THE MOON’S CHOSEN MATE

CHAPTER 4: THE MOON’S MARK

The mark burned like liquid fire under my skin. I gasped and fell to my knees, clutching my wrist. The crescent shape glowed faintly against my pale flesh, bright and pulsing, like it was alive.

“What,what’s happening to me?” I breathed.

Kael stepped closer, his eyes narrowing as the moonlight bathed us both. His wolf was just beneath the surface, his power humming in the air. “That mark…” He stopped, gaze darkening. “I’ve seen it before.”

“Where?” My voice trembled.

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he crouched down, his eyes level with mine. “It belongs to one who’s been chosen. But only the Moon Goddess can choose. And she hasn’t chosen anyone in centuries.”

The word chosen made my stomach twist. Chosen for what?

“I didn’t ask for this,” I whispered, holding my wrist away from him as if I could somehow hide it.

“Doesn’t matter,” he said softly. “You can’t unmark yourself.”

The glow dimmed slowly until the mark turned silver and still. My hand trembled. The air around us felt heavier, charged with something I didn’t understand.

Kael stood and turned away, jaw tight. “We need to move. Others would have seen that light. They’ll come.”

I hesitated, looking down at my wrist again. It didn’t hurt anymore, but the mark felt alive. Like a heartbeat.

I followed him through the woods in silence, my bare feet brushing against leaves and roots. Dawn had begun to bleed across the sky, soft streaks of gold and pink breaking through the darkness.

By the time we reached his territory, the forest had grown thicker, darker. Huge trees loomed overhead, their trunks tangled with vines and moss. A few rough cabins stood near a clearing, smoke curling from their chimneys. Men stood guard nearby, their sharp eyes watching every move Kael made.

They looked at me too, curious, cautious. I could feel their judgment, like invisible claws dragging across my skin.

“She’s not one of us,” one of them muttered.

“She’s under my protection,” Kael said without looking back. His voice left no room for argument.

The guard lowered his eyes instantly. “Yes, Alpha.”

Alpha. The word rolled through me, heavy and strange. I had spent my whole life in Damien’s pack, where I was the invisible omega, the one who ran errands, cleaned floors, and was never allowed near the Alphas. Now I was walking beside one who had just saved my life.

Kael led me into one of the cabins. It was small but warm, the air scented faintly of pine and smoke. “You’ll stay here until I decide what to do with you,” he said.

“Until you decide?” I echoed.

He turned, meeting my eyes with a warning look. “Don’t mistake my help for trust. I don’t know what you are, or what that mark means for my pack. Until I do, you stay put.”

His tone was sharp, but I caught the flicker of uncertainty behind it.

I nodded slowly. “Fine.”

He studied me for a moment longer, then left, the door closing with a heavy thud.

The silence pressed in as soon as he was gone. I sat on the bed, staring at the rough wooden walls. My wrist throbbed again, and when I turned it over, the mark shimmered faintly, pulsing like the moon itself was breathing through me.

“What do you want from me?” I whispered.

No answer came this time. Only the whisper of the wind through the cracks in the walls.

I didn’t realize I’d fallen asleep until the dream began.

The forest glowed silver beneath a full moon. I stood in the middle of a lake, the water still as glass. Across from me was the white wolf, the same one I’d seen before.

“You bear the mark,” she said. Her voice echoed all around me, soft but powerful. “The Moon’s mark binds you to fate. But fate is a storm, child, it can destroy as easily as it can save.”

“What does it mean?” I asked. “Why me?”

“Because you were broken,” she said gently. “And only what is broken can be remade.”

The water rippled beneath my feet. “Damien rejected me. He said I was nothing. Why would the Goddess choose me?”

Her silver eyes glimmered. “The ones cast aside often hold the greatest strength. You were never meant to be his Luna. You were meant to be something greater.”

“Greater?”

She smiled faintly. “Protector of the Moon’s balance.”

Before I could ask more, thunder cracked overhead. The lake turned dark, the reflection of the moon shattering into a thousand pieces.

The white wolf’s form began to fade. “Beware the darkness that hunts the light, Aria. He will come for you soon.”

“Who?” I shouted.

Her voice echoed one last time,“The one who denied you.”

I gasped and bolted upright, my skin slick with sweat. The room was dark again, only the faint glow of the moon spilling through the window.

Footsteps.

I froze, every muscle going rigid. Someone was outside the cabin.

The door creaked open, and Kael stepped in, his expression grim. “You were dreaming,” he said quietly.

“How do you”

“You were calling out.”

My heart pounded. “You heard?”

He nodded, stepping closer. “You said Damien’s name.”

I looked away. “He’s the last person I want to dream about.”

Kael studied me, his eyes sharp but unreadable. “You’re shaking.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.” His tone softened, almost against his will. “That mark,whatever it’s doing,it’s changing you.”

I met his gaze. “You think I don’t know that?”

Something flickered between us again,that same strange pull I’d felt by the stream. He stepped closer, his voice low. “Aria, when I saw that light, when the mark appeared,I felt it too. The power. It wasn’t just in you.”

My pulse quickened. “What are you saying?”

He hesitated, eyes narrowing slightly. “I think the Goddess didn’t just choose you.”

Before I could speak, the cabin shook. The ground beneath us trembled, dust falling from the ceiling.

Kael’s head snapped toward the door, his wolf senses on high alert. “They’ve found us.”

“Who?”

A shadow crossed the window, and then a deep, furious voice echoed outside, one I’d hoped never to hear again.

“Aria!”

My breath stopped cold.

No. It couldn’t be.

Kael stepped in front of me, his voice low and dangerous. “Stay behind me.”

But I already knew that voice. I would never forget it.

Damien.