- 5 hours ago
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00:00I'm Selene, Onalai daughter of the High Alpha, pride of the Silver Crest Pack, and I have a secret.
00:06Since my first shift, I can hear the memories locked inside our sacred silver relics.
00:11There is grease on the sword hilt.
00:14I have walked. I have also walked, also walked.
00:18It's less a gift and more a never-ending howl I've learned to tune out.
00:22But today, I came to hear my own binding gift.
00:25The silver-binding totem, a six-foot urn forged over an entire year, stood at the center of the Great
00:31Forge.
00:32Waves of heat shimmered off the stone floor.
00:35The forge itself crouched like a sleeping beast.
00:38My fiancé, Lead Warrior Silas, was supposed to be at the packhouse preparing for our lunar ceremony.
00:43We were the perfect pair. Border War hero.
00:47Handsome. Always deferential to my rank.
00:49My father called him a gift from the moon herself.
00:52My mother said I'd never do better.
00:54Even the relics in my bedroom sang his name.
00:56His eyes shine like the North Star whenever he looks at you.
01:00His touch makes my strings weep with joy.
01:03I used to believe that.
01:05I used to think my life would be a smooth, golden road.
01:08The forgemaster and his smiths dropped to their knees as I approached.
01:12I waved them off and stepped toward the totem.
01:14The carvings were breathtaking.
01:15Wolves racing through moonlit forests, every line precise and sacred.
01:19This was the symbol of our union.
01:21The pride of our pack.
01:22I reached out, fingers brushing the cold, hammered silver.
01:26The moment I touched it.
01:27Don't touch me!
01:28Don't touch me!
01:30It's filthy!
01:31I'm tainted!
01:36I froze.
01:37That wasn't pride.
01:38That wasn't joy.
01:39That was the sound of something desecrated.
01:41I frowned, focusing my wolf's intent to soothe the silver and deepen the connection.
01:46Selena!
01:47You need to leave.
01:49It's disgusting in here.
01:50My stomach dropped.
01:51The totem was hollow.
01:53Wide-mouthed for the final smelting pore.
01:55A grown man could fit inside.
01:57What's in there?
01:58I asked through the connection.
02:00It's the warrior.
02:01It's Silomus.
02:03He's inside me right now.
02:06And he brought a woman.
02:11The world cracked open.
02:13Every sweet memory of faded love turned into a grotesque joke.
02:17They think they're safe here, that the heat hides their sense.
02:21She's crying, apologizing to you, but Silomus keeps telling her to be louder.
02:25He said you know nothing, that you're just like this vessel, prestigious on the outside,
02:29hollow on the inside, waiting for him to fill you with his ambition.
02:33It's sickening.
02:34How could he say that to his Luna?
02:36How does he dare?
02:38Ah!
02:39More filth is dripping.
02:40I'm so dirty.
02:41When will they leave?
02:43I want the forge lit right now.
02:44Let the fire turn them to ash.
02:46Let's see if they're as hot as the molten silver.
02:49So that was it.
02:50The perfect match.
02:51The faded love.
02:53All of it.
02:54A calculated hunt.
02:58Every tender moment he'd ever given me was a performance.
03:01He was basking in the glory I provided while rutting with his true heart's desire, inside
03:05the very gift meant to bless our bond.
03:07I didn't need to guess who she was.
03:09Liana, his fragile childhood friend.
03:11The Omega who always dropped her eyes when I passed.
03:14Whatever the Alpha's daughter decided.
03:17What a dutiful Omega.
03:18A cold numbness crawled from my fingertips straight to my heart.
03:23My blood turned to ice.
03:24My limbs locked.
03:26The sounds of the forge dissolved.
03:28She's begging him to take her as a second mate after the ceremony.
03:32Silas just laughed and promised he would.
03:35He said, you get the title, but she gets his soul.
03:42So what was I?
03:43A ladder for his climbed Alpha?
03:44An expensive ornament for his mantle?
03:47I slowly, very slowly, pulled my hand back.
03:49I looked at the massive vessel, the monument to my own stupidity, and I understood.
03:54The totem was right.
03:55It was time to light the fire.
03:57I turned to the forge master who was watching me nervously.
04:00Is something wrong with the silver, my lady?
04:03No, it's magnificent.
04:04I'm so pleased.
04:06I won't wait for the lunar peak.
04:08Ignite the great forge now.
04:10I want to strike the spark myself to ensure our union is blessed by the flame.
04:18My lady, this is impossible.
04:20The lunar alignment was calculated by Elder Malayli himself.
04:24Night after night.
04:25Reading the stars, it ensures the totem is perfected.
04:28It brings harmony to your union with the warrior.
04:30To ignite it now, it could offend the ancestors.
04:33It is against Pak Law.
04:34It is a dark omen.
04:35Against Pak Law?
04:36A dark omen?
04:38Master Barrett?
04:39Are you questioning my devotion to my own mate?
04:42Never, my lady.
04:43Never.
04:44I stand here, looking at this masterpiece, and my heart is full.
04:50They say sincerity moves the moon.
04:53Is my sincerity not worth more than a line on a chart?
04:57Or do you believe my bloodline is too weak to command a single forge fire?
05:01Forgive me, my lady.
05:03I meant nothing.
05:04Then do as I say.
05:05I will see it enter the flames today.
05:08I will strike the spark myself.
05:13I will forge the blessing for my eternal union with the warrior.
05:20If there is a curse, I'll carry it alone.
05:24If it succeeds, every man here will be rewarded in silver.
05:33I obey, my lady.
05:56I obey, my lady.
06:02I do.
06:04I obey.
06:06I obey, my lady.
06:11I obey, my lady.
06:25I will be coming together forever.
06:28stars are delicate balance the silver will crack or worse if it plants misfortune in your union
06:33a rot that spreads through the entire pack from within and even if you manage to red yourself of
06:38it the conquences of that union are already set in motion my lady the elder is right please think of
06:45the pack elder tell me does your prophecy value the hour of the clock or the truth of the heart
06:56prophecy is the intersection of both my lady one cannot exist without the other well said then let
07:02me ask you this if the sacred silver were already filled with something filthy should i wait for your
07:07blessing and let that rot bleed into our lineage or should i act now and let the holy fire purge
07:13it
07:18malachi's hand slid off his staff his fingers trembled against the wood he looked into my eyes
07:23and whatever he found there was no longer the pampered alpha's daughter he'd known since birth
07:28he looked at the half sealed forge then back at me his mouth opened closed he was the pack's spiritual
07:34voice but even he knew a true blood's rage was a force the ancestors themselves stepped back my lady
07:41if the silver is truly tainted then the fire is the only way he stepped back white robes rippling in
07:49the
07:49rising heat head bowed in submission the smiths saw their last shield for tradition disappear they
07:56didn't hesitate they heaved the final stones into place and sealed the great forge's mouth with thick
08:01wet clay darkness that could only end one way inside the echo gave one last sound a low chilling giggle
08:09they're awake now they know the door is gone oh they're scratching at my ribs i didn't blink i reached
08:15for
08:16the ceremonial torch the torch was heavy its tips soaked in oils that smelled of pine resin and ancient
08:22magic i raised it the orange light danced in my eyes burn it all down she whispered burn the lies
08:28burn the traitors burn the bitch who thought she could steal the alpha crown i stepped forward the
08:33heat was already bleeding through the stone walls my hand was perfectly steady as i lowered the flame to
08:37the ignition vent at the base of the forge for the glory of the silver crest pack my voice rang
08:43out clean
08:43and clear for every smith and elder present may this fire refine our future and consume every
08:50shadow that dares to linger in the dark the flame touched the fuel a dull thump rolled up from deep
08:55inside the forge the fire catching or maybe a kick against the silver walls then the roar began the great
09:01forge bellowed as heat surged upward wrapping around the totem like something hungry the echo screamed one
09:06final time pure ecstatic agony it's hot it's so wonderfully hot i can feel them melting into me
09:15sacred silver doesn't smell fast three days three nights unrelenting heat i didn't leave i had a chair
09:21brought to the forge floor and i sat there silent draped in fur watching every shift of every smith by
09:26the second day word had spread through the pack lead warrior silas had gone missing just before the
09:31ceremony panic rippled through the ranks i played the grieving frantic mate without a single missed beat
09:36when my father the high alpha arrived demanding answers i turned to him with tear-filled eyes silas
09:42told me he wanted our bond to be the strongest the pack had ever seen i felt a dark omen
09:46father
09:47i had to start the forge early to pray for him to protect him through the holy fire my father
09:51sat beside
09:51me for over an hour moved by my devotion he had no idea the man he was searching for was
09:57currently
09:57becoming ash and slag inside the fire we were watching together liana's disappearance was noted
10:02too but she was an omega her flight was dismissed as cowardice no one looked twice on the third night
10:07the roar of the forge softened to a low melodic hum the silver was ready
10:18selena put that down put it down right now selene what in the ancestor's name are you doing you've left
10:25the pack house you've overrode in the ceremony calendar you've threatened the forge master and
10:30sent elder malaza into a cold sweat this is your binding ceremony and you're standing here with a
10:34torch like some mother i know what i'm doing do you because from where i'm standing you look like a
10:40girl throwing a tantrum the night before the most important moment of her life selena did you and silas
10:46argue is that what this is that's normal every mated pair has friction before the ceremony you have
10:52to be patient gracious you're about to become his luna gracious
11:06mother you raised me to carry the pack's honor to be something the whole territory could look up to
11:12i've always tried to do that but there is something filthy in there right now something that has been
11:18rubbing itself all over the symbol of my future bond if i leave it if i wait for the blessed
11:24hour and
11:25let the holy fire seal that filth into our union what does that make me
11:34what what exactly are i can't say it out loud because if i do it stops being my problem and
11:40becomes the pack's problem and i know how much you love this pack mother
11:49then another her eyes went from me to the forge to the torch in my hand and back again for
11:54a long
11:54moment she said nothing selima how long have you known long enough she closed her eyes i watched her
12:03make the choice you are the high alpha's daughter whatever you do make sure you can live with the
12:11consequence and make sure it doesn't embarrass this family she didn't look at the forge again return to
12:16the pack house the last soft thing in my chest went with her good i turned back to the forge
12:29there was nothing left in my way no elder no forge master no mother just me the torch and the
12:34sealed
12:34mouth of the great forge the totem's echo had gone quiet not frightened waiting coiled and ready the way
12:40a wolf waits before a strike i walked to the ignition vent the heat rolled off the stone in waves
12:45do it my
12:46wolf said burn the lie all of it i raised the torch i threw the torch it caught instantly a
12:55crack of
12:56sound then the low whomp of fuel igniting deep in the stone belly of the forge then the roar the
13:00great
13:01forge came alive with a sound like the world splitting open heat punched through the vent and across my face
13:10inside the totem sent me one last burst of feeling not words just pure ecstatic relief like something
13:16finally finally clean add fuel continually maximum heat seven days and seven nights
13:25don't let it drop not once i looked at master barrett he bowed without a word
13:31i took a chair and sat six feet from the forge mouth and i watched
13:37seven days i didn't leave the forge yard i slept in a tent erected 30 feet from the kiln i
13:42ate what the
13:43smiths brought me the fire never dropped below white hot by the second day the disappearances had
13:47reached every corner of the territory lead warrior silas gone vanished the morning of his own binding
13:52ceremony not a trace liana gone too the quiet omega who'd always kept her eyes down fled in shame people
13:59said too cowardly to face the fallout of her alpha's abandonment the gossip twisted itself into a dozen
14:03shapes the most popular version they'd run away together couldn't bear to be separated silas's family
14:08turned the territory upside down search parties desperate favors called in nothing
14:16when my father the high alpha rode out to the forge on the third day i met him with red
14:21rimmed
14:21eyes and a trembling lower lip he told me he wanted our bond to be the the strongest in our
14:26pax history
14:27i felt something wrong in the stars father i had to start the fire i had to pray for him
14:33my father put
14:34his arm around me and stayed for an hour he had no idea the man he was searching for was
14:3740 feet away
14:38becoming slag inside the silver we were watching together on the seventh night the roar faded to a
14:42low even hum i stood up open it barrett ordered cold water poured over the forge walls steam screamed
14:50upward in great white columns bricks cracked and popped in the sudden chill when the smiths began
14:55pulling the sealed stones away every person on that yard held their breath the outer bricks came down
14:59then the inner layer then the clay a smell rolled out something between hot earth metal and something
15:04else something no one commented on two of the most experienced smiths went in they came back out
15:09carrying a platform between them and on it the binding totem intact it hadn't cracked hadn't warped
15:14it had survived seven days of white hot continuous heat without a single fracture but it was transformed
15:20the raw silver gray of the unfired metal was gone entirely in its place a deep saturated crimson rich as
15:26old blood warm as a dying ember the glaze was perfect mirror smooth the carved wolves on its surface
15:32caught the morning light and threw it back in long shimmering streaks it was without question the most
15:38beautiful thing anyone in that yard had ever seen the ancestors blessed it one of them whispered
15:43they blessed it after all i walked toward it slowly i stopped two feet away i looked at it for
15:48a long
15:48moment are they still in there a warmth pressed back against my mind quiet and settled content yes good
16:22that's liana's moonstone she never took it off
16:28i gave it to her the day she presented
16:36silas's father moved to the other side his face went the color of chalk on the totem's flank half
16:42merged into the glaze was the ghost of a warrior's seal the kind every pack fighter carried as their mark
16:48then he looked at me
16:52silas told me once that he wanted a bond that could survive anything that he wanted something that would
17:00last forever
17:03my father summoned me three days later not to the great hall not in front of the elders to his
17:08private
17:08study he was seated when i arrived he looked at me for a very long time without speaking
17:16i admit i chose the wrong mate i nearly brought shame onto this bloodline
17:26and i admit i didn't act sooner that's all you admit yes
17:40you have more spine than both your brothers combined he rose from his chair and walked to me he put
17:46his
17:46hand on my shoulder and lifted me to my feet something i hadn't expected here is what happened
17:52silas and the omega liana fled the pack together unable to face the shame of their betrayal
17:57their whereabouts are unknown the one forged for your ceremony was successfully completed
18:02as a testament to your devotion it will be called the ember throne
18:07it will be placed in your hall you will look at it every day as i turned to go
18:11i heard him exhale slow and long like a man setting down something very heavy
18:23the ember throne arrived at my quarters it took six wolves to carry it they set it at the far
18:28end
18:28of my main hall the first thing you saw when you walked in the last thing you saw when you
18:33left it
18:34was still that deep saturated crimson still mirror smooth still beautiful i stood in front of it for a
18:40long time after the carriers had gone i waited for the echo there was nothing
18:45i reached out my fingers stopped an inch from the surface and i realized i didn't want to touch it
18:50i lowered my hand i stood back and looked at what i'd made every relic in my room the mirror
18:54the liar the blade on the wall not out of fear not out of grief i just didn't need to
18:59stayed silent they had gone quiet sometime in the last seven days and not come back
19:04the constant hum of voices i'd carried since my first shift gone my world had never been so still
19:13there's that pe incumbent i have never really thought of you being in the last one
19:13it's really easy to come back
19:13i made it in executive order
19:13You
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