Echoes Of a Blood Moon.
---
The raid came at dawn.
Fast. Silent. Bloody.
Four wolves, cloaked in the scent of ash and cedar — a signature of the Nightbane elite — crept into rogue territory under the fog.
They didn't howl.
They didn't speak.
They came to kill.
Aria had just stepped from her tent, blade strapped to her hip, when she saw the first shadow move.
Too fast.
Too clean.
She didn't think — she shifted.
Her bones snapped. Her claws extended. She hit the ground running.
---
By the time she reached the training pit, it was drenched in blood.
Two rogues already lay dead. Another howled in pain, his leg twisted unnaturally beneath him.
Cain was fighting one of the intruders, blades clashing hard, fast, brutal.
Aria leapt into the chaos, landing on a Nightbane wolf mid-shift and slamming him into the ground. Her claws tore through his throat before he even screamed.
The other intruder lunged — she ducked, spun, drove her elbow into his ribs, then sliced his side with Wrath.
He fell.
She didn't stop.
She was furious.
---
When the last wolf collapsed, Aria stood in the center of the ring — soaked in blood that wasn't hers. Her eyes still glowing. Her wolf still snarling.
Cain touched her shoulder.
"You alright?"
She didn't answer.
She turned to the bodies.
And then to the rogues — many shaken. Afraid. Eyes darting.
They had lost warriors today.
Aria could feel it — the tension, the doubt, the fear creeping in.
This was the moment that would either break them… or make them hers forever.
So she stepped forward, pulled one of the Nightbane wolves up by the hair, and held him before the crowd.
"He killed one of ours," she said, voice like a blade.
The rogues were silent.
Cain met her eyes. "You don't have to—"
She didn't wait.
She drove Wrath straight through the Nightbane wolf's chest.
Blood sprayed. The body dropped.
She looked up, eyes burning gold.
"No one touches mine and lives."
The rogues didn't cheer.
They howled.
---
That night, Cain found her alone by the lake.
She sat on a stone, washing blood from her hands.
"Was that your first?" he asked.
She didn't look at him. "Publicly? Yes."
"Does it feel different?"
She stared into the water. "No. It feels… right."
Cain sat beside her, silent for a moment.
"You're changing."
She nodded. "So are they."
Cain tilted his head. "You're not afraid?"
She looked at him. "I was born to be afraid. But I'm not that girl anymore."
Cain looked at her like she was lightning trapped in a body. "No… you're not."
---
Deep in the forest, Seraphina stood before a mirror of shadow.
"Report," she said.
A robed figure emerged, face hidden.
"She lives. Stronger than before. And she killed one of ours."
Seraphina's jaw clenched. "And Cain?"
"He protects her. Guards her like a mate."
Seraphina's eyes darkened. "He's the only one who ever truly saw her. That's why he must die."
The robed figure bowed. "It will be done."
---
Meanwhile, Aria stood in the center of camp as the rogues brought torches to the edge of the pit.
They lit a fire.
Not just for the dead… but for the reborn.
She stepped forward.
Raised her voice.
"I don't want worship. I don't want fear. I want loyalty. Earned, not given."
She threw the Nightbane sigil into the flames.
It cracked.
Burned.
Turned to ash.
"We are no longer just survivors. We are the reckoning."
The flames roared higher.
Cain smiled faintly in the shadows.
He knew then — she didn't need him to lead.
She was becoming something far greater.
A legend.
---
Aria couldn't sleep.
Even after the fire had died, even after the rogues had gone silent, even after the air grew still.
She stared at the stars, trying to make sense of the storm inside her.
Her wolf was restless. Pacing. Growling.
Something wasn't right.
Cain hadn't returned to his tent.
That wasn't just odd — it was wrong.
She stood, pulled on her cloak, and followed his scent into the trees.
---
She found him near the old ruins — the place where she first saw the Book of Moons.
But this time… he wasn't alone.
Another rogue was there.
Ronan.
One of the oldest, the quietest. The one who always stood too far in the shadows.
They were whispering.
Aria stepped closer, silent as breath.
"I warned you," Ronan said. "She's changing too fast. Too powerfully."
"She's the prophecy," Cain snapped. "You saw what the book said. She has to lead."
Ronan's eyes narrowed. "Or she destroys us all."
Cain didn't blink. "Then we go down in flames."
---
Aria stepped out of the trees.
Both men turned, startled.
"Flames?" she asked. "You're planning to burn me down?"
Cain cursed under his breath. "Aria—"
"Don't lie," she growled. "Not now. Not you."
Ronan didn't flinch. "You're dangerous. We all know it. Even Cain."
She turned to Cain. "Do you believe that?"
He hesitated.
That was all she needed.
Her heart cracked.
---
"I gave you everything," she whispered. "I trusted you. I bled for you."
Cain stepped forward. "And I protected you. I chose you—"
"No," she snapped. "You prepared me. Like a weapon."
Ronan stepped between them. "This is exactly what I warned you about, Cain. She's too emotional. Too reckless."
Aria's eyes flashed gold. Her wolf surged forward.
"Say that again," she snarled.
Ronan smirked. "You heard me, little Luna."
And just like that — she moved.
---
Ronan was strong, but Aria was faster.
She pinned him to the stone with one knee, her blade against his throat.
"You think fear makes me weak?" she whispered. "It makes me real."
Cain didn't stop her.
He just watched.
And when she finally stood, leaving Ronan gasping, Cain said nothing.
Just followed her back in silence.
---
Later that night, he came to her tent.
Aria didn't speak.
He sat near the fire, rubbed his hands together.
"I'm sorry," he said finally. "I should've told you."
"Told me what?" she asked coldly.
Cain looked up.
"There's a prophecy in the Book of Moons. One I didn't want you to see."
Aria turned sharply. "What does it say?"
He swallowed.
"That the Chosen Luna will rise… only after the blood of her protector falls."
The fire crackled between them.
Aria's breath caught.
"No," she said.
Cain looked down. "Yes."
---
She stood. Pacing.
"You think it means you?"
Cain didn't answer.
Aria's voice cracked. "You knew this the whole time?"
"I hoped it was wrong," he said. "Or that I could rewrite it. Fate isn't always final."
Tears burned in her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall.
"You've already accepted your death."
"I've accepted my place in your story."
Aria turned away. "I don't want that."
Cain stood, walked to her.
"I know."
He placed something in her hand.
A pendant. Simple. Silver. His.
"You'll know when it's time."
---
That night, Aria didn't sleep.
Her wolf didn't speak.
The wind didn't blow.
Only silence.
The kind that comes before something breaks.
And miles away, in the walls of Nightbane, Seraphina stood before a map — red pins scattered across rogue territory.
One by one, she plucked them out.
And smiled.
---