Bloodlines
894 Words
The next morning began with bruises and fire in Rhea’s limbs. The training had left her sore and stiff, but she didn’t let herself falter. When Isla whistled for the morning run, Rhea was the first to step out of the cabin.
“Good,” Isla said with a raised brow. “You're learning.”
Rhea nodded silently, falling into step beside the others as they jogged into the forest. Each stride was a battle, but she gritted her teeth and kept moving.
They spent the first half of the day in combat drills. Isla paired Rhea with a broad-shouldered wolf named Garrin, who didn’t believe in holding back.
Garrin slammed her into the dirt twice before she found her footing. On the third round, she ducked low and swept his legs from under him. The other pack members whistled, impressed.
She didn’t celebrate. She simply offered Garrin a hand up. He took it without a word, but she saw the spark of respect in his eyes.
That afternoon, Lucci pulled her aside.
“You’re pushing too hard,” he said. “You need rest.”
“If I stop, I’ll fall behind,” she replied.
“You’re not behind,” he said softly. “You’re leading in ways they haven’t seen yet.”
They walked together to a small grove, where the trees grew so closely their trunks formed a circle. Rhea felt calm the moment she stepped inside.
“This place is old,” she murmured.
Lucci nodded. “We call it the Root Ring. Elders say this is where the first Moonbound wolves made their oaths to the Moon Goddess.”
“The Moonbound,” she echoed. “Tell me more.”
Lucci sat on a moss-covered rock. “They were the first wolves blessed by the moon. Strong, wise, bonded to nature. Your bloodline traces back to them—on both sides.”
“I thought the Calderons were just… human,” she said.
“Long ago, your family turned their backs on the packs. They hid their gifts. But blood doesn’t forget. Especially when the moon calls.”
Rhea touched the pendant at her throat. It felt warmer now, as if hearing their conversation.
“My mother,” she whispered. “She always knew things. Felt things. She warned me to stay out of the woods. Was she trying to protect me? Or keep me from the truth?”
“Maybe both,” Lucci said. “But now you know. And that changes everything.”
As they sat in silence, a twig snapped behind them.
Isla emerged from the trees, her face unreadable. “The Council wants to see her.”
Lucci frowned. “So soon?”
“They’re wary. They want to test her blood.”
Rhea stood. “Let them.”
The Council convened in a stone hall built into a hillside, hidden by vines and shadow. Six elders sat in a semi-circle, their faces lined with age and wisdom.
A small fire burned at the center, casting flickering shadows.
“Rhea Calderon,” said the eldest, a man with dark skin and a long, silver beard. “You claim the blood of the Moonbound.”
“I don’t claim it,” she said evenly. “It found me.”
The councilwoman beside him nodded. “We will test your truth.”
She motioned for Rhea to step into the firelight.
One of the elders produced a shallow bowl carved from obsidian. He pricked Rhea’s finger with a silver needle and let three drops fall into the bowl.
The blood shimmered.
Then it glowed.
A hush fell over the room. The light pulsing from her blood wasn’t just pale—it was silver-blue, the color of moonlight.
“She carries both lines,” whispered the bearded elder. “Moonbound… and rogue-born.”
Gasps filled the room.
“What does that mean?” Rhea asked, tension rising in her chest.
“It means your father’s side has been touched by darkness,” the councilwoman said gently. “But your light is stronger.”
“She must be watched,” another elder grumbled. “Light alone doesn’t cleanse shadow.”
“She should be guided,” Isla interjected. “And trained.”
Rhea swallowed hard. “So I’m not just Moonbound. I’m also… cursed?”
“No,” Lucci said, stepping forward. “You’re balanced. And that might be what we need most.”
The elders murmured among themselves before the lead elder raised a hand.
“We will not stop your training. But we will be watching.”
Rhea bowed her head slightly. “Then I won’t hide.”
Outside the council hall, the moon had risen full and bright. Rhea looked up, the silver light soaking into her skin.
“I always felt different,” she whispered. “But I never imagined this.”
Lucci stood beside her. “The blood doesn’t lie, Rhea. And neither does the moon.”
She turned to him. “What if the darkness in me wins?”
“Then I’ll be there to pull you back.”
Their eyes met, and something unspoken passed between them. Not the heat of their earlier kisses, but something deeper. A bond.
A promise.
And as the wind stirred the trees, Rhea felt it in her bones.
She wasn’t just awakening.
She was being chosen.
- Writer
