The Blood Moon Invitation
1132 Words
The night air bit into my skin as I stood on the balcony of my dorm, staring up at the sky.
The moon was nearly full.
One day left.
One day until the Blood Moon Ceremony—whatever that meant.
I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t think. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Kade’s face.
His words echoed in my mind:
“You’re something older. Something lost.” “Not anymore.” “They’ll come for you.”
But who were they?
And why was he helping me?
If he even was.
The next morning, a message was waiting on my desk.
A black envelope.
No name. No seal. Just a single silver thread wrapped around it.
I opened it carefully.
Inside was a card, written in elegant script:
You are invited to attend the Blood Moon Ceremony as Alpha Kade Thorn’s escort. — Blackthorn Council
My blood turned to ice.
Escort?
This wasn’t a school dance. It was a werewolf ritual tied to rank, power, and bonding.
Why would Kade invite me?
Why would the council allow it?
And what the hell was I supposed to wear?
News spread fast.
By the time I reached the dining hall, everyone already knew.
People moved when I entered. Not out of respect—but fear.
Jealousy.
And something colder.
Something dangerous.
Savannah passed me on her way out. Her eyes raked over me like knives.
“You must think you're special,” she hissed.
“I don’t,” I replied. “But it’s sweet that you do.”
She snarled but didn’t attack.
Not here. Not today.
Too many eyes watching.
Too many rumors flying.
I barely touched my food.
My appetite had vanished somewhere between fear and disbelief.
Jax slid into the seat across from me.
“Guess you’re the talk of the territory now,” he said, smirking. “Alpha’s escort. Damn, Layla. You move fast.”
I glared. “It wasn’t my idea.”
“Still. You’re not just ‘the human’ anymore. You’re the girl standing next to the next Alpha king.”
I frowned. “I don’t want that.”
He tilted his head. “You sure?”
“I didn’t come here to be claimed.”
“Then why did you come?”
“I didn’t,” I snapped. “They brought me.”
Jax leaned back, eyes serious for once.
“Then maybe you should figure out why before someone else figures it out first.”
Classes were canceled for ceremony preparations.
Apparently, no one trained during the Blood Moon week. Everyone was too focused on politics, power plays, and pairing rituals.
Lunas were chosen. Bonds were formed. Alliances were made or broken.
And humans? They weren’t even allowed in the room.
Until now.
The headmistress summoned me that afternoon.
Her office was colder than the hallways, as if magic sucked the warmth from the air.
She sat behind a long desk, fingers laced beneath her chin, red lips tight.
“Layla Hart,” she said. “Your presence here was unexpected. Your survival thus far… inconvenient.”
I didn’t respond.
She slid a file across the table.
I glanced down.
It was my file.
But not from Blackthorn.
From my old life. Orphanage records. Foster reports. School suspensions.
“You’ve always been trouble,” she said. “But trouble can be trained.”
I tensed. “Is that a threat?”
She stood, slow and deliberate. “It’s a warning. The Blood Moon Ceremony is not a game. It’s a declaration.”
“Of what?”
“Of power. Of mating bonds. Of lineage. If Alpha Thorn chooses you in front of the council, your life will never be your own again.”
My throat tightened. “He’s not choosing me.”
She arched a brow. “Isn’t he?”
I said nothing.
She walked to the window.
“There are whispers. That you are not fully human. That something ancient runs through your blood. Do you know what happens to anomalies in our world, Miss Hart?”
I met her gaze. “They get erased.”
Her lips curved into something cold. “Good. Then you understand the stakes.”
That night, I locked my door and tried not to cry.
I had spent my whole life surviving people who wanted me small, silent, forgettable.
Now I was somewhere I didn’t understand, surrounded by creatures who saw me as either a threat… or a tool.
And the only person who looked at me like I wasn’t either was Kade Thorn.
And that scared me more than all the rest.
A knock came just after midnight.
I didn’t answer.
“Layla,” Kade’s voice called softly.
I opened the door.
He stood there—hood down, eyes darker than I’d ever seen them.
“You should be asleep,” he said.
“You should stop sending me invitations I didn’t ask for.”
He walked past me and shut the door behind him.
I didn’t move.
Neither did he.
Then he spoke.
“I invited you to the ceremony because they need to see you.”
“See me… as what?”
“As mine.”
My chest squeezed.
“You don’t even know what I am.”
“I know enough.”
I stepped back. “You can’t just claim me like I’m a trophy.”
His jaw tightened. “This isn’t about claiming. It’s about protecting you. Once the Blood Moon rises, the other Alphas will have a right to challenge you if you’re unclaimed.”
“So this is for my safety?”
“Yes.”
I laughed bitterly. “You don’t even like me.”
Silence.
Then he stepped forward.
Slow. Controlled.
He lifted his hand—then stopped, fingers hovering just near my jaw.
“I don’t like anyone,” he said softly. “But I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since the moment you walked through the gates.”
I swallowed hard.
His voice dropped.
“Something inside you calls to me. Not just the mate bond. Something older. I need to know what it is.”
“And if I don’t?”
His hand dropped.
“Then I’ll protect you anyway.”
I stared at him, heart pounding.
“Why?”
He turned away. “Because I’ve killed for less.”
When he left, the locket in my drawer pulsed with heat.
I opened it again and reread the words inside.
Born of the storm. Raised by the fire.
And this time, I didn’t feel fear.
I felt fire.
Burning. Rising. Ready.
Tomorrow, I would walk into the Blood Moon Ceremony.
Not just as a human.
Not just as his.
But as something they couldn’t control.
Something they didn’t understand.
And maybe never would.
- Writer
