MOONLIGHT FATE

CHAPTER FOUR

Caius POV

The forest exploded, trees cracked like dry bones as something massive forced its way through the woods towards the sanctuary, the sound alone made every vampire in the room freeze, even Lucian. For a moment no one moved, Ragnar went completely silent and that worried me more than anything, my wolf was never quiet, he was always growling, always ready for a fight, but now nothing, then he spoke, “Whatever is coming…. is very old.” The beast pushed through the broken tree line. At first, I saw only shadows, then the moonlight fell upon it, every vampire took a step back. The beast was enormous, at least three times the size of a normal wolf but something about it felt wrong. Its eyes glowed red, not like werewolves or vampire kind of red but something deeper and darker. Its fur was dark silver, almost black. Slowly, as if it owned the earth under its paws, he stepped out of the forest, each step made the ground tremble. "What is that?" One vampire whispered, no one answered, but Ragnar did “Moon guidian” The name echoed in my head. It was an ancient legend every wolf had heard, though no one truly believed it. The stories claimed the moon goddess created the moon Guardian, a powerful beast meant to protect sacred power tied to the moon. Most wolves thought they were nothing more than stories told to pups. But they were wrong, one stood before us now, its eyes fixed on Aurelia. Lucian quickly regained his calm, the brief curiosity on his face disappeared and was replaced by his usual cold control. “So the legends are true,” Lucian said quietly as he studied the beast. His red eyes slowly shifted to Aurelia, “it seems the stone has awakened.” A chill ran down my spine. Lucian wasn't afraid. If anything, he looked fascinated. “Kill it” he ordered coldly.

His vampires hesitated, that hesitation cost them, the beast moved faster than something that large should ever move. One moment it stood near the forest, the next moment it was inside the sanctuary, its jaw closed around a vampire before he could even scream, “Crunch” the sound echoed through the chamber as his lifeless body fell to the ground. For a moment silence swallowed the sanctuary then chaos followed. “Attack” Lucian shouted, vampires rushed forward, with claws, blades and teeth, it didn't matter. They were nothing compared to the beast. The creature tore through them like paper. One vampire tried to jump on his back, the beast shook once and threw him across the room, he hit the wall hard enough to crack the stone wall. Another attempted to cut its throat, The beast caught him mid-air and slammed him into the ground. I had fought many vampires in the past, they were fast, strong and deadly but against the Moon guardian, they looked weak. Behind me, Aurelia still hadn't moved her eyes were locked on the beast with a confused expression.

Lucien noticed it too, nothing seems to escape his attention. His piercing eyes moved slowly from the Moon Guardian to Aurelia. "That beast came for the girl,” he said quietly. My claws were itching for a fight. From the side, another vampire leaped towards Aurelia, I moved instantly, my claws tore through his chest before he reached her. “Stay behind me” I told her "I did not ask for your protection," she said calmly. Sure she didn't. Still, she did not move.The battle around us grew worse, vampires were dying quickly but there were still too many of them. In fact, they began working together surrounding the moon guardian. With a silver sword, one vampire stabbed its side, the beast roared, the sound shook the entire sanctuary. Ragnar snarled in my mind. “They dare” The moon guardian swung its massive paws, the vampire who stabbed it flew across the room, smashing into a broken pillar. However, more vampires rushed in desperately, Lucien stepped closer and gave out a sharp order "Hold it down!" two vampires grabbed its legs, another jumped on his back, the beast fought like a storm but the numbers were overwhelming. Lucian slowly reached into his coat and pulled out a strange weapon, a long dark spear with a faint red glow at its tip. Without hesitation, he lifted the spear and threw it straight at the beast's heart. The spear cut through the air, aiming directly at its heart, for a moment, everything seemed to slow down, the creature turned but not fast enough, just as the spear was about to strike, a powerful bust of silver light exploded across the sanctuary. Aurelia stepped forward and lifted her hand, the moon stone inside her blazed with power, the spear froze in mid-air, just inches from the beast heart. Every vampire stared in disbelief, even Lucian. The sanctuary echoed with Aurelia's voice "Enough." The single word carried power, the spear twisted in the air then it snapped clean in half. The broken pieces fell to the ground. Lucien's calm mask finally cracked. "What are you?" he demanded, Aurelia didn't answer, the silver light around her only grew stronger, the runes carved into the sanctuary walls lit up one by one, inside my mind, Ragnar spoke quietly “She's losing control.” The moon guardian shook the vampire off its back and slowly stood up, instead of attacking, it walked towards Aurelia calmly, respectfully, like it recognized her. Every vampire stepped back including Lucien. The beast stopped a few steps away and lowered its massive head before her as a sign of respect and recognition. A suffocating silence descended upon the sanctuary, my heart pounding in my chest, “what the hell." I whispered. Lucien suddenly roared, “Take her!" The remaining vampires charged, the moon guardian attacked instantly, without thinking I joined the fight. My claw ripped through two vampires instantly, inside my head, Ragnar growled “protect her” for once I did not argue.

Another vampire rushed towards Aurelia, she raised her hands, silver energy exploded from her palm, throwing the vampire across the room, the impact cracked the stone floor again, the sanctuary was falling apart, dust rained from the ceiling and a pillar collapsed near the entrance. "This place is coming down!" I shouted. Aurelia looked around, She noticed it too, but the vampires kept coming. Lucien moved like lightning, before I could react, he grabbed Aurelia's arm., “finally" he said with a dark smile. Ragnar roared in my head, I charged forward but the Moon guardian was faster, it slammed into Lucian like a moving mountain. They crashed on the floor, rolling through the dust. Lucian quickly pushed himself away, rising to his feet with burning fury in his eyes. “You belong to the stone,” Lucian snarled at the beast. The moon guardian bared his massive teeth, the ground shook violently, the sanctuary walls began to crumble, cracks spreading across the ceiling. “We must leave,” Ragnar whispered, for once he was right, I grabbed Aurelia's wrist “we are leaving, she didn't argue this time. The Moon Guardian roared again, holding the remaining vampires back, buying us time to leave. We ran through the shattered entrance. Behind us, the battle continued. At the edge of the forest, I glanced back, Lucien stood among the rubble, watching us. His red eyes burned with cold fury, "This isn't over." he shouted. Aurelia stopped for a moment and looked back at him “you are right, she said calmly “this is just the beginning”.