The moon bled above the forest round, crimson, and unrelenting. Its eerie glow soaked the earth in red, casting long shadows over the mansion's courtyard. Magic hung in the air like smoke, thick and electric.
The Blood Eclipse had begun.
Raina stood barefoot beneath the ancient sycamore tree, her breath shallow, her mark burning beneath her skin. It pulsed in rhythm with her heartbeat fierce, steady, demanding. Power thrummed through her veins like wildfire, barely contained beneath her flesh.
Across the courtyard, Lucien leaned against the stone archway, watching her. His silver eyes were unreadable, stormy. He wore no shirt only the scars across his chest and the fresh runes inked along his ribs, each one ancient, sacred, dangerous.
He hadn't spoken since she mentioned the prophecy.
But she knew he'd read it too.
The Pact of Eclipse.
A forbidden ritual that would bind them soul to soul, magic to magic. It would unlock her full power. But the cost was clear: if one fell, the other would fall too. No mercy. No undoing.
"You knew," she said finally, her voice quiet but laced with accusation.
Lucien stepped forward, slow and heavy. "I hoped it wouldn't come to this."
"Why not?"
"Because once we do this, there's no turning back." He hesitated. "You'll carry all of me. My pain. My darkness. My guilt. And I'll carry yours."
Raina's eyes burned. "You think I haven't already?"
Lucien closed the space between them. "You still have a choice."
"No, Lucien. I made it the moment I chose you."
His eyes flickered. For once, the wolf looked afraid.
They found the glade deep in the northern woods, veiled by enchantments that only Huntress blood could break. The path was overgrown, the air colder. At the center stood the altar stone, ancient, etched with symbols that shimmered in the moonlight.
Raina stepped into the circle first. Her skin prickled as the eclipse's light bathed her in red fire. Lucien followed silently.
"The bond begins in blood," he said.
Raina pulled the ceremonial blade from the pouch Maeva had left her. Her hands trembled.
Lucien extended his wrist. "Do it."
She hesitated. Then made the cut clean, shallow. His blood welled up silver and luminous.
Lucien took the blade and sliced her wrist in return. Her blood glowed gold.
They joined hands, and the moment their blood mingled, the earth shuddered.
The wind roared. The altar lit from within. Ancient words spilled from their mouths unbidden, primal, echoing through the glade like thunder.
The marks on their bodies surged snaking up their arms, down their backs, over their hearts.
And then came the fire.
Lucien pulled her against him. Raina clung to him like she might drown. Their lips met in a kiss that wasn't soft, wasn't sweet it was desperation and hunger and fate.
Clothes vanished between frantic touches and whispered vows.
Lucien lowered her onto the stone, his hands tracing every line of her. She arched into him, moaning as he worshipped her body his mouth warm, his breath hot, his hands rough but reverent.
Their bodies moved as one urgent, sacred, unrelenting.
Each thrust burned the bond deeper. Each cry sealed the ritual tighter. When they reached the peak, the forest trembled. Magic cracked through the sky.
And when it was over, they collapsed naked, trembling, marked forever.
Raina lay against him, heart still racing. Lucien's hand stroked her back in slow circles.
"It's done," he whispered.
"It doesn't feel like the end," she murmured.
"It's not."
A rustle broke the quiet.
Maeva stepped into the glade, her face grim. "You've made your choice."
"We made our vow," Raina said.
"Then you've declared war."
Lucien stood. "What do you mean?"
Maeva glanced toward the sky. The eclipse flared once more bright, searing, red.
"The Coven knows," she said. "Aeris is coming."
Raina didn't flinch. "Then I'll be ready."