Marked Before the Moonn

BLOOD AND FIRE

Lena pov

The shadow moved faster than I could follow with my eyes. Its form blurred, and looked unnatural. Kael was already in front of me, blocking its path, and claws scraping the floor, teeth bared.

“Stay close,” he ordered, voice low but commanding.

I froze for half a second, my heart hammering. Then instinct took over. I darted behind him. My body thrummed, and heat building, and for the first time, I realized something was awakening inside me, like a strange awareness, a strength I didn’t understand.

The figure lunged. Kael shifted mid-step, his body transforming fluidly, and faster than i thought. Muscles expanded, with golden fur shimmering in the dim light. The enforcer froze, its eyes widening.

I wanted to scream. Instead, I stumbled forward, and Kael’s hand caught my wrist.

“Not yet,” he growled. “You watch. You learn. You survive.”

The enforcer swung, long and unnatural, like it wasn’t human at all. Kael dodged, moving like a predator, and with a single swipe, he sent the attacker sprawling into the wall. Dust and sand rained down.

My chest raced. My hands tingled and something inside me pulsed, demanding release, and screaming to be used. I tried to resist. But my body wasn’t listening.

Another enforcer appeared at the side door, faster than the first. Kael growled and leapt toward it, claws slashing. The sound of tearing fabric and flesh echoed. The second enforcer stumbled, and snarled, but it wasn’t enough. It moved too fast, and too precisely.

I felt it then…the pull. The bond. Hot, and alive, almost violent, and connecting me to Kael. Every heartbeat he made echoed in my chest. Every motion, and every breath, drove a rush of heat through me.

Something snapped.

I didn’t know what I was doing. I just ran forward, with my arms outstretched. My hands collided with the enforcer’s chest, and heat shot from me, like a flare of energy. The figure shrieked and stumbled back, leaving a trail of scorched fabric.

Kael’s eyes widened, with just a fraction. “Good. Not fully trained, but…yes. That’s it.”

I didn’t understand. My chest heaved and my skin burned. But the fear I’d had a second ago…the terror that made me want to curl into myself…was gone.

Replaced by something else. Power, fire and control, maybe, just barely.

The remaining enforcer froze, sensing it too. Its head tilted, and its eyes narrowed. It moved again, more cautious now. Kael snarled and advanced, muscles coiled, and ready to pounce.

“You’re mine,” he growled, not just to the enforcer but to me. My body responded again, a shiver running from my toes to my hairline.

I didn’t know why. I didn’t know how. But I knew I trusted him, even in the middle of chaos. Even when my instincts screamed to run.

The first enforcer recovered, rushing at us both. Kael met it head-on, but this one was faster than the last, smarter, and calculating. My pulse was hammered. I wanted to do something, anything.

“Focus,” Kael snapped. “Feel the bond. Use it!”

The words hit me like a hammer. Focus… Use it. My hands tingled, and before I could think, heat surged again. A blast of energy erupted from my chest. The enforcer went flying backward, and crashing into the wall. Dust filled the air. Its body convulsed before going still.

Kael’s chest heaved. His eyes softened…not entirely, but just enough.

“You’re stronger than you know.”

I barely processed the words. My body trembled, and I was exhausted. My heart pounded, and my mind reeling from the heat, the power, the fear, and the adrenaline.

“Kael,” I whispered. “What…what am I?”

He didn’t answer right away. His eyes swept the room. The shadows still moved. The enforcers weren’t gone.

“You’re not human,” he said finally, low, and controlled. “Not fully. You’re a half-breed. And they…they want to test you. Kill you. If you don’t survive, nothing else matters.”

I shook my head, trying to understand, but nothing made sense. My hands still tingled, and my vision was sharp and raw.

“Then I won’t let them,” I said, surprising even myself.

Kael’s lips twitched, almost like a smile. “Good. But surviving isn’t enough. You have to fight. You have to control it. Or it will control you.”

Another sound…a low, and metallic clang, it echoed through the building. My stomach dropped. More were coming.

Kael’s muscles tensed. “Stay close. Don’t fall behind.”

I obeyed instinctively, stepping closer to him. My trust in him was…wrong. Dangerous. But necessary. Every movement he made, my body mirrored, responding to his energy, and his presence.

The enforcers moved again, circling, and precise, and silent. Their motions weren’t human…they were predators, calculating, and synchronized. Kael growled, crouching. My hands tingled again, with anticipation rising.

The first enforcer lunged. Kael sidestepped, and raked claws across its chest. Another shot forward, and faster. I felt heat, and energy, my blood screaming in response. Without thinking, I extended my hands. The enforcer froze, and staggered back. I had no idea how, but the bond…something…had given me a fraction of control.

The rest of them hesitated. Kael growled, with his voice low and commanding. “You touch her again, and none of you walk out alive.”

For a moment, everything stopped.My body trembled, not from fear, but something else, the strength, awareness, and power. The enforcers retreated slightly, their unnatural movements hesitant.

I looked at Kael. He had his claws unsheathed, and his muscles coiled, his old eyes burning like molten fire. The energy between us was pulsing, alive, and it made my chest ache. My blood wasn’t just mine anymore. It was him. ….Us. Something shared.

Then a new sound, a sharp, and high-pitched whistle. I froze. Kael stiffened. The enforcers tensed.

From the shadows, a figure stepped forward. Taller than the others, and darker, radiating power. Its eyes glinted. Not gold and not human.

“The Council,” Kael hissed. “It’s them. Get ready.”

I swallowed hard. My pulse skyrocketed and my hands tingled. My body screamed at me to run. But the bond…that heat…pulled me forward, anchoring me to Kael.

The figure lifted its hand. A wave of energy radiated outward, shaking the floor under us. The enforcers froze. Kael growled low in his throat.

“Stay behind me,” he snapped.

But I couldn’t. I couldn’t stay behind. My instincts, my power, everything inside me demanded I move.

Before I could act, Kael’s gaze locked with mine, he moved with impossible speed, positioning himself between me and the Council enforcer. His claws slashed through the air, slicing shadows that weren’t quite shadows.

I felt the bond scream. My hands tingled and my chest flared. Energy surged uncontrollably. Something…I….was rising.

The enforcer advanced, step by step. Kael growled, as I raised my hands, instinct driving me. Heat flared, and a pulse of raw, and dangerous power.

The enforcer staggered, not human, and not wolf, it was something…less than real, more than threat.

And then it spoke.

“You can’t stop it,” it hissed. Voice hollow. “She belongs to us.”

Kael growled, jaw tight, and claws flexing. “No. She belongs to me.”

The enforcer lunged and everything exploded..