Chapter Eight: The Blood Moon Invitation
1118 Words
The bond changed everything.
Not publicly.
Not yet.
But privately?
Nothing felt stable anymore.
Aria noticed it immediately after leaving the holding chamber.
The world sounded sharper.
Every scent carried meaning now. Every emotional shift from the Lycans brushed against her senses like invisible fingertips she could not fully block out.
And worst of all—
she could still feel them after walking away.
Not physically.
Internally.
Like threads stretching through her chest no matter how much distance she forced between them.
It was intolerable.
Which was why she locked herself inside her office for the next six hours.
Work.
Reports.
Border disputes.
Anything that reminded her she was still Alpha first and whatever this was second.
A knock sounded at the door.
“Denied,” she said instantly.
The door opened anyway.
Aria looked up sharply.
Darius Kane stood there holding a sealed black envelope.
Of course.
“Do people simply ignore authority for sport now?” she asked flatly.
Darius closed the door behind him. “You stopped responding to summons.”
“I wasn’t aware you issued them.”
His mouth twitched faintly. “Still sharp.”
Aria leaned back in her chair. “You have thirty seconds before I remove you personally.”
Instead of reacting, Darius crossed the room and placed the envelope on her desk.
The moment it touched the wood, her wolf stirred violently.
Aria’s eyes narrowed.
“What is that.”
Darius’ expression darkened slightly. “Trouble.”
That got her attention.
Slowly, Aria picked up the envelope.
Black wax seal.
Silver crest.
Ancient markings burned faintly into the paper itself.
Her stomach tightened instantly.
“No,” she said quietly.
Darius nodded once. “That was my reaction too.”
Aria broke the seal.
The moment she unfolded the letter, power rolled through the room like cold fire.
Not magic.
Authority.
Old authority.
The kind that existed before modern pack law.
Her eyes scanned the words once.
Then again.
And the silence afterward became dangerous.
Darius watched her carefully. “So it’s real.”
Aria finally looked up.
“The Blood Moon Gathering,” she said quietly.
Even speaking the name felt heavy.
Darius folded his arms. “I thought the Lycan Court stopped holding them decades ago.”
“They did.”
A pause.
“Which means if they’re reviving it now…”
Neither finished the sentence.
They didn’t need to.
Because there was only one reason the old courts ever summoned every major Alpha and Lycan bloodline at once.
Recognition.
Claiming.
Bond declaration.
Aria felt irritation flash instantly.
“No.”
Darius exhaled sharply. “Aria—”
“No.”
She stood abruptly.
The force of her Alpha energy cracked across the room hard enough to rattle the windows.
“I am not attending some ancient mating ritual because a group of emotionally unstable Lycans decided fate has opinions.”
Darius’ eyes darkened slightly.
“It’s not just them anymore.”
Silence.
Aria hated that he sounded serious instead of jealous.
That made it worse.
A second knock hit the door.
Then it opened before she answered.
Riven entered first.
“Good news,” he announced. “Your security still hates us.”
Kael walked in behind him, already looking tense.
Dax followed silently.
And finally—
The Prince.
The room instantly became too small.
Aria stared at all of them. “Am I running a government or a public transit station?”
Riven grinned. “Little bit of both.”
Darius looked immediately irritated by their presence.
Riven noticed.
“Oh good,” he said brightly. “The ex-boyfriend’s here too. Now it feels hostile.”
“Riven,” Kael warned quietly.
“What? I’m adapting socially.”
Aria pinched the bridge of her nose once.
Then tossed the invitation onto the desk.
“Explain this.”
The Prince stepped forward slowly, eyes settling on the black seal.
His expression became unreadable.
“They acted faster than expected,” he murmured.
Aria’s gaze sharpened. “You knew this was coming.”
“I suspected.”
“That’s becoming an irritating habit.”
Riven picked up the invitation and immediately swore under his breath.
“Well,” he muttered, “that’s catastrophic.”
Dax took the letter next.
His usually calm expression shifted slightly.
“The old rites are being invoked.”
Darius frowned. “Meaning?”
Kael answered quietly.
“Meaning the Court believes the bond is legitimate.”
The room fell silent again.
Aria crossed her arms tightly. “And if I refuse?”
No one answered immediately.
That alone irritated her.
Finally, the Prince spoke.
“You can refuse attendance,” he said carefully.
“But?” Aria asked.
A pause.
“You cannot stop recognition once the Blood Moon begins.”
The words landed like a threat even though his tone remained calm.
Aria stepped closer instantly.
“That sounds dangerously close to coercion.”
The Prince met her gaze evenly.
“It sounds like truth.”
That infuriating certainty again.
Aria’s pulse jumped.
Not fear.
Frustration.
And something beneath it she refused to examine.
Darius noticed.
Of course he noticed.
His jaw tightened subtly.
“You shouldn’t go,” he said suddenly.
Everyone looked at him.
Darius kept his eyes on Aria.
“The Court doesn’t revive ancient rites without political motive,” he continued. “If they announce a multi-bond publicly, every territory will react.”
Kael nodded grimly. “He’s right.”
Riven groaned dramatically. “God, I hate when the ex makes sense.”
“No one asked you,” Darius snapped.
“Still speaking though.”
“Enough,” Aria said sharply.
Silence returned instantly.
She looked around the room slowly.
Five men.
Five impossible problems.
And somehow every path now pointed toward her.
The Prince stepped forward one final time.
His voice lowered.
“If you attend,” he said, “the bond will fully awaken.”
Aria’s chest tightened.
“And if I don’t?”
This time, the answer came from Dax.
“Then it may awaken violently instead.”
That changed the room.
Even Riven stopped joking.
Aria stared at them.
“You’re telling me fate becomes dangerous if ignored.”
Kael answered carefully.
“We’re telling you suppressed bonds can break people.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Aria looked down at the black invitation again.
The seal seemed darker now somehow.
Older.
Waiting.
And deep inside her chest—
her wolf stirred.
Not fearfully.
Anticipating.
Aria hated that most of all.
Because for the first time since this began—
a part of her wanted to know what would happen under the Blood Moon.
And that was far more dangerous than the bond itself.
- Writer
