Beneath the Full Moon

The Moon Sacrifice Part 2

The pack erupted.

Howls rose, voices merging into something primal, something ritualistic. They circled closer, their movements synchronized, their eyes glowing with hunger—not for flesh, but for something older.

Power.

Kadir held her bleeding hand high, his face lit with something dangerously close to ecstasy.

“The moon claims you, Lara!” he shouted.

The sound reverberated through her skull.

Her knees buckled.

The world blurred.

Through the chaos, through the noise, one voice cut through everything—

“Lara, fight!”

Her father.

Arden’s voice.

It reached her through the fog, through the pain clawing at her consciousness.

But it was slipping away.

Her strength.

Her grip on reality.

Everything was fading.

Outside, Mara gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. “We have to do something—”

A gunshot shattered the night.

Inside the barn, the sound cracked like thunder.

Arden staggered.

For a split second, everything froze.

Then—

He turned.

Slowly.

His glowing blue eyes locked onto the source.

Riley stood in the doorway now, the gun still raised, smoke curling from the barrel. A cold, unsettling smirk tugged at his lips.

He had missed.

But not by accident.

Mara stared at him, horror flooding her face. “Riley… what are you doing?”

He didn’t answer.

Didn’t even look at her.

“Stay out of this,” he muttered.

“No!” Mara lunged for the gun, grabbing his arm. “You’ll get them killed!”

Riley reacted instantly.

He shoved her back hard, then swung the weapon. The metal edge connected with her temple.

Mara crumpled to the ground.

Silence rippled outward for half a heartbeat.

Then everything snapped again.

Arden’s roar shook the barn, raw and filled with fury. His entire body tensed, eyes burning as they fixed on Riley.

There was history there.

Hatred.

Deep, unresolved.

It was no secret—Riley had always carried a grudge against the blue-eyed wolf.

Now, it ignited.

Arden tore free from the wolves holding him down, sending one crashing into the wall. He lunged toward Riley, rage driving every movement.

Riley’s smirk vanished.

He knew.

He didn’t stand a chance.

In a blur, his body shifted—bones cracking, form twisting—until a wolf stood where he had been.

And then he ran.

Straight through the broken barn window, disappearing into the forest.

Arden halted at the edge of pursuit.

For a fraction of a second, instinct pulled him forward.

But then—

Lara.

He turned back.

He wasn’t leaving her.