The night sky bled red.
The Blood Moon had risen.
From the high cliffs overlooking Ravencrest, the wolves gathered. The air was thick with the musk of fur, the sharp tang of anticipation, and the low growls that rippled through the assembled pack. The council stood in a crescent at the head of the clearing, their eyes reflecting the crimson glow, faces grave and expectant.
Aria stood in the center of it all, her pulse thunderous in her ears. The world seemed too loud the rustle of leaves, the beating of hearts, even the shift of air against her skin. Every sound scraped against her senses, raw and unbearable.
She felt Damien's presence at her side, solid and unyielding, though his gaze never left the moon.
"The Blood Moon reveals truth," one of the council elders intoned, his voice carrying over the restless pack. "Tonight, the girl's blood will show us what she is."
A murmur swept through the crowd curiosity, fear, hunger. Aria's stomach twisted.
Her mother's journal weighed heavily in her mind. The prophecy. The warnings. Descendants will walk the line between worlds…
The elder raised his hands. "Let the moon decide."
---
It began slowly, like fire seeping through her veins.
Aria gasped, clutching at her chest as heat spread outward, burning her from the inside. Her skin prickled, her muscles spasmed, and the world tilted dangerously.
"Aria!" Damien reached for her, but the council snapped their attention toward him.
"Do not interfere, Alpha," the scarred woman warned, her voice sharp as a blade.
Aria dropped to her knees, her nails clawing at the dirt. Her breath came in ragged gasps, every inhale searing, every exhale breaking apart. The forest around her blurred, red bleeding into gold, gold into shadow.
And then came the sound.
A growl not from outside, but from within. It vibrated against her ribs, against her bones, until she thought she might split open from the force of it.
"Let me out," the voice rumbled inside her head. Deep, ancient, unmistakably wolf.
Her hands trembled violently. Claws pushed through her fingertips, splitting skin, dripping blood that sizzled as it hit the earth.
She screamed.
Her body convulsed, spine arching, muscles contorting as something primal ripped free. Her storm-gray eyes flashed gold, then back again, caught in a war between what she was and what she was becoming.
The pack howled in response, their voices rising to the blood-stained sky. Some cheered. Others snarled.
Damien's fists clenched at his sides, every muscle in his body screaming to go to her, to tear the council apart for letting this happen. But he held himself in place, because he knew this was her trial. And she had to face it.
---
Aria's skin burned, then cooled, then burned again. Her teeth ached, lengthening, sharpening. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in a pool of moonlit water the face of a girl fractured with the shadow of a wolf.
"You are mine," the voice whispered again, the same one she had heard in dreams, in fire, in shadow. Only now it wasn't distant. It was inside her.
Her vision tunneled, the edges of the world consumed by red. She staggered forward on all fours, the earth strange beneath her clawed hands.
The crowd's voices blurred together fear, awe, hunger.
And then, suddenly, silence.
Because Aria rose not fully wolf, not fully human. Her body trembled, caught halfway between forms. Golden light flickered across her skin, her eyes glowing like twin embers.
The pack drew back, uncertain.
The elder's voice broke the silence: "She is neither."
"No," Damien growled, stepping forward now, unable to stay still any longer. His voice carried, sharp with authority. "She is both."
Aria's gaze snapped to him, and for a moment, everything else fell away. The voices, the pain, the prophecy it was only him. His steady presence, his unwavering belief.
The fire inside her calmed, just enough for her to stand.
But then a snarl cut through the night.
From the crowd stepped Viktor, his massive frame illuminated in crimson glow, his eyes feral with triumph.
"This proves what I've said all along," he declared, his voice booming. "She is an abomination. She cannot control herself. She is a danger to us all."
A ripple of agreement moved through some of the wolves. Others looked away, uncertain.
Aria's chest heaved, her claws digging into the dirt. Rage boiled inside her, hot and blinding. She wasn't an abomination. She wasn't a danger. She wasn't.
A guttural growl ripped from her throat before she could stop it. The ground seemed to vibrate beneath her, power rolling outward in waves. Wolves cowered back, some dropping to their knees, their instincts forcing submission.
Viktor, however, only sneered. "See? She is already losing herself."
Damien's golden eyes blazed. "No. She's finding herself."
---
Aria fell to her knees again, caught in the storm of her own transformation. Pain tore through her spine, her bones grinding, reshaping. She could feel the wolf pushing harder, desperate to break free.
Let me out, the voice urged again.
Her mother's words whispered in her mind: The bond you carry is not a curse. It is a choice.
Aria clenched her fists, fighting to anchor herself. "I am not yours," she gasped aloud, sweat dripping down her temples. "I am mine."
The wolf inside roared in defiance, but her words held power.
Her body shuddered and then, slowly, the fire ebbed. The claws retracted. Her eyes dimmed back to stormy gray. She collapsed into the dirt, trembling but whole.
The pack watched in stunned silence.
"She stopped it," one whispered.
"No one stops a Blood Moon shift," another murmured.
"She's… different."
Damien rushed forward, dropping to his knees beside her. He pulled her into his arms, his scent grounding her, his warmth steady against her trembling body.
"You did it," he whispered against her hair. "You faced it, and you chose."
Aria buried her face in his chest, tears hot against her cheeks. She was exhausted, broken, but alive. And she had chosen herself, her path, her strength.
---
The council stepped forward, their faces shadowed in the red glow.
The scarred woman studied Aria with narrowed eyes. "She is not what we feared."
"No," another elder agreed. "She is something else entirely."
Viktor growled low, fury vibrating through him. "You will regret this. She will bring ruin upon us all."
Damien's glare met his, sharp as steel. "Or she will bring our salvation. And I will stand beside her, no matter which it is."
---
As the Blood Moon sank toward the horizon, the pack began to disperse, murmurs and whispers following in their wake. Some looked at Aria with awe. Others with fear. But none looked at her the same way they had before.
She had faced the Blood Moon and survived.
And though she had not fully shifted, she had proven one thing beyond doubt.
She was not just human. She was not just wolf.
She was something new.
---
Later, when the forest was quiet and only embers of moonlight lingered, Aria stood with Damien at the cliff's edge. Her body still ached, her spirit frayed, but she felt… different. Stronger.
"Will it always hurt like that?" she asked softly.
Damien's hand brushed hers. "The first shift is always the hardest. But what you did tonight stopping it, choosing when to yield and when to fight that's unheard of."
Aria stared at the fading moon. "Does that make me dangerous?"
"It makes you powerful," Damien said simply. Then he turned, his gaze locking on hers, steady and unflinching. "And it makes you mine."
Her breath caught. His words weren't a claim, not like the voice inside her. They were a vow. A choice.
And for the first time, Aria felt like maybe just maybe she could believe in it.