Chapter 3: The Blood Moon Gathering
1232 Words
“Elena.”
Maya's voice barely reached her.
Elena stood frozen beside the table, staring at the three Blackthorn brothers.
The ones who killed your parents.
The words continued echoing inside her head.
She wanted to believe she had imagined the voice.
She had to.
Because if it was telling the truth, everything she knew about her childhood was a lie.
Roman approached slowly.
“What happened?”
Elena stepped back.
“Nothing.”
Riven frowned.
“That didn't look like nothing.”
“I said I'm fine.”
Rafael studied her face.
“You're pale.”
“I need air.”
She turned away from them before they could ask another question.
The courtyard was crowded, but Elena barely noticed the people around her anymore. The Blood Moon hung above the pack grounds, huge and red, bathing the trees and stone buildings in a strange crimson glow.
Every year, Shadow Creek hosted the Blood Moon Gathering.
Every year, Elena hated it.
The gathering was supposed to celebrate unity between the packs. Alphas, warriors, families, and young wolves gathered around the bonfires, sharing food and stories while waiting for the moon to reach its highest point.
Tonight was supposed to be no different.
Until the triplets arrived.
Until they called her their mate.
Until a voice inside her head mentioned her dead parents.
“Elena.”
She turned.
Roman stood a few feet away.
He had followed her.
“Please,” she said. “I need a minute.”
He stopped.
“Fine.”
That surprised her.
She expected an order.
Instead, he simply remained where he was.
Elena leaned against the stone wall and closed her eyes.
“Do you always follow women around after they tell you to leave them alone?”
Riven's voice came from behind Roman.
Roman glanced at him.
“She asked for a minute.”
“And you're standing three feet away.”
“I'm giving her space.”
Riven considered that.
“That's your version of space?”
Elena let out a quiet breath that almost became a laugh.
Rafael joined them.
“You two are arguing again.”
“We're discussing distance,” Riven said.
“You're arguing.”
“There's a difference.”
Elena looked at the three brothers.
For a moment, the tension eased.
They looked strangely normal standing there together.
Then the horn sounded.
The entire courtyard fell silent.
The Blood Moon ceremony was beginning.
Alpha Marcus climbed the raised platform near the largest bonfire.
“Tonight,” he announced, “we welcome our honored guests from the Blackthorn Kingdom.”
The crowd applauded.
Elena remained at the edge of the gathering.
Roman stood beside her.
“You don't have to stay.”
“I know.”
“You could leave.”
She looked at him.
“Then why are you still here?”
His expression softened.
“Because I don't want you walking away alone.”
Elena didn't know what to say to that.
She looked toward the bonfire instead.
Alpha Marcus continued his speech.
“We gather under the Blood Moon to honor the bonds that hold our people together.”
Elena almost scoffed.
Bonds.
The word felt uncomfortably personal tonight.
Marcus raised his glass.
“To family.”
The crowd repeated it.
“To family.”
Elena's throat tightened.
She had never liked that word.
Family had always been a subject nobody discussed.
Her parents had died when she was young.
Everyone told her it had been an accident.
A tragic incident involving a rogue wolf attack.
She had accepted that explanation because there had been nothing else to believe.
Until tonight.
The silver mark beneath her collarbone suddenly burned.
Elena winced.
Roman noticed.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“Elena.”
“I said I'm fine.”
She pressed her palm against the mark.
The heat intensified.
Her breathing became shallow.
Then she smelled something.
Smoke.
Not from the bonfire.
Something sharper.
Burning metal.
Her head snapped toward the trees.
“Do you smell that?”
Rafael immediately became alert.
“Yes.”
Riven's expression changed.
“That's blood.”
Elena's stomach dropped.
A scream tore through the courtyard.
Everyone turned.
A warrior stumbled out of the tree line.
Blood covered his shirt.
He took two steps before collapsing.
Chaos erupted.
Warriors rushed toward him.
Women pulled children away from the clearing.
Alpha Marcus shouted orders.
Roman grabbed Elena's arm.
“Stay behind me.”
“I can protect myself.”
“I know.”
He didn't let go.
Rafael was already moving toward the fallen warrior.
Riven followed.
Elena watched them disappear into the crowd.
Then she noticed something.
A figure standing between the trees.
Watching her.
Elena's breath caught.
The stranger wore a dark cloak.
She couldn't see his face.
But she could see his eyes.
Red.
He raised one hand.
Elena's silver mark burned so fiercely that she cried out.
The stranger turned and disappeared into the forest.
“Elena!”
Maya grabbed her shoulders.
“What happened?”
“He was there.”
“Who?”
“In the trees.”
Maya looked toward the forest.
“I don't see anyone.”
Elena pulled free.
“I did.”
Before Maya could answer, Roman returned.
His face was grim.
“Two warriors are dead.”
Elena swallowed.
“Who killed them?”
“We don't know.”
“Rogues?”
“No.”
Roman looked toward the trees.
“Whoever did it knew exactly where our guards were positioned.”
A chill moved through Elena.
“So someone planned this.”
“Yes.”
Riven approached.
“We need to leave.”
Roman nodded.
“Agreed.”
Elena looked around the courtyard.
The celebration was over.
People were frightened.
Some were crying.
Others were whispering.
And beneath all the noise, Elena could still feel that strange presence in the forest.
Watching.
Waiting.
Then someone screamed again.
This time, much closer.
A warrior near the bonfire dropped to his knees.
His eyes rolled back.
A thin line of blood appeared beneath his nose.
Then he whispered something.
Elena couldn't hear it.
Roman could.
His expression changed.
“What did he say?” she asked.
Roman looked at her.
The warrior slowly pointed toward Elena.
His voice was barely more than a breath.
“The silver-blooded girl.”
Elena's heart stopped.
Nobody in Shadow Creek knew about her mark.
Nobody should have known.
Riven crouched beside the dying warrior.
“What does that mean?”
The man's eyes fixed on Elena.
“She's…”
His body went limp.
Elena couldn't breathe.
Rafael moved between her and the crowd.
Roman's face had gone cold.
Then a second warrior shouted from the forest.
“Alpha!”
Roman turned.
A body had been discovered beneath the trees.
A woman.
She had been dead for hours.
And carved into the skin above her heart was the same silver crescent glowing beneath Elena's collarbone.
Roman stared at the mark.
Then at Elena.
“Elena…”
She shook her head.
“I've never seen that woman before.”
“I believe you.”
His voice was quiet.
“But someone else knows exactly who you are.”
Elena looked toward the dark forest.
For the first time that night, she understood that the Blood Moon Gathering had not been attacked by chance.
Someone had come looking for her.
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