BLOOD MOON

Chapter 12

Haliya

Cain betrayed me.

Betrayed my father.

Betrayed the pack.

My fists clenched at my sides, knuckles going white. “I need proof,” I whispered. “Not just your word. I need to see it for myself.”

Kieran gave a small nod. “Then think, Haliya. Who commands the fortress guard?”

I froze.

What?

Of course, I knew the answer. It was Cain. Cain was in charge of the fortress, of the guards, of the patrol routes. He oversaw security. But…

My eyes narrowed.

How would Kieran know that?

He wasn’t part of our pack. He’d never even stepped foot in our territory—at least, not to my knowledge. Yet he spoke as if he knew everything. Like he’d been watching us. Like he understood the cracks in our walls better than we did.

“How did you know?” I breathed. “How did you know something would happen on my coming-of-age? How do you know what Cain did?” My voice rose, raw and accusing. “How?”

He didn’t answer.

Of course he didn’t.

Because he can’t.

Because he’s a stranger. A complete stranger. Mate or not, I don’t know him.

My heartbeat thundered in my ears as I stepped back. “You're not telling me everything.”

Kieran’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t deny it.

I laughed bitterly, tears burning in my eyes. “Of course you’re not. You’re good at that, aren’t you? Half-truths. Cryptic lines. Just enough to keep me confused.”

I thought he would finally give in. That he’d offer me the truth. But instead, he left. Just turned his back and walked away, like I was nothing more than a burden he was tired of carrying.

He left me alone.

With unanswered questions.

With a storm in my chest and a scream clawing at my throat.

And that’s when it hit me, Kieran is not a savior. He’s no protector, no guardian. He’s probably the enemy. My enemy disguised as my mate. A f*****g disgusting situation I’m trapped in.

How am I supposed to deal with this?

I wanted to scream. To tear the walls down, to set this whole place on fire and walk through the ashes. But instead, I collapsed. Knees hitting the floor, chest caving in under the weight of everything.

I sobbed. Not the quiet kind. The kind that breaks something inside you.

“I’m so tired…” I whispered to no one. “I can’t do this. I can’t f*****g do this.”

My hands curled into fists, nails digging into my palms. I felt useless. Powerless. I couldn’t even save myself from this place. From him.

I cried until my voice cracked, until the silence around me echoed with my despair.

And then—

Something happened.

A sudden pull deep in my chest, raw and electric, like something had been yanked loose inside me. Pain rushed through my limbs, not the kind born of heartbreak, but something older… wilder. My vision blurred, not from tears this time, but from heat, from light.

I gasped, clutching my chest as the sensation grew. And then I felt her. My wolf.

She surged through me like a tidal wave. Wild and furious and alive. My skin burned, bones cracked, shifting into something ancient and powerful. The agony lasted only a breath, and when it faded, I stood not on two legs—but four.

Wind rushed through the open window and brushed through my fur... my fur... as if the world itself had been waiting for this moment.

My wolf had finally come to me unexpectedly. And we were one. After everything...

My paws hit the ground with an unfamiliar grace, my breathing deepened, and the world sharpened, sounds I never noticed before came alive, scents layered with emotions swirled through the air. The walls around me no longer felt like a cage… but like something I could break.

Then, I heard her.

“You are not alone anymore.”

I froze.

The voice echoed from deep within me, yet it wasn’t just my own. It was older. Wiser. Angry and loyal all at once.

“Who… are you?” I asked in my head. Though, I already know who it was. My wolf.

“I am you, Haliya. The part you thought was lost. You cried, and I heard you. I’ve always been here. Waiting.”

My heart clenched, a sob rising in my chest even in this new form. She had always been there… watching… waiting for me to break just enough to let her in.

“What's your name?”I whispered.

A wind blew gently past the open door, lifting the curtains like an answer from the universe itself.

“Nahara.”

The name echoed like thunder across my bones. Nahara. It meant light in the storm. Strength born from silence. A name I didn’t choose but one that fit.

And suddenly, the tears I’d shed earlier weren’t tears of weakness. They were the offering that summoned my power.

And for the first time in what felt like forever…

I felt free.

My paws pounded against the cold marble floors as I barreled out of Kieran’s room. The wooden doors burst open with a loud crack, echoing through the silent corridors like a war cry. I didn’t care who heard it. I needed to get out. Now.

I ran.

Hallways blurred past me. My heart beat against my ribs like it wanted to escape too. I could hear them, the sudden alarm, the shouts, the claws scraping stone. Wolves. Guards.

They were coming.

I pushed harder.

The dim sky greeted me as I broke through the main archway. Night had already fallen, casting the unfamiliar world in silver and shadow. The moonlight filtered through the trees in the distance. Just a bit more. I recognized that gate, the wooden one Kieran and I passed before. The way out.

But they were closing in.

I didn’t dare look back. I could feel them. Their breath, their snarls, the tremble in the ground from their feet. My legs burned, my muscles ached.

“Run, Haliya. Don’t stop.”

Branches scratched my sides as I neared the edge of the woods. The scent of pine hit me like hope. Just one more leap, and I’d—

A sharp pain tore through my hind leg. I screamed, not just in pain, but in fear. One of them had clamped their jaws around me, dragging me down. My body crashed into the earth, dirt flying. I snarled and twisted, biting back. My teeth sank into fur, and I heard a yelp.

But then another tackled me. And another.

Three wolves.

Maybe more.

I fought. Clawed. Bit. Screamed through the pain. But it wasn’t enough. My wolf was strong but untrained. Newly born. She didn’t know how to win… not yet.

They pinned me down.

And for a second, everything stopped. My breath came in shallow gasps. Blood oozed from my flank. My limbs trembled. I had come so close to freedom… only to be dragged back again.

I didn’t want to give up. But my body felt heavy, useless, broken. Will this be my end?

A shaky breath left my throat, something between a laugh and a sob. Maybe this is what I deserve, I thought bitterly. For leaving my family. For thinking I could fight this alone.

But just when I surrendered to the dark, the biting stopped.

A new scent cut through the air, stronger, more commanding. I forced my head to turn, vision blurry through the pain.

A massive black wolf stepped into view, his presence swallowing the space like a storm cloud. He was bigger... far bigger than the guards who had chased me. His fur rippled like shadows come alive, and his eyes burned with something primal.

The guards backed off.

The black wolf stared at me, unmoving.

And then, his voice echoed low and rough in my mind—

"Stubborn, little flame."