Bound By Blood And Moonlight:

Chapter Ten – The Battle Begins

The ground trembled beneath Lyanna’s feet as the roar of battle rang out across the palace courtyard. She could feel it—the pulse of the battle surging through the air like an electric current, her heart syncing with the chaos around her. She was no longer the girl who had been rejected, no longer just an outcast. She was a warrior—born of both wolf and moon.

But there was no time to think about that now.

“Kieran!” Lyanna called, her voice barely audible over the noise. She had to find him. They couldn’t win this battle without each other.

She pushed her way through the corridors, the sounds of clashing steel and the growls of wolves and lycans echoing through the palace. The walls were thick with the smell of blood and smoke, the scent of a war that had been waiting to happen for far too long.

Lyanna rounded a corner and almost collided with Kieran.

His eyes were wild, his expression hard, and for a brief moment, she saw the lycan inside him—ferocious, untamed, a king ready to fight.

“Lyanna,” he growled, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her toward the courtyard. “You need to stay close. The hunters won’t show mercy.”

She nodded, though her instincts screamed for her to join the fight. But Kieran was right—she couldn’t risk going in without strategy.

The courtyard was a battlefield, with lycans and wolves clashing against the human hunters, who were armed with silver weapons and deadly traps. They were prepared, well-trained, and merciless. But Lyanna could feel it—their fear. They knew they were facing something different.

“You don’t have to fight alone,” Kieran said, his voice low and fierce. He glanced around, eyes scanning the chaos. “We’ll protect each other.”

Before Lyanna could respond, a sharp cry split the air, followed by the sound of metal striking flesh. She spun toward the noise, her heart lurching when she saw a group of hunters moving toward a group of lycans. Their weapons glinted in the light, and their eyes were full of hatred.

“Stay behind me,” Kieran said, stepping in front of her, but Lyanna wasn’t going to wait.

She reached out to Luna, letting her wolf’s instincts take over. The bond between them surged, and before she knew it, Lyanna was running—faster than she’d ever moved before.

A hunter swung a blade at her, but she sidestepped, her senses heightened as her wolf guided her. Her claws extended, and with a single swipe, she knocked the hunter to the ground. The metallic scent of blood filled the air as she spun to face another.

But then, a figure emerged from the shadows—tall, imposing, and cloaked in black.

The leader of the hunters.

Lyanna froze. She had heard whispers of him—an elite warrior, feared by even the lycan kings. His eyes gleamed with malice, and in his hand, he held a silver dagger, forged for one purpose: to end lycans and wolves alike.

He smirked at her, as if sensing her hesitation. “The prophecy’s child,” he sneered. “You’re more powerful than I expected. But it doesn’t matter. You’ll die like the rest of them.”

Lyanna’s heart raced. The air seemed to crackle around her, the bond with Luna thrumming deep in her chest.

“No,” she said, her voice steady. “I won’t.”

With a roar, she lunged at him, her claws swiping through the air like lightning. The hunter countered, raising his dagger, but before he could strike, a shadow leaped between them—Kieran.

The two collided with a deafening crash, and Lyanna barely had time to register the blur of movement before Kieran’s massive form was on top of the hunter leader. His claws sank into the hunter’s shoulders, and the man screamed, but Kieran’s grip tightened, and the sound stopped abruptly.

The hunter crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

Lyanna stared at Kieran, her breath caught in her throat. The way he had fought, so effortlessly, so powerfully—it was a reminder of just how much was at stake.

But the battle wasn’t over.

From the shadows, more hunters emerged, their eyes cold and unfeeling. They wouldn’t stop until every last lycan and wolf was eradicated. Lyanna knew that now.

The future was uncertain, and the battle had only just begun.