Caitlyn stood, frozen, between the two doors, the weight of her choice pressing down on her like an unbearable burden. The first door, gleaming silver, pulsed with the warmth of everything she had ever known. It was filled with memories—of love, of Raymond, of the life they had built together. The second door, burning red, crackled with raw power, its energy vibrating in the air around her. It offered truth, the chance to become the Alpha of the Beginning, the bridge between worlds, the key to unlocking something far older than even the Moonborn bloodline.

The First Wolf stood behind her, his presence looming, suffocating. “Through love, you were broken,”...