CHAPTER ONE:THE BLOOD MOON AWAKENS
523 Words
The night the moon turned red, the wolves began to howl.
Aria Vale stood alone at the edge of the Blackthorn Forest, her silver cloak dancing wildly beneath the cold wind. Above her, the full moon glowed crimson like spilled blood across the sky, casting shadows over the ancient trees.
Something was wrong.
The forest was too quiet.
Even the insects had stopped singing.
Aria tightened her grip around the lantern in her hand as unease crawled through her chest. She had come to gather moon herbs for the healer of her pack, but now every instinct screamed for her to run.
A branch snapped behind her.
She turned sharply.
Nothing.
Only darkness.
“Who’s there?” she whispered.
No answer came.
Then suddenly—
A growl echoed from the trees.
Low.
Deep.
Deadly.
Aria’s breath caught as glowing golden eyes appeared between the shadows. One pair became two. Two became five.
Wolves.
Huge black wolves slowly emerged from the darkness, their silver fangs reflecting beneath the blood moon. They circled her carefully like hunters stalking wounded prey.
But these were not ordinary wolves.
They were werewolves.
And they belonged to the Shadow Fang Pack—the deadliest enemies of Aria’s people.
Fear wrapped around her throat.
She stepped backward carefully.
“I crossed no borders,” she said nervously. “I came alone.”
The largest wolf stepped forward.
Massive.
Scarred.
Its eyes burned like fire.
Then, before Aria’s eyes, the beast shifted.
Bones cracked.
Fur disappeared.
Within seconds, a tall man stood before her, shirtless beneath the moonlight, dark tattoos covering his chest like ancient markings.
Alpha Kael.
The feared ruler of the Shadow Fang Pack.
Aria’s heart nearly stopped.
Everyone feared Kael. Stories claimed he had killed rival Alphas with his bare hands. Mothers warned children never to speak his name after dark.
Yet now he stood only inches away from her.
Watching her.
Not with hatred.
But shock.
Kael stared deeply into her silver eyes as though he had seen a ghost.
“It cannot be…” he murmured.
Aria frowned. “What?”
Before he could answer, the blood moon suddenly blazed brighter.
Pain exploded through Aria’s body.
She screamed as a strange silver light burst from beneath her skin. The ground beneath her feet trembled violently. Wind spiraled around her like a storm awakening from sleep.
The wolves immediately lowered themselves in fear.
Even Alpha Kael stepped back.
Aria collapsed onto her knees, gasping.
Then she heard it.
A voice.
Ancient.
Powerful.
Inside her mind.
*The Blessed Luna has risen.*
The forest fell silent.
Kael’s expression darkened with disbelief.
“No…” he whispered. “The prophecy is real.”
Aria looked up weakly. “What prophecy?”
Kael slowly knelt before her.
For the first time in history—
An Alpha bowed.
“The moon has chosen you,” he said quietly. “And from this night forward… every pack in existence will either worship you…”
He paused.
“Or hunt you.”
Far away in the mountains, another howl echoed beneath the blood-red sky.
A warning.
The war for the Blessed Luna had begun.
- Writer
