CHAPTER FIVE: THE RIVAL LUNA’S SECRET
1189 Words
ARIA’S POV
The moment Celeste stepped into the courtyard, the air thickened like smoke before a storm.
Her gown shimmered silver, stitched with crescent runes that caught the moonlight, and her lips curved into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
“Miss me, sweetheart?” she purred, her voice as soft as poison.
Adrian stiffened beside me, his wolf snarling beneath his breath. “What are you doing here, Luna of Silverfang?”
Celeste’s laugh was cold enough to freeze the air. “Oh, come now. Don’t act surprised. The Moon doesn’t grant power without a price… and I came to collect mine.”
I struggled to stand, my knees trembling. The faint glow of her eyes wasn’t normal. It wasn't a wolf. It was divine, moon-white, the color of old gods.
Rowan staggered up from the ground, wiping blood from his mouth. “Celeste, stop. This isn’t…”
“Quiet!” she snapped, and even he flinched. The Alpha who once commanded hundreds bent slightly under her voice.
Power rolled from her like waves of fire, thick and ancient, laced with the scent of burnt roses.
Adrian moved in front of me, half-shifted already, black fur crawling along his arms. “She’s not just a wolf,” he growled.
Celeste smiled wider. “Finally, someone notices.”
The torches flickered. The moonlight brightened until it drowned the courtyard in blinding silver. Symbols shimmered in the air around her, runes older than any pack law.
“She’s channeling moon magic,” Adrian muttered.
Rowan stared at her in disbelief. “What are you talking about?”
“She’s a priestess,” I whispered, realization cutting through fear like ice water. “A Moon Priestess.”
Celeste tilted her head, the mark on her neck pulsing with light. “Correct, little Luna. I was chosen by the Goddess long before you ever were.”
Her gaze drifted to my stomach. “And yet… she gave you that.”
Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around my belly. “Stay away from me.”
“Don’t be selfish,” she said sweetly. “That child is the balance the Goddess created to end the curse. One life to break the bond, or one death to bind it forever.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened. “What do you want, Celeste?”
“I want peace,” she said simply. “But to achieve it, one of you has to die.”
Her words sliced through the night like knives.
Rowan’s wolf growled, gold eyes burning. “You’ve lost your mind.”
Celeste turned on him, eyes glowing like two pale moons. “You gave me your mark, Alpha. Your life is tied to mine now. If I die, so do you.”
She turned back to Adrian, her smile turning almost kind. “But if *she* dies, the curse ends for both of you.”
Her finger pointed straight at me.
Adrian moved instantly, blocking me from view. “Over my dead body.”
“Oh,” she said with a purr. “That can be arranged.”
Before anyone could react, Celeste raised her hands. The runes flared brighter, and the ground cracked.
A shockwave exploded from her palms, throwing warriors aside like dust in a storm.
Adrian shifted fully, black fur gleaming, eyes burning with fury. He lunged, jaws snapping, meeting her power head-on.
Rowan’s wolf joined him, golden against silver light.
The courtyard erupted into chaos: claws, light, and screams. Two Alphas against a priestess of the Moon.
“Stop!” I shouted, but my voice drowned in the roaring wind.
The night became a blur of movement and flame until…
Silence.
Celeste stood in the center of the chaos, calm and unhurt, her hand clutching a glowing pendant. “Stop fighting,” she said. “You’ll only make it worse.”
The pendant pulsed once.
Adrian staggered, collapsing to one knee. His mark flared, burning with white veins crawling up his throat.
“Adrian!” I ran to him, catching his face in my hands. His skin was scorching.
“She’s binding his wolf!” Rowan shouted.
“She’s sealing the curse back into him!”
Celeste’s smirk deepened. “Exactly.”
Desperation clawed through my chest. “What do you want me to do?”
Celeste’s voice softened. “Choose. The Goddess demands balance. Either your child dies before it’s born… or the curse consumes your mate completely.”
My world shattered. “No…”
Rowan’s voice trembled with disbelief. “She’s lying, Aria! She’s…”
“Am I?” Celeste lifted the pendant higher. “The Goddess never gives life without demanding something back.”
Adrian’s breathing came out ragged, his eyes flickering between silver and black. “Aria,” he gasped, “don’t choose me. Save the child.”
“I can’t…” I sobbed.
“Promise me,” he whispered. “Promise you’ll live.”
Celeste sighed, tilting her head. “How noble. Pity it’s useless.”
The pendant flared again. Adrian’s body arched in agony, light bursting from his chest. I felt his bond tear through me, strong, wild, *breaking*.
My wolf howled inside. *Do something!*
Instinct took over. I pressed my hand to his heart. Silver fire met moonlight in a violent clash that shook the air.
Celeste’s smile faltered. “What are you doing?”
“I’m taking back what’s mine,” I whispered.
The runes exploded into shards of light, spinning around us. Power consumed everything, the curse feeding on both of us now. My heartbeat matched Adrian’s, each pulse burning hotter, faster.
Celeste screamed, covering her eyes as the light grew unbearable.
Then…
Darkness.
When I opened my eyes, the courtyard was eerily silent.
The moon hung pale and new above us.
Rowan lay unconscious. The warriors had vanished. Celeste was gone.
And Adrian…
He was lying still beside me, his skin cold, the markings gone completely.
“No…” I whispered, shaking him. “Adrian, wake up.”
No response.
I pressed my ear to his chest. Nothing.
Tears blurred my vision. “Don’t leave me. Please, not you too.”
Then faintly, so faintly I thought I imagined it, I heard a heartbeat.
But it wasn’t his.
It came from the *ground* beneath us.
I froze.
The soil glowed with silver runes, moving, spreading outward in a perfect circle beneath Adrian’s body. The same ancient sigils Celeste had summoned.
A cold wind swept through, whispering words that didn’t belong to her, older, deeper, crueler.
“The debt is not yet paid.”
The runes flared. Light swallowed Adrian’s body whole.
“Adrian!” I screamed, clawing at the ground, but it was useless. He vanished into the earth, leaving only silence and the echo of his heartbeat beneath the soil.
The moon flickered, yes, flickered, like something was wrong with the sky itself.
And then, from the shadows of the trees, a low growl rumbled through the stillness.
My breath hitched.
A massive black wolf stepped into the courtyard, its eyes burning green, the same as Adrian’s, but wild, soulless, corrupted.
And it was staring right at me.
- Writer
