CHAPTER 3: THE ATTACK
1117 Words
ARIA’S POV
I woke slowly, dragged back into consciousness by a cold that clung stubbornly to my skin.
Moonlight slipped through the cracks in the hut walls, pale silver lines stretching across the floor like fragile fingers reaching toward me. The fire pit in the corner had burned out completely, leaving only dark ash and the faint scent of smoke lingering in the air.
For a moment, I lay still, staring at the wooden ceiling above me, trying to remember how I was still alive.
Memories came in fractured flashes.
Kaius’s rejection.
The sharp, soul-deep pain of it.
The suffocating darkness.
Blood soaking the earth beneath me.
And then… hands. Strong hands dragging me away from death.
My chest ached. I pressed my palm against my heart, expecting the familiar stabbing ache to return, expecting to feel the broken bond tearing at my ribs.
There was nothing.
Just emptiness.
The absence felt worse than pain.
I pushed myself upright slowly. Every muscle screamed in protest, my limbs trembling like they no longer belonged to me. It felt as though my body had been drained and left hollow, barely held together by will alone.
The air inside the hut was damp and cold. My breath formed faint mist in front of me as I swung my legs over the side of the rough wooden bed. My feet touched the ground, and I winced as a sharp ache climbed up my spine.
I was alive, but I didn’t feel whole.
I staggered toward the door and pushed it open. The forest was silent. No birds. No rustling animals. Just stillness.
The boundary stones stood ahead, tall and ancient, faintly glowing beneath the moonlight. Their familiar markings eased some of the tightness in my chest.
Relief washed over me.
I hadn’t been taken beyond pack land.
I was still home.
The walk back felt longer than it ever had before. Every snapping twig beneath my feet made me flinch. Every shifting shadow made my pulse spike.
By the time Mooncrest Pack finally came into view, exhaustion clung to me like a second skin. Torches flickered along the perimeter walls, casting restless golden light across the night.
Warriors rushed forward the moment they spotted me.
“Where have you been?” one guard demanded, grabbing my arm.
Before I could answer, another hand seized me. My father.
His face held no expression, but anger burned in his eyes. Beneath it, I saw something far more fragile—fear.
His fingers trembled slightly where they gripped my arm.
He didn’t ask questions or yell at me.
He simply pulled me inside the compound and slammed the door shut behind us, as though something terrible had followed me home.
“You don’t disappear,” he said, his voice rough and strained.
“You don’t run into the forest alone.”
His jaw clenched hard enough to make the muscle twitch. He turned away sharply, breathing as though the words themselves had cost him control.
I said nothing.
I understood him too well.
He wasn’t angry.
He was terrified of losing me.
Night fell faster than usual, thick clouds swallowing the stars one by one. Then the moon rose fully, glowing an unnatural crimson across the sky.
The cursed red moon.
I felt it immediately—like a heavy weight pressing down on my chest. The red moon always drained our pack’s strength, leaving us vulnerable until dawn.
We were exposed, And everyone knew it.
Then the scream came from outside.
I was on my feet before I even realized I had moved. The ground beneath me seemed to vibrate with distant impact, like something massive had slammed into the outer defenses.
My room door burst open.
My father grabbed me again, urgency radiating from his every movement, he dragged me toward the underground safe haven reserved for women, children, and the injured.
The metallic scent of blood reached me before the battle sounds did.
My stomach dropped.
The rogues had breached the perimeter.
The moment we stepped outside, chaos swallowed everything.
They weren’t like any rogues I had ever seen before.
They moved too fast—blurs of fur and muscle tearing through our defenses. Their strength was unnatural, their attacks precise and coordinated. This wasn't just a raid.
This was war and Mooncrest wasn’t ready.
Our warriors fought desperately, but they were weakened by the red moon. One after another, they fell.
Near the training grounds, I spotted a familiar figure.
Ezra.
He fought like a storm barely holding itself together, dodging claws, striking with desperate determination. Blood streaked across his shoulder, but he didn’t slow down.
“Ezra!” I screamed.
He turned instantly, his eyes locking onto mine across the battlefield. A tired, relieved smile touched his lips.
Then a rogue slammed into him from behind.
The crack of impact echoed through my skull. Ezra hit the ground hard, his body buried beneath the attacker’s weight.
The sound his wolf made wasn’t loud.But it shattered something inside me.
I lunged forward blindly, ignoring the arms grabbing for me, the voices shouting for me to stop.
“Ezra!” My voice broke.
He didn’t move.
Tears blurred my vision, leaving me hollow and shaking.
Another scream cut through the air—higher, sharper.
The Luna.
I turned just in time to see her throw herself in front of two young wolves, her body shielding them from a savage blow meant to tear them apart.
The strike landed.
She collapsed.
The entire pack howled in grief.
The Alpha’s roar followed—raw and animalistic. His wolf surged into the battlefield, enormous and unstoppable, tearing through enemies with reckless fury as he forced his way toward his fallen mate.
Around him, warriors continued fighting despite wounds that should have dropped them.
Then I felt it.
My gaze drifted toward the treeline—and froze.
A figure stood at the forest’s edge, perfectly still amidst the chaos. Shadows wrapped around them, concealing details, but I felt their stare pierce through me.
Our eyes met.
The battlefield noise faded into a distant echo. i stood in the middle of it, waiting to be killed like the others.
A low horn sounded suddenly, long and mournful.
Retreat.
The rogues obeyed instantly. They vanished into the darkness like ghosts dissolving into fog.
Silence fell heavily across the pack grounds.
Bodies littered the earth. Smoke drifted through the air.
Broken howls of grief rose around me.
I turned back toward the treeline, my heart pounding violently.
The mysterious figure remained for one lingering heartbeat.
Then he turned. And disappeared into the night.
A deep chill settled into my chest.
Whatever had begun tonight…
It was far from over.
- Writer
