BloodMoon: Captivated by the Forbidden Lycan Alpha
Chapter 193: GOLDEN FUR CREATURES

Chapter 193: GOLDEN FUR CREATURES

{" Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into mountains." }

They came in like they owned the mountain. Fennel Cobalt was the first to step past the cave’s threshold, his boots scuffing against sacred stone like he had no idea what he was walking into. His eyes were wide, lit with curiosity that teetered far too close to greed. Right behind him was his father, Amos Cobalt, slower, older, but with a gaze even colder than the shadows wrapped around him.

And flanking them... the vampires. A male, tall and sleek with silver-threaded hair and a gaze like ice water. The female was smaller, but she moved like smoke and steel, her eyes flicking over everything with calculated precision. They entered in silence, but even the mountain seemed to hold its breath.

Flora’s shoulder pressed lightly against mine. We stayed hidden, still cloaked in the golden creatures’ camouflage, unseen by eyes that didn’t deserve to witness what this place truly was.

Fennel stepped farther into the inner chamber, and that was when he saw them.

He froze. Mouth parted. Eyes wide. The golden fur creatures stood tall, glowing softly under the cavern’s natural light, their bodies blending into the gilded stone as if born from it. Majestic. Wild. Radiating an ancient power that made even the air feel heavy with meaning.

"Oh... stars above," Fennel whispered, his voice cracking with awe. "They’re real."

Amos stepped beside him; his expression more guarded, but even he couldn’t hide the flicker of stunned reverence in his eyes. "So, this is what the mountain hides," he murmured.

The male vampire let out a low exhale. "Power like this..." His voice was rough with hunger. "It could feed us for centuries."

"No," the female vampire snapped under her breath, eyes never leaving the creatures. "It commands us. This isn’t something we take. This is something that I choose."

I clenched my jaw so tight my teeth ached, and I could feel the guardians beside us, still unmoving but coiled with tension. They were letting the intruders look, but not for long.

Flora whispered, "How long until they make a move?"

I didn’t answer. I was too busy watching Fennel’s hand twitch just once as he pushed his wolf out, and then the claws came out of his hands, and I could sense that he thought this sacred place was his to conquer.

"They make a move," I breathed, eyes narrowing, "we end them."

And the mountain agreed, its pulse quickening beneath us, like the heartbeat of something ancient preparing to defend its soul.

I saw it the moment his body tensed and Fennel’s fingers flexed at his sides. His breathing deepened. His spine arched just slightly. He was going to shift and snickered, thinking that he thought he could transform in this place as if his wolf would be welcome among creatures far older and holier than his bloodline could ever claim.

"You don’t want to do that," I whispered under my breath.

A shimmer ran across his skin, the first hints of fur rippling through his arms. His bones began to realign with the strain of transformation, and that’s when the mountain answered. The cave walls trembled, dust falling from the high dome like sacred ash. A low rumble built beneath us, not from the creatures but from the stone itself.

Fennel froze mid-shift, half-shifted and wide-eyed as the golden fur guardians let out a chorus of growls, deep and bone-rattling. Their eyes glowed brighter. Their bodies tensed. Warning after warning.

Amos Cobalt stumbled back a step, his face blanching. "Fennel," he hissed. "Stop. Stop right now."

But the Fennel didn’t move. Couldn’t, maybe. The mountain had locked him there, like a mouse under a predator’s stare. The vampires hissed and fell back, instinctively retreating into the shadows. Even though they could feel it now, this was no ordinary sacred ground. This was a living, breathing sentinel.

And it was angry.

I felt the way the mountain’s power rippled through me, and the camouflage melted from my skin like mist dissolving in sunlight. The golden guardians parted for me as if they’d been waiting.

Amos shouted, "Who—what—"

But his words broke off as I began to shift, and I let the Rogourau rise from inside me, the ancient beast that had long slumbered in my bones. My limbs cracked and stretched, shadow and gold weaving across my skin as claws burst from my fingers. My eyes burned with the fire of the earth, my teeth lengthened, my voice deepened into a snarl that echoed off the walls.

And then, I roared, and the mountain answered.

The energy surged into me, ancient and molten and wild, and I merged with it fully. I became part of the stone, the pulse, the soul of this place. My growl wasn’t just mine anymore, it was the mountain’s. A sound that shook through every intruder’s bone and made the air itself hold its breath.

"I warned you," I said, voice a growling thunder. "You walk among gods, and you dare bare your teeth here?"

Fennel dropped to his knees, shaking. His shift faltered, fading. His arrogance shattered, and Amos could barely speak.

And the vampires? They pressed back toward the exit, like the shadows might protect them from what they’d awoken. I stepped forward, slow and deliberate, power radiating off me in thick waves.

"This mountain does not forgive greed," I growled, "and neither do I."

They should have run when they had the chance, but the vampires stood frozen at the mouth of the cave, shoulders tense, fangs bared, trembling not with readiness but with fear. Their eyes locked on mine, wide and disbelieving, like they couldn’t comprehend what they were seeing.

I stepped forward, the ground cracking beneath my clawed feet. The golden fur guardians flanked me, their eyes gleaming like burning stars. The mountain pulsed through my body, alive inside my blood, roaring in my ears, whispering through my bones, my chest rose and the power coiled behind my teeth.

"You should not have come here," I said, voice a deep, growling thunder. "You do not belong. This mountain is not yours to plunder."

The female vampire shook her head, backing away slowly, her boots scraping uselessly across the stone. "What the fuck—"

I opened my mouth and I breathed in, the flame, an ancient, golden fire that lived within the heart of the mountain, drawn into my chest like it had been waiting for this very moment. Their screams started before the fire even left my throat.

Then I exhaled and a torrent of searing gold erupted from my jaws, spiralling through the air like a living serpent of heat and judgment. The fire engulfed the entrance, devouring the shadows the vampires had retreated to. They shrieked, bodies twisting, ash and bone splintering in the blaze. Gone, burned not just by flame but by the mountain’s fury made flesh through me. Silence followed. A silence so heavy it felt sacred, and behind me, the golden fur creatures bowed their heads.

The heat of the fire still lingered in my throat, curling in my belly like a coiled serpent. The smoke hadn’t yet cleared from the entrance, and the scent of scorched ash clung to the stone like a warning.

I stood in the centre of it all, hulking, massive, wild, the Rogourau within me fully risen. The golden fur guardians still flanked me, silent, steady, watching.

And then I felt her move.

Flora stepped out from our cover, her feet light against the stone, her presence unshaken by fire or death. Her cloak shifted around her shoulders, the soft rustle the only sound that followed the roaring silence.

Amos and Fennel turned; their eyes widened.

Fennel flinched, stumbling back a step. "You—?"

His father’s face drained of what little colour remained, mouth parting but no words escaping. Flora met their fear head-on, standing tall, proud, unyielding.

"You betrayed the Bay Shifter Pack," she said, her voice cold, sharp as obsidian. "You brought vampires into sacred lands. You tried to steal power that was never yours to touch." She took another step forward, chin lifted. "You don’t deserve mercy," she hissed. "You deserve death."

Her words echoed across the cave, bouncing off the stone like a final verdict. The mountain seemed to hum in agreement, a low rumble vibrating beneath my claws. Amos looked at me, eyes wide with something between disbelief and desperation. "Flora Bolt," he croaked, as if using my name might soften me.

"Your time is up," I snarled, the fire in my chest burning again, and then shifted back into my human form and added, "The choice is yours; you die here or we escort you back to Bay shifter lands. "

Flora’s presence beside me was like a steady pulse, calm and unwavering. She stood tall, every line of her body radiating strength, but there was something else in her stance, something different from the usual softness that flowed from her. She was as much a part of this moment as I was.

Amos and Fennel... they had been sure of themselves when they first entered the cave. Arrogant, even. But now, as the weight of what they’d done and what was about to come settled over them, I could feel their fear. Amos was the first to break, and with a sudden, jerky motion, he dropped to his knees, his hands clasped in front of him as if begging the mountain itself for forgiveness. His face was twisted with desperation, his eyes wide, as though trying to comprehend the full extent of what we were and what he had unleashed.

"Please," he rasped, voice cracking under the weight of his regret. "Please, Flora, I didn’t know it would come to this. We were just trying to-"

"You knew," I growled, my voice a low rumble, each word soaked in the power of the Rogourau and the mountain’s wrath. "You knew when you chose to betray your own kind. You knew the cost."

His breath came in shallow gasps, the colour draining from his face as he sank lower, forehead almost touching the ground and then there was Fennel. He collapsed beside his father, his knees hitting the stone with a sickening thud. He didn’t even try to rise. He didn’t even try to stand and face the inevitable.

Flora stepped forward, her gaze hard and unyielding, her voice quieter than mine but filled with just as much weight. "You had a choice, Fennel. Both of you did."

But Fennel didn’t look at her. His eyes were focused on the ground, on the jagged stones beneath him. He was defeated, broken, and repentant. Flora and I stood there in silence for a moment, the air thick with the weight of their failure. I could feel the golden guardians behind us, still and silent, waiting for the final command. They were like the mountain, watching, listening, ready for whatever came next.

Amos turned his head just slightly toward me, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Rita, please... have mercy. For him. For Fennel."

"Take them out of the mountain and deal with them "The mountain pushed the words through and I nodded at Flora as we dragged them out of the Sagstone mountain to the Bays shifter army camp that was down the mountain base.