The forest stretched endlessly, painted in shades of green and grey under the dimming light of the setting sun. A low mist crawled across the ground, winding around our feet like ghostly tendrils. The journey to the Moonwell had begun before dawn, yet the weight of the path ahead had only grown heavier with each mile.
Aria walked beside me, her shoulders tense, eyes wide with caution. She had not spoken much since we left the safehouse. But I could feel the fire building inside her, quiet but undeniable. She was beginning to understand the world we lived in, and the power that simmered within her blood. Still, she carried fear. Not of me, or even the darkness we faced—but of herself.
Rhys and two others flanked our rear, their senses sharp, ears perked for the slightest shift in the wind. We were not alone in these woods. I had scented movement ahead of us more than once, but whatever stalked the trail kept its distance. For now.
The Moonwell was not just a destination. It was a reckoning.
When I was a pup, my father told tales of it. Hidden deep within the sacred vale of Serrow's Hollow, a place where the moon's power bled into the earth, the Moonwell had once been the heart of our kind—a sacred sanctuary where ancient spirits whispered truths and made judgments.
But the Moonwell had fallen silent long ago.
Some said it died with the last Flamebearer. Others claimed the old gods had turned away from us when the clans broke the Covenant of Teeth. All I knew was that if there was any hope of unlocking the truth of what Aria carried within her, it would be there.
And it would not come freely.
We paused at a ridge as the path narrowed between two massive stone outcroppings. Moss clung to their sides, and carvings long worn by time hinted at the old language of the first wolves.
"We're being followed," Rhys muttered under his breath. "At least two. Light feet. Could be scouts."
"Too light for vampires," I replied. "And too clever for beasts."
Aria turned slightly, eyes narrowing. "Hunters?"
I met her gaze. "Possibly."
We pressed on without rest, winding deeper into the forest until night fell fully, blanketing the sky in velvet shadows. The moon hung low and blood-tinged, watching us with that cold, knowing stare it always wore when death was near.
We found a sheltered glade to rest, surrounded by thick brambles and ancient stones. I posted guards, set wards, then took the first watch. Aria curled up beneath a cloak, silent but awake.
"Do you remember your dreams?" I asked quietly.
She blinked, surprised. "Lately, yes. They're not like before. They're... vivid."
"Tell me."
She hesitated, then whispered, "I see a woman of fire. Her skin glows like embers, her eyes hold stars. She doesn't speak, but she touches my chest and it burns. I wake up sweating, gasping."
I nodded. "That's the Flame."
"Is she... me?"
"Not yet. But she may be a part of you, waiting to awaken."
She looked away. "I don't know if I want that."
"Wanting has nothing to do with it. The moon chooses."
She scoffed. "That's not comforting."
"It wasn't meant to be."
In the stillness that followed, I watched her, wondering how much longer I could protect her from what she was becoming.
At dawn, we continued.
By midday, we reached the vale.
Serrow's Hollow opened like a wound in the earth, vast and quiet, its trees older than memory. The scent of old magic clung to the air—thick, musky, like wildflowers wilting beneath a storm. The Moonwell waited in the center, a pool of black water reflecting the sky.
I stepped forward first, testing the ground. The ancient sigils burned faintly beneath the moss-covered stones. The spirits were watching. I could feel them.
"This is it," I said. "No turning back now."
Aria followed, her fingers brushing the edge of the well. The water rippled at her touch, glowing faintly beneath her skin. A gust of wind rushed through the vale, and the trees groaned.
The Moon had noticed her.
"Now what?" she asked.
"Now, you bleed."
She flinched. "What?"
"To awaken the well, blood must be given. Not in violence. In offering. It must come from choice."
She looked at me, eyes wide. "And if I don't choose?"
"Then we leave here with nothing. And the war finds us blind."
Slowly, she drew a knife from my belt. Her hand shook, but she didn't ask questions. She pressed the blade to her palm and cut. A single drop fell into the Moonwell.
The effect was instant.
The water blazed gold.
Light shot upward, forming a pillar that split the sky. The wind screamed through the vale. Rhys dropped to one knee. I held my ground, barely.
Aria stood at the center of it all, her hair lifting, eyes wide with golden fire. She gasped as symbols carved themselves into the air around her, spinning slowly.
And then she screamed.
I rushed forward, catching her as her knees gave out. The light faded, and the symbols collapsed into her chest, vanishing beneath her skin.
She was burning up.
"Get her water," I ordered. "Rhys, watch the ridges. They will come now. The Flame has been seen."
Aria's eyes fluttered open, and she whispered, "I saw her again. She said my name. She called me... Lyrielle."
I froze.
That name had not been spoken in centuries. It was the name of the first Flamebearer. The one who forged peace between our kind and the spirits of the moon.
I had no time to question further.
The attack came with the dying sun.
Screams rang through the trees as dark shapes moved like shadows given teeth. Vampires, at least six. But something else moved with them. Something darker.
A cloaked figure stepped into the vale, untouched by moonlight. He carried a staff of ashwood and bone.
"The girl," he hissed. "Give her to me."
"You first," I growled, shifting halfway into my wolf form. My eyes burned, fangs elongating.
He laughed. "I am the voice of the Hollow Sun. You will kneel."
"I do not kneel."
We clashed.
My claws tore through one vampire, but the others swarmed. Rhys held the line with two others, blades flashing. Aria, weak but awake, crawled to the well and pressed her bloody palm to its surface again.
"Protect her!" I shouted, ripping through another attacker.
The cloaked figure raised his staff and sent a wave of darkness toward her. I leapt into the path and caught it full-force, pain searing through my side.
"Alpha!" Rhys cried.
I didn't fall.
Aria screamed again, and the Moonwell erupted.
A column of white fire burst from the pool, striking the sky. The attackers froze. The figure shrieked as his cloak caught flame. He turned and vanished into mist.
The vampires followed.
Silence returned to the vale.
Aria collapsed into my arms.
"I couldn't stop it," she whispered. "It just... came out."
"You did well," I said, holding her close. "You did exactly what was needed."
Rhys limped over, bleeding from his shoulder. "They won't stop now. The Hollow Sun is awake."
"Let them come," I growled. "We have the Flame."
Aria looked up at me. "What now?"
I stood, lifting her into my arms.
"Now we build a war they can't win."
As we turned from the Moonwell, I knew everything had changed. Aria was no longer just a girl. She was Lyrielle reborn. And I was no longer just her protector.
I was her shield.
Her blade.
Her Alpha.
And the war had only just begun.