crisis from my past life had been prevented, but little did I know, the real danger was still ahead.