3. The Awakening
1135 Words
The silver light swallowed everything.
I couldn't see.
Couldn't breathe.
Couldn't hear anything except the violent pounding of my heart.
The pain in my chest intensified.
It felt as though something buried deep within me was clawing its way to the surface.
I collapsed to my knees.
A scream tore from my throat.
The floor beneath me trembled.
Around me, wolves shouted in panic.
"Get everyone out!"
"Protect the Alpha!"
"The Moon Stone is breaking!"
The Moon Stone.
I forced my eyes open.
The sacred crystal was covered in cracks.
Silver energy leaked from every fracture.
The elders stared at it in horror.
One of them looked as though he had seen a ghost.
"Impossible," he whispered.
"What is happening?" another demanded.
"No one has seen this in centuries."
The pain surged again.
My vision blurred.
Suddenly, I heard a voice.
Not from outside.
From inside my head.
Wake up.
I froze.
My wolf.
For years she had been little more than a faint presence.
Silent.
Weak.
Barely there.
Now her voice rang clear and powerful.
Wake up, Aria.
My entire body shook.
Who are you?
A soft growl echoed through my mind.
I am who I have always been.
The answer made no sense.
Yet somehow it terrified me.
The silver symbol on my wrist burned brighter.
Gasps erupted throughout the hall.
I looked down.
The mark was expanding.
Moonlight-shaped lines stretched across my skin like glowing vines.
The elder who had spoken of the prophecy stumbled backwards.
His face had gone completely pale.
"No."
His voice trembled.
"No, it cannot be her."
Everyone looked at him.
The Alpha King stepped forward.
"What are you talking about?"
The elder swallowed.
His eyes remained fixed on me.
"The Blood Luna."
The hall fell silent.
The words meant nothing to me.
Yet the reaction around me was immediate.
Fear.
Pure fear.
Even the Alpha King's expression changed.
"What did you say?" he asked quietly.
The elder pointed towards me.
"The mark."
Nobody spoke.
The silence was suffocating.
Then Kael moved.
For the first time since rejecting me, he approached.
His silver eyes were fixed on my wrist.
Shock flickered across his face.
Then confusion.
Then something else.
Something I couldn't identify.
My wolf growled.
A low dangerous sound.
Stay away from him.
The intensity of her reaction startled me.
Pain and anger rolled through our bond.
Pain from the rejection.
Anger from the humiliation.
I wanted to move away.
But my body wouldn't cooperate.
The energy surrounding me continued to grow.
The air crackled.
The walls shook.
Outside, wolves began howling.
Hundreds of them.
The sound sent chills down my spine.
"What is happening?" someone whispered.
The answer came moments later.
The hall doors burst open.
A warrior rushed inside.
His face was pale.
"Alpha!"
The room turned towards him.
He struggled to catch his breath.
"The barrier."
The Alpha King's eyes narrowed.
"What about it?"
The warrior looked terrified.
"It's gone."
A ripple of shock swept through the crowd.
My stomach tightened.
Gone?
The Silver Moon barrier had protected the pack territory for generations.
No rogue could cross it.
No enemy could enter.
It was impossible for it to simply disappear.
"The barrier collapsed the moment the Moon Stone cracked," the warrior continued.
Panic erupted.
People began shouting.
The elders argued.
Warriors rushed towards the exits.
Fear spread through the hall like wildfire.
And somehow, deep down, I knew it was connected to me.
The dream.
The prophecy.
The rejection.
All of it.
The silver-haired woman had warned me.
When the Alpha rejects you, everything will begin.
My blood ran cold.
The floor trembled again.
This time harder.
A deafening crack echoed through the room.
Everyone looked up.
The Moon Stone shattered.
Thousands of silver fragments exploded into the air.
Women screamed.
Warriors lunged forward.
The fragments hovered above us.
Suspended.
Glowing.
Then every single piece shot towards me.
The crowd gasped.
I raised my arms instinctively.
The shards stopped inches from my skin.
Floating.
Spinning around me.
The symbol on my wrist flared.
A burst of energy exploded outward.
The force knocked everyone backwards.
Even Kael.
The future Alpha crashed into a row of chairs.
For several seconds nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The shards dissolved into silver dust.
The dust swirled around me.
Then vanished.
The hall became completely silent.
My body suddenly felt exhausted.
The energy disappeared.
The burning faded.
Dark spots danced before my eyes.
I swayed.
Strong arms caught me before I hit the ground.
I looked up.
Kael.
For a moment our eyes met.
The mate bond flickered.
Broken.
Damaged.
Bleeding.
But not completely gone.
His expression was unreadable.
"What are you?" he whispered.
The question shattered something inside me.
Not who.
What.
Not even after everything.
Not even after fate had chosen us.
I wasn't a person to him.
I was a problem.
A mistake.
A threat.
I pulled away from him.
His hands immediately loosened.
Good.
I didn't want his help.
Not anymore.
The hall remained silent as I stood.
Every eye followed me.
Not with pity.
Not with mockery.
With fear.
The realisation hurt more than the rejection.
They were afraid of me.
The Alpha King stepped forward.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"Escort Aria to the guest quarters."
I frowned.
"What?"
"You will remain under observation until we understand what happened today."
My chest tightened.
Under observation.
A prettier way of saying imprisonment.
Several warriors moved closer.
Instinct screamed at me to run.
My wolf growled again.
Danger.
The warning echoed through my mind.
I looked around the room.
Nobody looked friendly.
Nobody looked trustworthy.
Not even the elders.
Especially not the elders.
Then I noticed something strange.
An older man standing near the back of the hall.
I hadn't seen him before.
Unlike everyone else, he wasn't frightened.
He looked excited.
His eyes gleamed with something dark.
Something dangerous.
The moment our gazes met, a smile spread across his face.
A cold smile.
The smile of someone who had finally found what he had been searching for.
A chill ran down my spine.
I had never seen him before.
Yet every instinct I possessed screamed the same thing.
Enemy.
Before I could react, he turned and disappeared into the crowd.
Gone.
As though he had never been there.
My wolf snarled.
He knows.
The words sent fear floo
ding through me.
Knows what?
But she didn't answer.
The warriors surrounded me.
The Alpha King issued orders.
The crowd slowly began leaving the hall.
Chaos consumed the Silver Moon Pack.
And standing in the middle of it all, I realised something terrifying.
My life hadn't been ruined today.
It had begun.
And somewhere beyond the borders of the pack, something ancient had awakened alongside me.
Something that was coming.
And it was coming for me.
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