Blood under the moon
968 Words
The mansion erupted into chaos.
Warriors rushed through the halls while alarm bells echoed across the Nightfang territory. Outside, wolves howled violently beneath the full moon.
Liora’s heart slammed against her ribs.
“They found us already?” she asked breathlessly.
Nyra grabbed two silver daggers from a nearby table. “I told you bringing her here was a mistake.”
Kael ignored her.
Instead, he turned toward Liora with deadly focus. “Stay inside this room no matter what happens.”
“What? No”
“This is not a request.”
Before she could argue again, another scream echoed outside.
Then came the sound of explosions.
The windows rattled violently.
Kael’s expression darkened instantly.
“They breached the outer gates.”
Nyra cursed under her breath and rushed toward the doors with several warriors following behind her.
Elias quickly began gathering medical supplies. “This will be ugly.”
Liora stood frozen as fear consumed her.
Everything was happening too fast.
Just yesterday her biggest concern had been surviving another exhausting day in her quiet town.
Now monsters were attacking because of her.
Kael started toward the exit, but Liora grabbed his arm before he could leave.
“Wait.”
He looked down at her hand gripping him.
For a second, neither of them spoke.
“What if they kill you?” she asked quietly.
Something unreadable flickered across his face.
“They’ll have to try harder than that.”
Then he pulled away and disappeared down the hallway.
Liora immediately regretted letting him go.
Outside, growls and screams grew louder.
She paced nervously across the room, trying to ignore the terrifying sounds beyond the mansion walls.
But then
A strange whisper echoed inside her mind.
Silver Luna…
Liora froze.
The voice sounded distant and distorted, almost like wind moving through trees.
Find me…
Her breathing became uneven.
“Who’s there?”
No answer.
Then the crescent mark on her wrist suddenly burned painfully.
Liora gasped and grabbed her arm.
Images flashed rapidly inside her mind again.
A dark underground chamber.
Chains covered in silver.
A pair of glowing red eyes staring directly at her.
Then blood.
So much blood.
Liora stumbled backward, nearly collapsing.
The vision vanished instantly.
“What was that?” she whispered shakily.
Before she could think further, the doors burst open.
A wounded warrior staggered inside covered in blood.
“They’re everywhere,” he growled painfully. “Bloodmoon wolves broke through the western border.”
Elias rushed toward him immediately.
Liora moved closer carefully. “Can I help?”
The warrior looked at her and froze.
Fear crossed his face.
Not fear of the attackers.
Fear of her.
“The mark…” he whispered weakly.
Liora instinctively covered her wrist.
Suddenly, another loud crash shook the mansion.
This time much closer.
A wolf smashed through one of the large windows, sending shattered glass across the floor.
Liora screamed.
The massive gray beast landed violently inside the room, growling with exposed fangs and glowing amber eyes.
Elias stepped in front of her immediately.
“Run!”
The wolf lunged.
Before it could reach them, a silver blur crossed the room.
Kael.
He slammed into the beast with terrifying force, both wolves crashing through furniture as snarls thundered around them.
Liora backed against the wall in panic.
Kael fought like something completely inhuman.
Powerful.
Brutal.
Terrifying.
Within seconds, he snapped the attacker’s neck.
Silence filled the room except for heavy breathing.
Kael shifted back into human form slowly, blood covering his arms and chest.
His gray eyes immediately searched for Liora.
“You disobeyed me.”
Liora stared at him in disbelief. “Someone literally crashed through the window!”
Kael looked ready to argue when another warrior suddenly rushed inside.
“Alpha,” he said urgently, “they sent him.”
Every person in the room went silent.
Kael’s expression became dangerously cold.
“Who?” Liora asked nervously.
Nobody answered immediately.
Then a deep voice echoed through the destroyed hallway.
“You’ve become difficult to find, Kael.”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop instantly.
A man stepped out of the shadows.
Tall.
Elegant.
Deadly.
Unlike the others, his eyes glowed red instead of gold.
Dark tattoos spread across his neck like twisting shadows, and a cruel smile curved across his face the moment he noticed Liora.
“Well,” he murmured softly. “So the rumors are true.”
Liora felt instant fear.
Something about him felt wrong.
Predatory.
The stranger’s red eyes locked onto her completely.
“There you are,” he whispered.
Kael stepped protectively in front of Liora. “Leave before I kill you, Lucien.”
So his name was Lucien.
Lucien only smiled wider.
“You can try.”
The air between them became suffocatingly tense.
Even Elias looked nervous now.
Lucien tilted his head slightly while studying Liora. “Interesting. You smell human… but your power says otherwise.”
Liora’s pulse quickened.
Kael growled lowly. “Don’t look at her.”
Lucien ignored him.
Instead, he walked forward slowly, his red eyes glowing brighter beneath the moonlight pouring through the broken windows.
“You have no idea what you are yet, do you?” he asked her softly.
Liora couldn’t speak.
Lucien’s smile darkened.
“That’s dangerous.”
Kael suddenly moved.
In less than a second, he had Lucien pinned against the wall.
The mansion shook from the force.
“I said,” Kael growled viciously, “don’t look at her.”
Lucien laughed.
Actually laughed.
Then his gaze shifted toward Liora one last time.
“The moon finally returned its queen,” he said quietly.
His smile became colder.
“And when she remembers who she truly is…”
His red eyes flickered toward Kael.
“She won’t belong to you.”
- Writer
