Chapter 14: The Temples of the Lupus Deus
Vivian Grey’s POV
Back in middle school, I went on a school trip, one of the lucky few chosen to explore the temples in Cambodia. I remember standing there, surrounded by crumbling stone swallowed by thick vines, roots curling through ancient cracks like time itself had gripped the walls. The halls seemed endless, haunting yet serene. The memory never left me.
But what stood before me now made that memory feel small.
Temples. Plural. And they didn’t just sit quietly in the distance, they loomed. Arranged almost like pyramids, yet built with a design that didn’t belong to any one culture. It was as if a thousand lifetimes of architecture had fused together into one impossible place. Towering spires marked each corner, and sweeping arches connected the structures in impossible ways, like bridges pulled from dreams.
Some walls had crumbled, or maybe had never been built at all. Openings led into shadowed rooms, some without roofs. I caught a glimpse of stairs spiraling into places I couldn’t see. The material, part stone, part something brighter, reflected the dying light of the sun, and scattered across the surfaces were hints of color. Jewels. Strange, radiant gemstones embedded in the rock like stars trapped in stone.
It looked like something out of a fantasy novel. Or a hallucination.
"This is some Hogwarts-level magic," I muttered under my breath.
"Breathtaking, isn’t it?" Courtney’s voice stirred me from my awe. She stood beside me, her tone quiet, like she was afraid to disturb the temples themselves.
I could only nod, eyes still glued to the vision ahead. The setting sun draped everything in warm gold, but I wasn’t fooled. Structures like these, ancient and otherworldly, were rarely just beautiful. They carried weight. History. Blood.
Places like this were built for the powerful. And power never came without a price.
Zaliver had three of these.
Three.
My chest tightened. How much darkness did one wolf have to walk through to be given this kind of legacy? Even the gods, Fate, and Mother Luna herself felt small in comparison to what these temples suggested.
What have you done, Zaliver? How deep does your power run?
A subtle cough pulled me back. Luke.
"A few members of the pack will be scattered around," he said carefully. "Our customs aren’t quite like those of a normal pack. Alpha wants you by his side tonight. I don’t know the full reason why, but stay close. And cautious. Those who get accepted into this pack, well, you’ll understand eventually."
I frowned. "The hell does that mean?"
Before he could respond, something changed in his gaze. His eyes flickered, no, bled into shimmering silver.
And then it happened.
A sound cut through the air, low and wild. A cry that wasn’t quite a howl but held the same primal command. Power threaded through every note, tugging at something buried in my bones. My wolf pushed forward instantly, her need to answer undeniable.
Zaliver.
He was calling.
Everyone moved, no hesitation, as if the temples themselves had demanded our obedience. I followed the others into the heart of the temple, but unease coiled in my stomach like a second heartbeat. Whatever was waiting inside, I could feel it pressing against the air, ancient and alive.
We walked past towering entrances and pillars that reached for the heavens. And then I saw them.
The wolves.
They stood still, quiet as statues, cloaked in shadows, but their eyes glowed. Liquid silver cut through the night, every gaze trained on me like I’d broken some unspoken rule just by showing up.
They didn’t need to say a word. I felt it. The scrutiny. The suspicion.
I was the outsider.
My eyes remained human brown, dull and mortal beside theirs.
They watched me like I was something unnatural. Something other. I didn’t need their words to feel the chill they radiated. For the first time in a long while, I wasn’t even sure they were wolves.
Something darker was watching me through those eyes.
And I wasn’t ready for whatever this night would bring.
The way they stared at me reminded me of how Dean Winchester looked at pie. Intense. Starving. Borderline obsessive.
Head up, I told myself. Don’t let them see you flinch. You’re the Luna of this pack. Zaliver’s mate. Act like it.
With a silent nod of resolve to my wolf, I straightened my spine and stepped forward like I belonged here, like I understood what the hell was going on. Truthfully, I didn’t. But no way in hell was I going to let that show.
What I thought was a sea of wolves in their shifted forms turned out to be fewer than I’d assumed. Most of them were in their human bodies, silent and still. Not a word exchanged, yet there was this heavy pulse in the air, like thoughts were flying unseen. Mind-linking. That had to be it. And every so often, one would tilt their head in that eerie way, like they were listening to something I couldn’t hear.
Back in most temples, wolves meditated in their shifted forms, communing with the gods, finding peace, or praying for guidance. But Luke’s voice echoed in the back of my head, his warning still sharp.
Our customs are different.
So what were these temples for? If Zaliver was the only living god, then what were they worshipping here?
I didn’t get to ask. My guards flanked me quietly, guiding me toward what looked like the central gathering point. We moved past curious stares, wolves murmuring silently in their minds as they sized me up.
Who is she?
New?
Outsider?
Threat?
The shadow of the massive temple loomed over us, blocking the moon’s glow. I could barely see past the thick woods and jagged rocks surrounding us. It felt hidden, cut off, like something sacred was about to happen, and I was standing in the middle of it with no clue what role I was meant to play.
I kept my gaze low, avoiding direct eye contact, but still taking in every detail around me. The energy here wasn’t right. It was too quiet. Too aware.
The guards shifted around me, separating but staying close enough to reach me in a blink. That didn’t ease the pressure building in my chest.
I fidgeted from foot to foot, unsettled.
Maybe I was in over my head.
No, scratch that, I definitely was.
This pack had layers. A hidden side that I was only now beginning to see. I didn’t understand it, and neither did my wolf. She was prowling just beneath the surface, restless, sniffing at the air for answers. Even the guards were tense, subtle in their movements but unmistakably alert. Like they were waiting for something to begin.
Where are you, Zaliver?
I scanned the shadows, heart thudding a little too fast. I needed him. The only solid thing in this confusing mess. He made me feel not safe, exactly, but less adrift. More grounded.
I was so focused on finding him that I didn’t even sense him appear beside me.
When I finally turned my head again, I nearly jumped out of my skin.
"Holy—!" I gasped, stumbling back slightly.
He stood right next to me, Zaliver. My mate. Towering and silent, his broad chest nearly brushing mine. The heat of him, the suddenness of his presence, it hit me like a wall. My heart tried to leap out of my chest.
"Damn! You scared me!" I slapped a hand over my heart, trying to calm my pulse.
He looked down at me, one brow lifted. I was starting to read his expressions better, finally. There was a faint twitch at the corner of his mouth, the barest pull, but it was there. That, paired with the tightness around his eyes, told me exactly what I suspected.
He was amused.
I peeked around him and caught Johnson smirking. Of course he was. The rest of the crowd? Still watching me. Like I was an open book written in a language they didn’t quite trust.
"Did I now?" Zaliver asked, his voice low and smooth as he leaned in slightly.
His proximity short-circuited my brain for a second, but I forced myself to breathe, to not shrink away. I squared my shoulders, met his gaze head-on.
"You know you did," I said firmly, then added, "So what’s going on?"
I knew he was Alpha. A god, even. But that didn’t mean I’d stand here quietly while everyone stared at me like I was prey. My wolf liked that I pushed back. So did I.
His lips twitched again.
Maybe I wasn’t just surviving this.
Maybe I was meant to be here.
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