Chapter 4
867 Words
Aloha sighed with relief as she finally returned to her bedroom. Within minutes, she fell asleep.
Then the nightmare came again.
She was five years old.
The cabin felt warm and safe. Her mother, Elara, hummed softly as she prepared dinner.
“Your father will be late,” she said with a smile. “Alpha duties are keeping him busy today, little moon.”
“I made him a drawing!”
Aloha proudly held up a sketch of herself and her parents playing on the beach.
Elara smiled.
“It’s beautiful. He’ll love—”
Suddenly she stopped.
Her expression changed as she sniffed the air for danger.
“There is someone out there, and it’s not your father…” she whispered.
“Mama, you’re scaring me?”Aloha cried out
“Under the floorboards. Now!”
Aloha barely had time to move before the front door burst open.
Hidden beneath the floor, she watched through a narrow crack.
Three wolves wearing the Blackthorn Pack crest stormed inside.
They hadn’t come to visit, but to kill.
Elara stepped in front of them.
Her amber eyes flashed silver as moonlight gathered around her hands. A powerful blast threw the first attacker through the wall.
Then another wolf struck.
Everything happened in seconds.
Then the silver light vanished.
Blood spread across the floor, slipping through the cracks until it touched young Aloha’s face.
“No! Mummy!”
Aloha bolted upright with a scream.
She gasped for air, soaked in sweat, desperately wiping her face even though there was no blood.
Her bedroom door flew open.
“Aloha!”
Her best friend, Lyra rushed in and wrapped her arms around her.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “You’re safe.”
“It felt real,” Aloha whispered. “The blood…”
“I know.”
They stayed that way until Aloha finally calmed down.
Lyra brushed the damp hair from her forehead.
“That’s the fifth nightmare this week.”
“I’m scared.” Aloha looked away.
“Because of the wedding?”Lyra asked.
She nodded.
“Something isn’t right about Lucien.”
Lyra immediately shut and locked the bedroom door.
“What happened during the celebration?”
“He threatened me.” Aloha explained in between tears “He said if I don’t shift before the wedding, his father will intervene.”
Lyra’s face grew serious. “There have been rumors about wolves disappearing after entering Nightfang territory.”
She pulled a folded report from her pocket.
“I wasn’t going to show you this.”
Aloha unfolded it.
It listed several disappearances near the Neutral Wilds. Most were rogues, but a few belonged to neighboring packs.
None had returned.
“Lucien controls that border,” Lyra said quietly. “People don’t just disappear.”
Aloha felt her stomach tighten. “You think they want to use me?”
“I think you need to be careful.”
Lyra squeezed her hand before placing a satellite phone in her palm.
“It’s a secure line. If anything happens, call me. If you find proof, I’ll bring help.”
Aloha gave a bitter laugh. “If that help is my father, don’t bother. He won’t believe me.”
“He will.”
“No.”Aloha shook her head. “He wants peace too much. He refuses to see the danger.”
Lyra sighed. “You’re still not facing this alone.”
A faint smile crossed Aloha’s face. “You’re a good friend.”
“The best,” Lyra replied with a grin.
Both of them laughed softly.
“Now get changed. You leave in less than three hours.”
Aloha removed her damp nightshirt and reached for a clean one.
Then she noticed Lyra staring at her reflection.
“Oh, Moon Goddess…”
“What?”
“Aloha… your side.”
She looked down.
A dark bruise covered her waist.
The shape of a hand was clearly visible where Lucien had grabbed her.
For any wolf, even one whose wolf hadn’t awakened, the injury should have healed already.
“How could he do this?” Lyra whispered.
Aloha touched the bruise and winced.
“He didn’t mean to. He just held me too tightly.”
“That’s not holding someone,” Lyra said. “That’s branding them.”
Shame washed over Aloha.
“I don’t deserve to be Luna. I’m broken.”
“You are not broken.”
Lyra placed both hands on her shoulders.
“Your wolf is sleeping. That’s all.”
Aloha pulled on a fresh shirt, covering the bruise.
“I hope she wakes up soon.”
Her voice trembled.
“Because tomorrow I’m walking into a den of monsters… and I don’t think I can face them alone.”
Lyra hugged her tightly.
“You won’t be alone.”
She tapped the satellite phone hidden beneath Aloha’s clothes.
“I’m only one call away.”
Aloha hugged her back, but as she looked toward the dark window, the nightmare returned to her mind.
“I hope you’re right,” she whispered.
Deep down, however, she already knew the truth.
Once she crossed into Nightfang territory the next day, she would be completely alone.
- Writer
