Chapter 19 – The Moon’s Warning
1072 Words
The packhouse had fallen into uneasy silence. No one dared to speak of what happened in the woods, yet everyone felt it—the shifting energy that hung like a storm above their heads.
Aria wandered the hallway outside Kael’s chamber, her bare feet silent on the marble floor. The moonlight from the window spilled across the walls, faintly illuminating the runes carved into the stone—protection sigils that hadn’t glowed in years. Now, they pulsed faintly, as if warning her that something ancient had awoken.
Kael hadn’t left his room all day. He’d ordered the guards to keep everyone away, even her. But that didn’t stop Aria. The mark on her wrist had been burning all night, calling her to him.
When she pushed the door open, the air hit her like a wave—thick with power and the scent of blood.
Kael stood in the center of the room, shirt discarded, his hands pressed against the wall. The veins along his arms glowed dark crimson, spreading from the mark on his chest. His breath came out ragged.
“Kael!” she gasped, rushing forward.
“Don’t,” he growled, his voice deep, almost inhuman. “Stay back.”
She froze. His wolf was too close to the surface—she could feel it radiating off him, wild and unstable.
“Kael, it’s me,” she said softly, taking a careful step closer. “You’re fighting it. You’re winning. You just need to breathe.”
He turned his head slowly, eyes flickering between gold and black. “You don’t understand what’s happening, Aria. The Blood Luna isn’t just a curse—it’s a spirit. And it’s whispering to me.”
Her pulse quickened. “What is it saying?”
He closed his eyes, trembling. “That you were never meant for me. That you belong to him.”
Her breath caught. “Kael—”
His hand slammed against the wall, cracking the stone. “It shows me things. Visions of you and Rylan—your hands, your eyes, your mark glowing with his! I don’t know what’s real anymore!”
Aria stepped closer, tears filling her eyes. “Kael, those aren’t visions—they’re lies. The curse feeds on fear. You can’t let it control you.”
He laughed bitterly. “Control? I’ve lost control of everything. My pack, my brother, even you.”
Before she could respond, the mark on her wrist flared with blinding light. She gasped as pain shot through her veins, dropping her to her knees. Kael’s mark responded instantly, glowing to match hers.
Their connection ignited.
Images flooded her mind—flashes of the moon turning black, the forest burning, Kael’s body lifeless under the red sky, and a shadowed figure standing over him.
Then she heard it. A voice—soft, feminine, and ancient.
“The Blood Eclipse draws near. One bond will break; one soul will fade.”
The vision shattered. Aria gasped, clutching her chest. Kael rushed to her side, his fury gone, replaced by fear.
“What did you see?” he demanded.
She shook her head, still trembling. “The moon… it was black. I heard her. The Moon Goddess. She said the Eclipse is coming.”
Kael’s grip tightened on her arms. “When?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “But soon.”
He stood, pacing, running his hand through his hair. “Then we need to prepare the pack. If the curse tries to use the eclipse, we’ll stop it.”
Aria frowned. “It’s not the pack the curse wants, Kael—it’s us.”
A long silence filled the room. Then Kael looked at her, pain flickering behind his eyes. “If it comes to it… if the only way to save you is to end me—”
“Don’t,” she interrupted, voice sharp with emotion. “Don’t you dare say that.”
He reached out, cupping her face. His thumb brushed her cheek, gentle despite the power trembling under his skin. “I’d rather die as your mate than live as your monster.”
Tears spilled down her face. “Then don’t make me lose you, Kael. Promise me you’ll fight.”
He hesitated. Then nodded. “I promise.”
But in his eyes, she saw it—the doubt.
⸻
The next morning, the pack gathered in the courtyard. Rylan stood near the edge, arms crossed, watching Kael with silent judgment. The tension between them was thick, visible even to the wolves who didn’t know the truth.
Kael addressed his pack with a voice that carried strength but lacked warmth. “A storm is coming. You’ll feel it in your bones, in your blood. When it arrives, you will stand with me—or fall to it.”
The wolves howled in response, but Aria could feel their fear.
When the meeting ended, Rylan approached her quietly. “He’s slipping, isn’t he?”
She didn’t answer.
Rylan sighed. “The more the curse spreads, the less he’ll be himself. You know that.”
Aria turned to face him, eyes fierce. “You think I’ll give up on him? You think I’ll let fate take him from me?”
“I think fate doesn’t care what we want,” Rylan said softly. “It never has.”
She stepped closer, her mark glowing faintly under her sleeve. “Then we’ll make it care.”
He smiled faintly, something sad in his expression. “You sound like him.”
“Good,” she said. “Then maybe there’s still hope.”
⸻
That night, Aria dreamed again. The moon was red, bleeding light across the world. Kael stood at the edge of a cliff, his back to her. The mark on his chest pulsed like a heartbeat.
“Kael,” she whispered.
He turned—and she gasped. His eyes were empty, black as the void.
Behind him stood Rylan, blood staining his hands.
And when the thunder broke, she heard the Goddess’s voice again:
“Love will bind you. Blood will break you.”
Aria woke with a scream, drenched in sweat.
The mark on her wrist was glowing again—only this time, it wasn’t just hers. Two other lights burned faintly in the dark, pulsing from down the hall. Kael’s room. Rylan’s.
The Blood Luna bond had awakened.
And it was calling all three of them.
- Writer
