Lyra's heart beat in time with the glowing runes beneath her feet. The air in the chamber was thick with magic—ancient, sacred, and waiting.
Seris stood at the edge of the circle, her expression stern. Cassian leaned against the wall, arms folded, watching her like a wolf assessing another predator.
"You've completed the basics," Seris said. "You've awakened the gifts of the Moonblood. But now… it's time for your rite of passage."
Lyra lifted her chin. "I'm ready."
"Don't say that until you know what it requires," Cassian murmured.
Seris raised her hand. A soft blue light shimmered before forming into the shape of a crescent blade—a ceremonial dagger forged in moonfire and iron. It pulsed with quiet rage.
"You must take a life," Seris said, placing the blade in Lyra's outstretched hands. "Not out of hate. Not out of revenge. But by choice. With control."
Lyra swallowed hard.
She had seen death.
She had survived pain, humiliation, betrayal.
But killing? That was different. That was crossing a line she had never imagined for herself. Still, something inside her whispered:
> This is what they fear. Your power. Your will.
Seris motioned to the side. Two warriors dragged a hooded man into the chamber and dropped him to his knees. His wrists were chained. His clothes torn. His scent was sour and twisted.
"A traitor," Seris said. "A former rogue who led Council warriors to one of our safehouses. Five wolves died. One was just a child."
The man spat blood. "Lies. I did what I had to. I was promised a rank!"
"You were promised death," Cassian said darkly.
Seris turned to Lyra. "He is yours. If you cannot end him, you're not ready to lead. Not ready to protect what is yours."
Lyra gripped the blade tightly.
The man looked up—and froze when their eyes met.
"No," he whispered. "That mark—you're one of them. You're the cursed blood. The Moon's mistake."
A cold silence settled over the chamber.
Lyra stepped forward slowly, stopping just inches from him.
She knelt, tilting her head slightly.
"Is that what you think?" she said softly. "That I'm a mistake?"
He sneered. "You were rejected. Cast out. Even your Alpha didn't want you."
Lyra smiled coldly.
And drove the blade into his heart.
He gasped. His eyes widened. And then—he was gone.
Her hand didn't shake. Her pulse didn't race.
Power surged through her—not rage, not sadness. Clarity.
The runes blazed silver.
Cassian stared at her, his eyes unreadable. Seris nodded once, a flicker of approval in her gaze.
"It is done," the elder murmured. "You are no longer just the heir. You are the beginning of the end."
---
Far away, Kael stood on a ridge overlooking the valley, flanked by two warriors. His wolf was restless again. Pacing. Snarling.
He sniffed the wind.
There was something on it.
Something faint—but unmistakable.
> Her.
Kael's jaw tightened.
She was close.
He'd tracked her scent through three territories, passed the mountains, and lost three of his best scouts to rogue ambushes. But still—he pressed on. He had to.
Every night without her, his dreams grew darker.
The Council had warned him she'd awaken. That the mark on her shoulder meant she was a threat to all packs. But nothing had prepared him for the emptiness that filled him since her absence.
And worse… now he could feel her again.
> How? he growled inwardly. I rejected her. I did what I had to—
His wolf interrupted, snarling.
> You did what the Council told you. You didn't choose her. And now she is becoming what they feared.
Kael clenched his fists.
He needed answers.
He needed her.
---
Back in the sanctuary, Lyra stood beneath the moonlight filtering through a skylight carved into the stone ceiling. She had bathed the blood from her hands, changed into a new black-and-silver tunic, and wrapped her hair into a braid.
But she didn't feel clean.
Cassian approached quietly, holding something wrapped in dark cloth.
"You'll need this."
He handed it to her.
Lyra unwrapped it slowly—a long blade, light but deadly, etched with crescent moons along the steel. Its hilt was black obsidian.
"It's beautiful," she said.
"It's yours now. The Moonblood blade only answers to one who's completed the rite."
Lyra ran her fingers along the edge. It thrummed beneath her skin, like it recognized her.
"Does this make me a killer?" she asked quietly.
Cassian didn't answer right away. "It makes you a protector. A warrior. A queen."
She looked up at him. "Why do you keep calling me that?"
"Because it's what you are. Whether you accept it or not."
Lyra hesitated. "There's something else. I felt… something. Right after I did it. Like the bond—"
"Flared?" Cassian finished.
She nodded.
Cassian's jaw tightened. "He felt it. Wherever he is. The moment you stepped into your power, the thread between you tugged."
"But I accepted his rejection."
"Then why does he still haunt your blood?"
Lyra looked away.
She hated that he was still there. In her bones. Her wolf still ached for him in the quiet hours. It was cruel—how fate refused to let go.
But now she had power.
Now she had choices.
---
At the edge of rogue territory, Kael found the burnt remnants of an outpost.
Ashes. Bones. Symbols etched in blood.
He dropped to his knees, fingers brushing the earth.
"Lyra," he murmured.
She'd been here.
The pulse in his chest grew stronger.
He wasn't losing his mind. The bond had cracked open again. Somehow, despite the rejection, their souls still pulled at each other.
"Alpha," one of his warriors called. "We found something."
Kael stood and followed.
They led him to a fallen tree near the riverbank. Carved into the trunk was a symbol.
A crescent moon… surrounded by flame.
Kael stared at it, heart pounding.
"She's not just alive," he whispered. "She's changing."
His wolf surged in agreement.
> Find her. Before they do.
---
That night, Lyra stood atop the cliffs overlooking the rogue valley. The wind blew her braid behind her, the moon casting a silver glow over everything.
Cassian joined her silently.
"You'll leave soon," he said.
"I know."
"You've drawn attention. The moment you used the blade, the balance shifted."
Lyra nodded. "Let them come."
Cassian smiled faintly. "You weren't ready to lead a week ago. Now look at you."
Lyra didn't smile back. "I don't want to lead."
"Maybe not. But the world doesn't care what you want. Only what you do."
She turned to him.
"Cassian… if I see Kael again…"
His eyes met hers.
"Then what?"
"I don't know."
He stepped closer. "Do you want revenge?"
She thought about it.
"No," she said. "I want him to look me in the eye and realize I became everything he was too afraid to believe I could be."
Cassian nodded slowly. "Then you're ready."
Lyra looked back at the moon.
"I'm coming for the Council next."