The Curse Beneath The Moon

Chapter 5 – The Alpha awakens

The hunters stayed in the village inn that night. They spoke little, but their eyes missed nothing. Even laughter in the streets fell silent. People whispered behind closed doors. Something unwanted had arrived in Evergreen Ridge, and everyone could feel it.

Rina hurried home, sleeve pulled down over the silver crescent. Her heartbeat thundered in her chest—so loud, she wondered if someone could hear it.

Her father was outside, chopping wood. She froze, studying his eyes… hoping they were normal. But when he turned toward her, she saw it again: beneath the brown, something golden flickered.

“Long day?” he asked, wiping sweat from his forehead.

Rina nodded. “Hunters came today.”

Her father’s hand froze mid-axe swing.

“Hunters… or trackers?” he asked softly.

“What’s the difference?” Rina whispered.

His voice was careful.

“Hunters chase animals. Trackers follow bloodlines.”

The axe hit the log with a sharp c***k. Rina flinched.

“Stay away from them. Promise me,” he said, his expression unreadable.

Rina nodded slowly, but a single question burned inside her:

What is he hiding from me?

That night, she snuck out again, following the river to the old mill—Luka’s secret place. He was waiting, moonlight brushing his face. His wrist glowed bright with the silver crescent.

“You need answers,” Luka said quietly.

“Start talking,” Rina demanded.

He exhaled. “I wasn’t born here. My mother brought me to this village when I was five. We were running—from someone… from something.”

Rina waited.

“She was marked. Like us. She told me never to follow the full moon. Never to listen to the howl. But when I was twelve… I changed for the first time.”

“You… changed?” Rina whispered, eyes wide.

Luka nodded. “Only for a few seconds. But that was enough. She knew the clan blood inside me was waking.”

“Which clan?” Rina asked.

He hesitated. Then whispered, “The Clan of the Yellow Eyes.”

Rina froze. Yellow eyes… Aiden had yellow eyes. So did her father.

“I saw you speaking with someone in the forest,” Luka continued. “I know he’s part of it.”

Rina’s lips trembled. “Aiden. His name is Aiden.”

“He’s marked like us,” Luka said. “But stronger. He might be the last of the old line.”

A wind swept through the grass like a warning. The night felt heavy.

“Why are the hunters here?” Rina asked.

Silence.

“They’re here to kill the last bloodlines,” Luka whispered. “Because the Alpha is coming.”

“Who’s the Alpha?” Rina shivered.

“The first wolf,” he said, eyes darkening. “The one who created all the clans. He was locked away long ago. But the moon is waking him.”

He looked toward Blue-Stone Mountain. “Tonight… I felt him. He’s close.”

Suddenly, a howl ripped through the sky.

Not distant. Not gentle. Furious.

Aiden.

Rina bolted toward the sound before Luka could stop her, sprinting through the forest, breath sharp, heart wild.

And then she saw him.

Not fully man. Not fully wolf. Standing between both, trembling, struggling to control the change.

His eyes met hers.

Let me… see you… he seemed to say—though no words came out.

Rina stepped closer. Luka grabbed her arm.

“Look at his shadow,” he whispered.

Rina looked down.

Aiden’s shadow was not his own. It was larger. Stronger. Ancient.

The Alpha’s shadow.

And it was moving… inside him.