SHADOWS OF THE MOONBLOOD
The moon was a sliver of silver in the sky, casting faint light over the high cliffs beyond Silvercrest territory.
Luna stood alone at the edge of the overlook, the wind lifting strands of her silver hair as if the Moon Goddess herself reached down to cradle her.
Behind her, the pack slept. But Luna could not.
Not tonight.
Too many questions clawed at the edges of her mind about Rowan, the assassins, and the whisper she'd heard from the dying rogue days before:
"She doesn't even know what she is."
That voice haunted her.
Kael joined her quietly, his presence steady, grounded. "They're waiting for you. The new Luna Council is ready."
She nodded but didn't turn. "Do you believe I'm different?"
He hesitated. "You already know the answer."
She finally turned to him. "Then tell me. Say it."
Kael's eyes—deep brown with a flicker of something else met hers. "You're not just the Luna. You're Moonblood."
Luna flinched.
It was an ancient term. Forbidden. A myth.
Moonbloods were the first children of the Moon Goddess—wolves born once every thousand years, marked not just with power but with prophecy. No Alpha had claimed the bloodline in over five generations.
"If that were true," Luna said, "why didn't my parents tell me?"
Kael's jaw tensed. "Because they didn't know. Your powers… your resistance to the shift. Your connection to the old forest. You're not like the rest of us. You were never meant to be."
Luna turned back toward the horizon. "And what happens to a Moonblood?"
He stepped beside her. "They either lead or burn."
Later that morning, the new Luna Council convened in the Great Hall, its stone walls lined with fresh banners. No longer just the sigil of Silvercrest, but the woven patterns of Fireclaw, Hollowpine, and others who had pledged their alliance.
At the head of the table, Luna took her seat. Kael stood guard behind her, silent but vigilant.
The members were an eclectic mix—Alpha Soren of Fireclaw, Mistress Elyra the seer from the Hollowpine Witches, Javi of the nomadic Starfell wolves, and Nara, a once exiled healer.
This council was hers. Not inherited. Chosen.
Luna raised her voice. "This council will not repeat the mistakes of the past. There will be no hidden ledgers. No secret pacts. Every voice here holds weight. Speak freely. Or leave."
The room was silent for a beat.
Then Soren grinned. "Well, then. Shall we start with how many more traitors are hiding in your borders?"
Luna didn't flinch. "We will. But first, I need your help identifying a threat older than any of us."
She dropped a leather-bound book on the table.
The cover bore a mark no one had seen in centuries: the Moonblood sigil.
Javi leaned forward, eyes wide. "Where did you find this?"
Kael answered, "In the vaults below the elder's temple. Hidden beneath five layers of barrier spells."
Elyra's voice trembled. "That symbol hasn't been seen since the Time of Fire."
Luna opened the book.
Inside were pages filled with lore, prophecies, and illustrations of wolves glowing with moonlight. One page in particular drew the council's eyes.
A figure with silver hair, marked with scars, standing beneath a blood moon. Behind her, a war unlike anything they'd seen.
"She was called the Eclipse Bringer," Luna read aloud. "And her rise marked the end of the old world."
Soren chuckled uneasily. "That's not exactly comforting."
Luna met each of their eyes. "I don't think it's a warning. I think it's a map. And I need you all to help me read it."
That night, Luna sat by the sacred spring with Elyra. The witch traced sigils in the water with her fingertip.
"You should not have survived the rejection," Elyra said softly.
Luna was quiet.
"The pain alone… should've broken you. But instead, it burned away what was false."
"I'm still broken," Luna admitted.
"No," Elyra said, "You're reforged."
A shadow passed over the water. Elyra's eyes snapped open. "Something comes."
Luna stood. "What kind of something?"
The witch stared into the moonlight. "Something old. Something that remembers your name."
Days later, scouts returned with word of strange sightings near the eastern border. Creatures twisted by dark magic. Trees that bled when cut. Wolves disappearing without a trace.
Luna called for her warriors.
Kael led the unit. Luna rode beside him, her wolf pacing just beneath her skin.
When they reached the eastern forest, it was as if they'd entered another world.
The air was thick. Wrong. And the shadows moved.
Kael sniffed the wind. "It's not just dark magic. It's corrupted."
Luna moved forward. Her steps were slow, deliberate.
She reached a tree. Its bark was gray. Sick. As her fingers touched it, she felt the echo of screams.
Not human. Not wolf.
Something older.
"What happened here?" Kael asked.
Luna didn't answer. She knelt and pressed her palm to the earth.
A vision struck.
Fire. Screams. A woman with her face but not her voice. A blade of moonlight. A creature with no eyes and too many teeth. And a promise:
"She will rise again. And so will I."
She staggered back. Kael caught her.
"It's coming back," she whispered. "The creature. The war."
Kael frowned. "The Eclipse?"
Luna met his eyes. "No. The Shadow behind it."
That night, Luna held her first ritual as Alpha-Luna. Not a public one—but a secret gathering of trusted wolves, witches, and seers.
A circle was drawn. Candles lit. The moon watched.
Luna bled into the bowl.
Her blood shimmered silver.
Gasps echoed. No one spoke.
Luna began the chant.
"Moon of blood, of shadow, of flame, Call the truth. Speak the name. What hunts us now? What dreams in the dark? Show me its face. Ignite the spark."
The bowl flared.
Smoke curled. Images formed.
A castle of bone. A throne of ash. A figure cloaked in black fire, holding a crown made of wolf skulls.
And beneath it… Asher.
Alive.
Changed.
Bound.
Luna's voice cracked. "No…"
Kael caught her. "What did you see?"
She looked at him, horror blooming. "Asher. He didn't reject me. Not fully. He's being used. Twisted."
The circle broke. Chaos rippled.
But Luna stood tall.
"I have to find him," she said. "Before the darkness does."
Kael stepped forward, fierce. "Then I go with you."
Their bond thrummed.
The room bowed.
And the prophecy began to wake.