Chapter no 1: Moonborn
Chapter One — The Moonborn
The night the moon turned red, Elara was warned not to enter the forest.
She went anyway.
The village of Ravenmere had always feared the forest.
Children were told never to cross its black iron gate. Mothers whispered that wolves lived beneath the ancient trees, wolves that could wear human faces and steal the souls of anyone foolish enough to wander too far.
Elara had never believed those stories.
At least, she hadn't before tonight.
She tightened the shawl around her shoulders and crouched beside a patch of silverleaf herbs. The small plants only bloomed beneath moonlight, and her mother needed them for a fever that had refused to break for three days.
“Just a few more,” Elara whispered.
The forest was unusually quiet.
No crickets.
No birds.
Not even the sound of the wind moving through the branches.
She looked up.
The moon was enormous tonight.
And red.
Not pale silver like it usually was.
Blood-red.
Elara stared at it uneasily.
Something about the sight made her skin prickle.
She quickly gathered the last of the herbs and stood.
That was when she heard the growl.
She froze.
It came from somewhere behind her.
Low.
Deep.
Almost human.
Elara slowly turned around.
Nothing.
Only trees.
She swallowed.
“Who's there?”
Silence.
She took one step backward.
A branch snapped.
This time, she ran.
She barely made it ten steps before a voice stopped her.
“Go home.”
Elara spun around.
A man stood beneath the twisted branches.
She hadn't heard him approach.
He was tall—far taller than any man in Ravenmere—and dressed in black from head to toe. Silver embroidery decorated his coat, catching the strange red moonlight whenever he moved.
His dark hair fell messily across his forehead.
But it wasn't his appearance that frightened her.
It was his eyes.
Golden.
Bright.
Unnaturally beautiful.
Elara's fingers tightened around the herbs.
“Who are you?”
The stranger didn't answer.
Instead, he stared at her as though she'd appeared from a dream.
His expression changed.
First confusion.
Then disbelief.
And finally something that looked dangerously close to fear.
“You…”
Elara frowned.
“Me?”
He stepped forward.
She stepped back.
“Don't.”
He stopped immediately.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then his gaze fell to her wrist.
Elara followed his eyes.
A faint silver mark rested beneath her skin.
A crescent moon surrounded by tiny lines she'd always assumed were scars.
The stranger's face went pale.
“Where did you get that?”
“I was born with it.”
“Who told you what it means?”
“No one.”
He looked toward the village.
“You need to leave.”
Elara's irritation overcame her fear.
“You're the one standing in the middle of the forest telling me to leave.”
His jaw tightened.
“You don't understand what is coming.”
“What is coming?”
He didn't answer.
Instead, he looked toward the darkness between the trees.
Elara heard something.
A howl.
Then another.
Her heart began to pound.
The stranger moved in front of her.
“Stay behind me.”
“Why?”
His eyes suddenly changed.
The golden color disappeared.
Silver flooded his irises.
Elara stopped breathing.
He looked at her.
“My name is Kael.”
Another howl echoed through the forest.
“Kael what?”
His expression hardened.
“Kael Draven.”
The name struck her like ice water.
Everyone knew that name.
The Wolf King.
The ruler of the northern kingdoms.
The man mothers used to frighten their children into obedience.
The immortal king who had supposedly killed hundreds of soldiers during the War of Ash.
Elara stared at him.
“You're…”
“Yes.”
Her hand slowly moved toward her mouth.
“You're the Wolf King.”
Kael said nothing.
A sudden movement came from the trees.
He grabbed Elara's wrist and pulled her behind him.
“Don't move.”
“I can fight.”
“No.”
His voice was so cold that she obeyed.
Figures began emerging from the darkness.
One.
Five.
Ten.
Then dozens.
Wolves.
No.
Not wolves.
Werewolves.
Some remained in their animal forms, enormous and terrifying. Others walked upright, their bodies shifting between beast and human.
But the strangest thing happened when they reached Kael.
They stopped.
Every single one lowered their head.
Then their eyes moved toward Elara.
One by one, they fell to their knees.
Elara stared in disbelief.
“What are they doing?”
Kael didn't answer.
A woman with silver hair stepped forward.
Her eyes widened when she saw Elara.
“The Moonborn.”
The words traveled through the forest like a whisper.
“The Moonborn has returned.”
Elara shook her head.
“No.”
The woman bowed her head.
“Our queen.”
“I am not your queen.”
Kael turned sharply.
“Enough.”
The woman looked at him.
“You knew she would come.”
Kael's expression darkened.
“I said enough.”
Elara looked between them.
“What are you talking about?”
No one answered.
Her frustration grew.
“I asked you a question!”
The silver-haired woman looked at Kael.
Then at Elara.
“Your mother never told you.”
“Told me what?”
“That you are the last descendant of the Moon Witch.”
Elara laughed nervously.
“My mother was a healer.”
“She was protecting you.”
“No.”
Kael closed his eyes.
“Elara…”
She froze.
She had never told him her name.
“How do you know my name?”
His eyes opened.
For the first time, the terrifying Wolf King looked almost broken.
“Because I've been searching for you for twenty years.”
The forest seemed to disappear.
Elara could hear nothing except the pounding of her heart.
“That's impossible.”
“I know.”
“I'm nineteen.”
“I know.”
“Then how could you have been searching for me for twenty years?”
Kael looked away.
“Because I knew you would be born.”
The mark on Elara's wrist suddenly burned.
She gasped.
Silver light spread beneath her skin.
The trees shook.
The wolves growled.
And somewhere deep within the forest, something answered.
A roar.
Not human.
Not wolf.
Something ancient.
Something that had been sleeping for centuries.
Kael immediately grabbed Elara and pulled her against him.
“Run.”
“What?”
“Run!”
The ground beneath them cracked.
A black mist rose from the earth.
Kael's arms tightened around her.
For one brief moment, Elara felt his heart beating against hers.
Fast.
Terrified.
The Wolf King was afraid.
And that frightened her more than anything else.
“Kael…”
He looked down at her.
Their faces were only inches apart.
His silver eyes softened.
“I'm sorry.”
“For what?”
His gaze dropped to the glowing mark on her wrist.
“For the life you were supposed to have.”
Before Elara could ask what he meant, the forest exploded with light.
And the last thing she heard was Kael whispering against her ear—
“Your destiny has found you.”
Then everything went black.
