The Moon Goddess lied

THE FIRST BOND

CHAPTER SIX

"Some destinies arrive like blessings. Others arrive carrying the memory of a war no one remembers."

Auren did not move.

She remained beside the window, staring into the darkness long after the three shadows had disappeared.

Her heartbeat refused to settle.

They're looking for you.

The words still echoed inside her mind.

She pressed her palm against the glass.

Cold.

Nothing was there.

No movement between the trees. No glowing eyes. No unfamiliar scent drifting through the night.

Only silence.

Yet something had changed.

She could feel it.

The forest no longer felt like the place she had grown up knowing.

It felt like a doorway.

And whatever waited beyond it had finally noticed her.

Auren stepped away from the window and turned toward her bed.

She tried to convince herself that exhaustion had finally caught up with her.

Perhaps the ceremony had overwhelmed her.

Perhaps the voices were nothing more than fragments of an old nightmare.

Perhaps the three howls had been nothing more than coincidence.

But one thought refused to disappear.

Auren.

The stranger had spoken her name.

She had never told him who she was.

She hadn't even known he existed.

So how had he known?

Auren sat on the edge of her bed and touched the moonstone pendant around her neck.

The stone remained cold.

She frowned.

"Why me?"

Nothing answered.

Then a faint warmth spread across her palm.

Auren froze.

The moonstone began to glow.

Not brightly.

Just enough for a thin silver light to slip between her fingers.

Her breath caught.

A symbol slowly appeared across the surface.

Three curved lines.

They intertwined at the center, then separated into three distinct paths.

Auren stared at it.

She had seen that symbol before.

Not in reality.

In her dreams.

Always beneath the crimson moon.

Always carved into something she could never remember clearly after waking.

Her fingers trembled.

"What are you?"

The symbol disappeared.

The pendant went cold.

Auren barely had time to process what had happened before a sharp knock struck her bedroom door.

She quickly covered the pendant with her hand.

"Come in."

The door opened.

Gareth stood outside.

His expression was unusually serious.

"You haven't slept."

Auren looked away.

"Neither have you."

A faint smile touched his face.

"Fair enough."

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Gareth walked toward the window.

His eyes immediately went to the forest.

Auren noticed.

"You felt it too."

His shoulders stiffened.

"Felt what?"

"The wolves."

Silence.

Gareth turned slowly.

Auren stood.

"There were three howls."

"I heard them."

"And you know what they mean."

Gareth's expression hardened.

"I know what they could mean."

"Then tell me."

He hesitated.

"Auren, there are things about our history that your mother and I wanted to protect you from."

"Protect me?"

Her voice cracked with frustration.

"Everyone keeps saying that."

Gareth lowered his eyes.

"We were hoping you would have a normal life."

"I don't think I get to have one anymore."

He looked at her.

For the first time, Auren saw something unfamiliar in her father's eyes.

Fear.

Not fear for himself.

Fear for her.

"You need to leave Blackwood."

Auren stared at him.

"What?"

"Not tonight. Not alone. But soon."

Her heart dropped.

"Why?"

"Because the moment the Moon answered you, the rules changed."

Auren took a step backward.

"What rules?"

Before Gareth could answer, another voice came from the hallway.

"Enough."

Liora appeared in the doorway.

Her face was pale.

Gareth looked at her.

"Liora..."

"I said enough."

She entered the room and closed the door.

Then she looked at Auren.

Tears were gathering in her eyes.

Auren's chest tightened.

"Mother?"

Liora reached for her hand.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

Liora swallowed.

"For not telling you sooner."

Auren waited.

Liora glanced at Gareth.

Then back at her daughter.

"The three bonds aren't simply legends."

Auren's breath caught.

"You know about them."

"We know of them."

"Heart. Crown. Grave."

Liora nodded slowly.

"Three ancient bonds."

Auren stared at her.

"Who are they?"

"We don't know."

"You do."

"Auren..."

"You do!"

The words burst from her before she could stop them.

She immediately regretted raising her voice.

But Liora didn't become angry.

Instead, she pulled Auren into a gentle embrace.

"We know enough to understand that finding them could change everything."

Auren remained still in her mother's arms.

"Why?"

Liora closed her eyes.

"Because the last time three bonds appeared together..."

She stopped.

Auren pulled back.

"What happened?"

Liora looked at Gareth.

He answered this time.

"A war."

The room fell silent.

Auren's blood seemed to turn cold.

"What kind of war?"

"One that nearly destroyed several ancient clans."

"Why?"

"Because every clan wanted the power connected to the bonds."

Auren's fingers tightened around her pendant.

"And the girl who carried them?"

Neither parent answered.

That silence was enough.

Auren's eyes widened.

"There was someone before me."

Gareth's expression darkened.

"Yes."

"Who was she?"

"We don't know."

"You're lying."

"Auren."

"You're lying to me!"

Liora caught her hands.

"We don't know her name."

"Then what do you know?"

Liora's voice dropped to a whisper.

"She disappeared."

Auren stared at her.

"How?"

"No one knows."

The room suddenly felt colder.

Then something struck the window.

Auren spun around.

A small black feather rested against the glass.

Her wolf immediately stirred.

Not fear.

Recognition.

Again.

Auren approached the window.

Gareth grabbed her wrist.

"Don't."

She looked at him.

"Why?"

His eyes were fixed on the feather.

"Because that isn't from any bird in Blackwood."

Auren stared at it.

A second feather appeared.

It had fallen from somewhere above the window.

Then a third.

Three black feathers rested against the glass.

Liora whispered something under her breath.

Auren turned.

"What?"

Her mother looked terrified.

"Nothing."

"No."

Auren stepped closer.

"What did you say?"

Liora looked at the feathers.

Then at her daughter.

"I said..."

Her voice trembled.

"...they found you."

Auren's heart stopped.

Outside, somewhere deep within the forest, a wolf howled.

One.

Then another.

Then a third.

Three calls.

Three directions.

Auren closed her eyes.

And suddenly, she felt them.

Not clearly.

Not enough to see their faces.

But enough to know they were no longer merely watching.

One presence felt warm.

Steady.

Protective.

Another felt cold and commanding, carrying the weight of something ancient.

The third felt different.

Lonely.

Heavy.

As though it carried a grief that had existed long before Auren was born.

Three hearts.

Three paths.

Three strangers.

And somehow, all three were connected to her.

Auren opened her eyes.

The moonstone around her neck had begun glowing again.

This time, the symbol didn't disappear.

It remained etched into the stone.

Three paths.

One center.

One destiny.

Far beyond Blackwood's borders, three wolves lifted their heads beneath the same moon.

And for the first time...

They heard the same voice.

Auren.

Then the moon disappeared behind the clouds