One Luna, four alphas

Episode7

RAVENA

“You don’t have to protect me. I’m a warrior,” I pushed Aldric’s hand off as I swayed to the window. The night was lit up with fire that made the room warmer. I scanned the night through the growing darkness around the castle and found a few wolves in position.

“What are they defending us against?”

“You led the Strays here,” Xena closed the curtain on me. “She needs to leave,”

“That will only put her in danger. We need another plan…”

“The strays?” I cut in, my gaze flicking from him to Xena. “That’s not possible. They don’t exist,”

“In Grail kingdom, everything exists.” Aldric replied. He grew his claws out and motioned Xena and I towards the door. “The wolves will guard the gates while we find somewhere safe to keep you until we know how you were able to make them find you,”

“Why would I make the stray wolves find me?”

“Same question we’ve been asking, Ravena,” he said.

Xena was holding the door, waiting for me to leave before her. She was the last person I wanted to be stuck with in a time like this after seeing the way her eyes glowed.

We hurried out of the room, and I followed closely as she led the way into an underground pathway.

“Where are we going?” I asked, stealing glances behind. “I thought Aldric is coming with us,”

“Lord Aldric is the sworn protector of this pack. His duty lies above, and not below,” she replied. There were more questions from where the last one came from, but her sudden halt pushed it all away.

“What?”

“Shh,” she silenced me, and I watched her claws extend silently. “We’re being followed,” she whispered.

My wolf found strength from within, and I grew my claws out, ready to defend myself. It took me a while to finally feel the presence of other wolves. Slowly, Xena and I turned around, facing the four wolves that crawled out of the dark.

The air thickened with tension as the four wolves emerged from the shadows—snarling, eyes glowing with murderous intent. I shifted my stance, claws fully drawn. Xena didn’t hesitate; she lunged first, slashing at the closest wolf with ruthless precision. The others pounced.

I ducked, rolled, and caught one by the flank, dragging it down and burying my claws into its ribs. It howled, jerking beneath me before going limp.

Another leapt toward me, but Xena intercepted it mid-air with a vicious kick. She spun, her claws a blur as she struck again and again until blood splattered the stone wall.

The final wolf lunged at me from behind. I barely turned in time, but I managed to catch its shoulder with a sharp s***h. It snapped its jaws near my face, forcing me to wrestle it back with every ounce of strength I had left.

Xena rammed into it from the side, her claws tearing into its throat. It collapsed, twitching until it went still.

Breathing heavily, I stood over the fallen wolves, my hands trembling slightly. “They were real…”

“They always are,” Xena muttered, shaking blood from her claws. “Now move.”

She grabbed my arm and yanked me down another corridor, this one tighter, darker. After a few turns, we reached an old stone door. She pushed it open, revealing a small room lit by a single torch on the wall.

“Here,” she said, locking the door behind us. “We’ll rest and wait for Aldric’s signal.”

I leaned against the wall, my chest heaving. “I thought they were myths. Just horror stories told to scare pups…”

“They’re much worse,” she replied, her expression unreadable. “Which is why we need to know how they found you. What did you see in your dream?”

That question again. I exhaled, raking my fingers through my wet hair as I stared at her. “What connection does my dream have with the strays?”

“Maybe you haven’t heard, but strays travel like the wind. If you've heard much of their stories…”

“I’m not a fan,”

“Then you don’t know what attracts them. Immense power. They’re drawn to immense power. Their souls travel through the air, through the ocean, through dreams, searching for people like you,” her last words came with a slow, body scan. “What did you see in your dream?”

The stone door gilded towards the left and Aldric walked in.

“What happened down here?” He asked.

“A few strays found their way in,” I replied before Xena did.

“You killed them?”

“We both did,” I answered.

But his expression didn’t shift to one of impression like I expected.

His next question shifted the atmosphere in the room. “ Did you burn them?”

“Burn….them?”

“s**t!” Xena exclaimed. She grabbed the only torch giving light to the room and hurried out. I followed behind, wondering what part of the story was left out until we arrived at the scene where we left their carcass.

It was empty. Only the pool of blood and fur lying around.

“Where did they go?” I asked, slowly walking up to Xena who was raging and cursing.

“When you kill a stray, you burn them. Else they’re not really dead,” I got an answer from Aldric, one that set a motion for danger.

***********

The scent of roasted venison and warm bread did little to soothe my nerves, but I forced each bite down. After everything that happened last night, I needed something in my system. I reached for the pitcher and poured myself a glass of water, letting the silence in the room settle like fog.

The heavy door creaked, and Aldric stepped in. His dark hair was damp, likely from his bath. He didn’t say a word at first, just took the seat beside me with a tired sigh.

“You slept?”

I gave a small nod. “Barely.”

He reached for a slice of bread and began stuffing it. After a moment of silence, he paused. “We need to talk about Coldrey.”

I choked. Water shot up my nose as I coughed violently, pounding my chest as I struggled to breathe.

Aldric was beside me in an instant, one hand gripping my back, the other gently tipping my chin upward. “Easy—Ravena, breathe.”

I gasped, finally calming, but his eyes had already caught sight of it—the scar just above my collarbone, where fur and fang once sank deep enough to remind me of my mistake.

“What is this?” he asked softly, fingers brushing over the old wound. His thumb lingered there, tracing the jagged skin like he could read the story written in the scar. The gesture was too gentle, too intimate, and it sent a ripple down my spine I hadn’t expected.

I shifted back, wrapping my arms around myself. “Don’t.”

His brows knit slightly. “Who gave you that, Ravena?”

But before I could answer, the door burst open and Xena marched in, her cloak still damp with dew and her boots stained with ash.

“They’re ready,” she announced, eyes darting between us. “The cleansing begins now. Everyone inside the castle is to be tested, including her.”

“What cleansing?” I asked.

“To find the rest of the Strays hiding with

in the castle walls,” Xena said, already turning to leave. “And to make sure they didn’t infect anyone else.”

********