Chapter One
1187 Words
The full moon rose like a judgment.
Cold. Bright. Unforgiving.
Its pale light spilled through the dense canopy of Blood Crescent Park, casting long, twisted shadows across the forest floor. The air was thick with silence, the kind that pressed against the skin and made even the strongest wolves uneasy.
Kael Draven stood alone in the clearing.
His chest rose and fell with controlled intensity, each breath heavier than the last. Sweat clung to his skin despite the chill in the air, his dark hair damp against his forehead. The moonlight painted him in silver, but there was nothing divine about the moment.
This was not reverence.
This was desperation.
At his feet, carved carefully into the earth, was the crescent.
A symbol of the moon’s favor.
Or so the witch had claimed.
Kael stared down at it for a moment, jaw tightening. He could still hear her voice in his head—low, certain, filled with promises she had no right to make.
Follow the ritual exactly. Call to your wolf. The moon will answer.
His hands curled into fists.
“We’ll see about that,” he muttered.
He stepped forward.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Slow, deliberate circles around the crescent, his boots pressing into the soil, grounding himself in the ritual. The forest seemed to lean in, watching, waiting.
Kael stopped at the center.
Tilted his head back.
And called.
“Rohan.”
The name left his lips like a command… and a plea.
Nothing.
His teeth clenched. He shut his eyes, forcing himself to focus, to feel beyond flesh and bone—to reach into that hollow space inside him where his wolf should have been waiting.
“Rohan,” he called again, louder this time. “Come forward.”
The wind stirred.
Barely.
But it was enough.
Kael’s breath hitched as something flickered deep within him—faint, distant… but there.
A presence.
His wolf.
Hope flared sharp and dangerous in his chest.
“That’s it,” he whispered, voice rough. “I know you’re there. Come on… we do this together.”
Above him, the moon climbed higher.
The light intensified.
And then—
It began.
Pain.
It slammed into him without warning, brutal and immediate. Kael dropped to one knee with a strangled gasp as his body betrayed him all at once. His spine arched violently, a sickening crack echoing through the clearing as his bones began to shift.
“Yes…” he breathed, trembling. “Yes, that’s it…”
His fingers dug into the dirt as his arms twisted, muscles stretching, reforming. His skin burned as something beneath it pushed outward—fur beginning to break through.
Blood followed.
It always did.
But this time… it felt different.
Stronger.
Closer.
A low, broken sound tore from his throat as his jaw shifted, teeth sharpening, his senses heightening all at once. He could hear everything—the rustle of leaves miles away, the distant heartbeat of prey, the pulse of the earth itself.
And beneath it all—
Rohan.
Not silent.
Not gone.
Alive.
Trying.
Kael let out a strained laugh, half-mad with relief. “I knew it… I knew you weren’t gone…”
For the first time in years, he felt whole.
Power surged through him, raw and electric, something ancient rising to the surface, clawing its way out.
Just a little more.
Just one final push—
The crescent beneath him glowed.
Red.
Wrong.
Kael’s eyes snapped open.
“No—”
The light flared violently, cutting through the silver glow of the moon like a blade. The air shifted, the energy snapping, breaking—
And then everything collapsed.
The pain reversed.
Brutally.
His bones snapped back into place with a force that stole the air from his lungs. The fur vanished as quickly as it had come, retreating beneath his skin. The connection—so close, so real—was ripped away without mercy.
Kael hit the ground hard, a choked shout tearing from his throat.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Mocking.
For a long moment, he didn’t move.
Couldn’t.
Then—
“DAMN IT!” His voice shattered through the clearing as he slammed his fist into the ground.
The dirt scattered.
His chest heaved violently as rage surged through him, hot and uncontrollable. He pushed himself up, staggering slightly before finding his balance.
“Damn witches… damn rituals…” he snarled.
With a sharp kick, he destroyed the crescent carved into the earth, scattering its shape until nothing remained but broken lines and disturbed soil.
“I’m done.”
His voice was low now. Final.
“No more.”
He had followed every instruction. Endured every ounce of pain. Listened to every false promise.
And for what?
Nothing.
His hands trembled at his sides, blood still smeared across his skin, already beginning to heal. The wounds closed quickly—as they always did—but the failure lingered.
It always lingered.
Kael dragged a hand through his hair, breathing hard as the anger slowly gave way to something heavier.
Something quieter.
Inside him, there was a faint sound.
A whimper.
His chest tightened instantly.
“Rohan…” he murmured, his voice softening despite himself.
The presence was still there—weak, hurting.
Hurting because of him.
Kael shut his eyes, swallowing hard as guilt settled deep in his bones. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I thought… I thought this time…”
The words died in his throat.
What was the point?
He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to steady.
“What kind of curse is this?” he muttered, staring up at the moon again. “What did I do to deserve this?”
No answer came.
Only silence.
The Moon Goddess had abandoned him.
Or worse—
She had chosen to punish him.
Kael’s jaw tightened as the thought settled in.
He was an Alpha.
Born to lead.
To protect.
To fight.
But what was an Alpha… without a wolf?
His gaze darkened as he looked out into the forest, toward the lands that depended on him.
The pack trusted him.
Followed him.
But trust was fragile.
And patience… even more so.
“They’re starting to notice,” he said under his breath.
The failed hunts.
The missed shifts.
The excuses.
It wouldn’t be long now.
Before the whispers turned into questions.
Before the questions turned into doubt.
And doubt… in a pack like his… was dangerous.
Kael clenched his fists, his expression hardening into something cold and unyielding.
“I won’t lose it,” he said quietly.
Not the pack.
Not his title.
Not everything his family had built with blood and war.
His eyes flickered once more to the ruined crescent at his feet.
Then away.
The moon still hung high above him.
Watching.
Waiting.
But Kael no longer cared.
Tonight had been his last attempt.
And failure had made one thing clear—
Whatever was wrong with him…
No one was going to fix it.
Not the witches.
Not the moon.
Not even the wolf trapped inside him.
If he was going to survive this…
He would have to find another way.
- Writer
