Chapter 2 - The Ones Who Were Waiting
1880 Words
Nobody moved.
For several seconds, the only sound in the clearing was the crackling of the few torches that had managed to remain lit.
Aria remained on her knees beside the Moon Altar, breathing heavily.
Her hands trembled.
She looked around at the faces surrounding her.
Fear.
That was what she saw.
Not excitement.
Not pride.
Fear.
The same people who had laughed at her only minutes ago were now keeping their distance as though she carried some kind of disease.
Even the elders refused to look directly at her.
“What is happening?” Aria asked.
Nobody answered.
She pushed herself to her feet.
“What did he mean?”
Her voice shook.
“What is a Blood Rising Luna?”
The oldest elder, Elder Rowan, finally stepped forward.
He was a thin man with white hair and a face covered in deep lines. Aria had known him since childhood, but she had never seen him look frightened.
Until tonight.
“Everyone must leave,” he said.
A murmur went through the crowd.
Darius stepped toward him.
“Explain.”
“Not here.”
“You heard me.”
Rowan's eyes moved toward the forest.
“They know she's awake.”
Aria frowned.
“Who?”
The elder didn't answer.
Darius turned toward the gathered wolves.
“Everyone back to your homes. Lock your doors. Nobody leaves the territory.”
The crowd immediately began moving.
Questions erupted everywhere.
“What was that?”
“Did you see her eyes?”
“What does Blood Rising mean?”
“Are we under attack?”
Aria stood frozen in the center of it all.
Nobody seemed interested in explaining anything to her.
That angered her more than the fear.
She grabbed Darius's arm before he could walk away.
“Alpha.”
He stopped.
“You owe me an explanation.”
Darius looked down at her hand.
Then at her face.
For a moment, something flickered in his expression.
Regret.
It disappeared almost immediately.
“Come with me.”
Aria followed him.
Selene tried to follow too, but two guards stepped in front of her.
“I'm her best friend,” Selene protested.
Darius looked back.
“Not this time.”
“Aria—”
“I'll be fine,” Aria said.
She wasn't sure whether she was reassuring Selene or herself.
Darius led Aria toward the Alpha's residence.
The enormous building stood at the highest point of the territory, surrounded by stone walls and armed guards.
Aria had only been inside once before.
Tonight, every guard seemed to be watching her.
She walked through the doors.
The moment they closed behind her, she heard the lock click.
Aria stopped.
“You locked the door?”
Darius continued walking.
“For your protection.”
“From who?”
He didn't answer.
Aria followed him into a large study.
Elder Rowan was already there.
Two other elders stood beside him.
Their expressions made Aria's stomach tighten.
Darius closed the door.
“Sit.”
Aria remained standing.
“No.”
Darius's eyebrows lifted.
“I said—”
“I heard you.”
She folded her arms.
“I've spent eighteen years being told that I don't matter. Tonight, something happens to me, everyone suddenly becomes terrified, and now you want me to sit quietly while people discuss my life behind my back.”
Her voice cracked.
“I deserve answers.”
Silence.
Elder Rowan exchanged a glance with Darius.
Then he sighed.
“You deserve the truth.”
Aria's heart skipped.
Finally.
“What truth?”
Rowan walked toward an old bookshelf.
He pulled out a thick, leather-bound book.
Dust covered its surface.
He placed it on the desk and opened it.
The pages were filled with drawings and symbols Aria didn't recognize.
Then Rowan stopped.
He turned the book toward her.
Aria stared at the illustration.
A woman stood beneath a red moon.
Her eyes glowed.
A strange crescent-shaped mark covered her chest.
Aria's breath caught.
It was the woman from her vision.
“The Blood Rising Luna,” Rowan said.
Aria looked at him.
“She was real?”
“Yes.”
“Who was she?”
“The first.”
“The first what?”
“The first Blood Rising Luna.”
Aria shook her head.
“That doesn't explain anything.”
Rowan pointed toward the illustration.
“Long before the current packs existed, there were several ancient bloodlines. Most disappeared over time. One of the most powerful belonged to the Blood Rising Lunas.”
“What made them different?”
“They weren't ordinary werewolves.”
“What were they?”
Rowan hesitated.
“Lunas who could influence the blood bonds of supernatural beings.”
Aria frowned.
“I don't understand.”
“Every wolf is connected to their pack through a supernatural bond. The Alpha strengthens that bond. The Luna can influence it. But the Blood Rising Luna…”
He paused.
“She could alter it completely.”
Aria looked down at her hands.
“Meaning?”
“She could strengthen a bond.”
Rowan turned another page.
“She could weaken one.”
Another page.
“She could break one.”
Aria stared at him.
“That sounds dangerous.”
“It was.”
Darius finally spoke.
“Which is why the Blood Rising bloodline was destroyed.”
Aria looked at him.
“You destroyed them?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Nobody answered.
Aria's frustration grew.
“Who killed my parents?”
The room went silent.
She hadn't expected the question to change everything.
Darius looked away.
Aria's heart sank.
“You knew.”
He remained silent.
“You knew something about my parents.”
“Aria—”
“You knew!”
Her voice echoed through the room.
“You've known all this time!”
Darius's jaw tightened.
“I knew your parents were involved in something dangerous.”
“That's not an answer.”
“They were trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
Rowan closed the ancient book.
“The council.”
Aria stared at him.
“What council?”
“The Supernatural Council.”
She laughed bitterly.
“This is insane.”
“No,” Rowan said quietly.
“It's real.”
Aria stepped backward.
She needed air.
She needed somewhere familiar.
Instead, everything she had believed about her life was collapsing around her.
“My parents weren't rogues?”
“No.”
“They weren't weak?”
“No.”
“They weren't criminals?”
“No.”
“Then why did everyone say they were?”
Darius looked at her.
“Because the truth would have made you a target.”
Aria's eyes filled with anger.
“You made me hate them.”
“I kept you alive.”
“You lied to me!”
“Yes.”
The simple admission stunned her.
Darius looked exhausted.
“I was ordered to keep your identity hidden.”
“By the council?”
“Yes.”
Aria's stomach twisted.
“So they knew about me?”
“Not all of them.”
“Then who knows?”
Darius didn't answer.
A sudden crash came from outside.
Everyone froze.
Then another.
A guard shouted.
“INTRUDERS!”
Darius immediately moved toward the door.
“Stay here.”
Aria grabbed his sleeve.
“What is happening?”
“Lock the door.”
“Alpha—”
“Now.”
He left.
The sound of footsteps thundered through the halls.
Aria stared at the door.
Something inside her began to stir.
Her heart beat faster.
She could hear everything.
The guards outside.
Their breathing.
Their footsteps.
Their fear.
Then she heard another heartbeat.
Slow.
Steady.
Coming closer.
Aria stepped away from the door.
A shadow moved beneath it.
She held her breath.
The handle turned.
The door opened.
A man stood on the other side.
He was dressed entirely in black.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
His expression was cold enough to silence the room.
Aria had never seen him before.
But somehow, the moment she looked at him, something inside her reacted.
Her chest tightened.
A strange warmth moved through her veins.
The man looked directly at her.
His eyes widened slightly.
For the briefest moment, Aria thought she saw recognition.
Then his expression became unreadable again.
“Where is the Alpha?” he asked.
Aria didn't answer.
His gaze shifted to the ancient book on the desk.
Then back to her.
“You're Aria Vale.”
It wasn't a question.
“How do you know my name?”
The man stepped into the room.
“Because I've been looking for you.”
Aria's pulse jumped.
“Who are you?”
Before he could answer, Darius appeared behind him.
“Kael.”
The man's eyes remained on Aria.
“Alpha Darius.”
Darius's expression hardened.
“What are you doing here?”
Kael finally looked at him.
“I felt the awakening.”
Darius's face went pale.
“So did we.”
Kael's attention returned to Aria.
His expression changed again.
Not fear.
Something closer to disbelief.
“You shouldn't have awakened.”
Aria's temper snapped.
“Apparently, nobody bothered to ask me.”
Kael's eyebrows lifted slightly.
For the first time, something almost resembling amusement appeared in his eyes.
Then it vanished.
“Do you know what you are?”
Aria shook her head.
“Everyone keeps asking me that.”
Kael walked closer.
Darius immediately stepped between them.
“Don't.”
Kael stopped.
“She's not safe here.”
“She is under my protection.”
Kael gave a humorless laugh.
“Your protection?”
Darius's eyes narrowed.
“You have no authority here.”
“No,” Kael said.
“But I have information you don't.”
Rowan stepped forward.
“What information?”
Kael looked toward him.
“The council knows.”
The room went silent.
Aria's stomach dropped.
“What do they know?”
Kael's gaze returned to her.
“That the Blood Rising Luna has awakened.”
A cold silence followed.
Aria swallowed.
“How long until they come?”
Kael's expression hardened.
“They're already on their way.”
A howl sounded in the distance.
Then another.
Then several more.
Darius turned toward the window.
Red lights flickered beyond the trees.
Not torches.
Something else.
Kael's voice became low.
“They're not here to negotiate.”
Aria looked around the room.
For the first time, she understood what the elder had meant.
The ones who have been waiting for her to awaken.
They had found her.
And whatever life Aria had known before tonight was over.
Kael looked at her one last time.
“Stay behind me.”
Aria frowned.
“I don't take orders from strangers.”
His eyes narrowed.
“You will tonight.”
“Try me.”
For a moment, neither moved.
Then something inside Aria's chest pulsed.
Kael suddenly went still.
His expression changed.
His eyes widened.
Aria felt it too.
A strange invisible pull.
Something connecting them.
Something neither of them understood.
Kael whispered a word that made Darius's face turn pale.
“Mate.”
Aria's heart stopped.
The word hung in the room.
And somewhere deep within her, the wolf that had never existed before finally opened its eyes.
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