Chapter 10:The Mark of the Moon
939 Words
The howl didn’t fade.
It lingered in the air, echoing through the forest like a warning that refused to be ignored.
Elara stood still, her golden eyes slowly dimming as the power within her settled. But the feeling remained—heavy, pressing, like something unseen had just shifted.
“A message…” she repeated quietly.
Kael nodded, his expression tense. “That wasn’t random. He’s calling his pack.”
Her mother’s face had gone pale—but not with fear.
With recognition.
“No,” she said softly. “It’s more than that.”
Elara turned to her. “What do you mean?”
Her mother didn’t answer right away. Instead, she looked at Elara like she was seeing something she had tried to forget. Something she had hoped would never come true.
“We need to go back,” she said suddenly.
“Back where?” Kael asked.
“Home.”
The house felt colder than before.
Not physically—but something about it had changed. Like it was no longer just a home… but a place holding secrets too heavy to stay hidden.
Elara stood in the middle of the living room as her mother disappeared down the hallway.
Kael leaned closer to her. “I don’t like this.”
“Me neither,” Elara muttered.
A moment later, her mother returned—holding something wrapped in dark cloth.
Elara’s eyes narrowed. “What is that?”
Her mother hesitated… then slowly unwrapped it.
Inside was an old, worn book.
Its cover was cracked with age, marked with strange symbols that seemed to shimmer faintly under the light.
Elara felt it instantly.
That same pull.
The same one she felt from the moon.
“What is it?” she asked, her voice quieter now.
Her mother looked at her.
“This,” she said, “is where your story was written… long before you were born.”
Elara’s heart skipped.
“That’s not possible.”
Her mother opened the book carefully, as if it might break. The pages were old, filled with symbols, drawings, and words written in a language Elara didn’t recognize.
Kael stepped closer, frowning. “I’ve heard of this…”
Elara looked between them. “Heard of what?”
Her mother turned a few pages, then stopped.
“This is the record of the first bloodline,” she said. “The origin of the Moon’s Chosen.”
Elara’s chest tightened.
“And me?”
Her mother looked up at her.
“You’re in here.”
Silence.
“What?”
“That’s impossible,” Kael said.
Her mother didn’t respond.
Instead, she turned the book toward Elara.
“Read.”
Elara hesitated… then stepped closer.
At first, the symbols meant nothing. Just strange markings on a page.
Then—
They shifted.
Her breath caught.
The words began to change… forming into something she could understand.
“How…” she whispered.
Her mother’s voice was soft. “Only the chosen can read it.”
Elara’s heart pounded as her eyes scanned the page.
And then—she saw it.
“When the blood of the first awakens beneath the full moon,
the chosen shall rise with eyes of gold.
Neither bound by curse nor ruled by pack,
she shall walk between shadow and light.
Power of command shall bend to her will,
and the wolves shall answer her call.
But with her rising comes the breaking,
for balance demands sacrifice.
One shall fall for the chosen to stand,
and the moon shall decide who remains.”
Elara’s hands trembled.
“What… does that mean?”
Her mother closed the book slowly.
“It means your power comes with a cost.”
Elara’s throat went dry. “What kind of cost?”
Her mother hesitated.
Kael spoke first. “Sacrifice.”
Elara looked at him, panic flickering in her eyes. “No…”
“It’s a prophecy,” Kael said quietly. “There’s always a price.”
Elara shook her head. “It says someone will fall… who?!”
No one answered.
Because no one knew.
Or maybe—
They were too afraid to say it.
Elara stepped back, her breathing uneven. “So this is it? I just wait for someone to die because of me?”
“No,” her mother said firmly. “Prophecies are not chains. They are warnings.”
Elara looked at her, desperate. “Then how do I stop it?”
Her mother met her gaze.
“You don’t run from it.”
A pause.
“You become strong enough to change it.”
Silence filled the room again.
Elara’s mind raced.
The Alpha.
The power.
The sacrifice.
It was all connected.
Kael stepped closer, his voice steady. “We won’t let anything happen to you.”
Elara looked at him, her eyes softening for a brief moment.
“But it might not be me,” she whispered.
The words hung heavy in the air.
Kael didn’t respond.
Because deep down…
He understood.
Suddenly—
A loud crash echoed from outside.
All three of them froze.
Kael’s head snapped toward the door. “We’re not alone.”
Elara’s heart jumped. “Already?”
Her mother’s expression hardened instantly.
“They’re here.”
Another sound—closer this time.
A low growl.
Multiple.
Surrounding the house.
Kael’s eyes darkened.
“The Alpha didn’t wait,” he said.
Elara’s pulse quickened—but this time, something else rose with it.
Not fear.
Readiness.
Her eyes flickered gold.
“Good,” she said quietly.
Both Kael and her mother looked at her.
Elara lifted her chin, her voice steady.
“Let them come.”
- Writer
