Chapter 6: Voice of the Moon

Snow fell in a slow, gentle drift as Aeron led Alex through the pine trees. The forest here didn’t feel cold or cruel. It felt… alive. The air smelled of earth and evergreen sap, and the hush of wind through the branches sounded like a lullaby the world had forgotten.
Aeron walked beside her, hands in his pockets, giving her space even now.
“You’ve been taught to fear your wolf,” he said quietly, not accusing — simply understanding. “The fear isn’t your doing. It was theirs.”
Alex swallowed hard. “I don’t even know how to talk to her. I only hear her when I’m scared.”
“That’s how she survived,” Aeron replied. “She protected you the only way she could — quietly. Hidden.”
They stopped beside a frozen stream. The glassy surface reflected the pale winter sky.
Aeron gestured for her to sit. She did.
“Close your eyes,” he murmured.
Alex hesitated — then obeyed.
The world narrowed to breath. Cold air in. Warm air out.
I don’t know how… she thought.
And then — a voice, soft as fur:
You already do.
Her breath hitched.
Her wolf.
You are not weak, the voice soothed.
Not broken.
Not what they made you.
Alex’s hands trembled.
Aeron watched — but didn’t speak. Didn’t interrupt. Didn’t try to guide. He simply stayed. Like an anchor.
Why didn’t you come sooner? Alex whispered inside.
You were not safe yet, her wolf answered.
But you are now.
Tears slipped silently down Alex’s cheeks.
She opened her eyes.
Aeron didn’t wipe her tears.
He didn’t reach for her.
But his presence wrapped around her like a shield.
“You heard her,” he said softly.
Alex nodded.
“She said… I’m not broken.”
Aeron’s eyes warmed — not with pity, but pride.
“Your wolf is wise.”
Alex let out a shaky breath. “She sounds like… she’s always been there. Even when I thought she wasn’t.”
“She never left you,” Aeron said. “She was waiting.”
The Alarm
A howl split the air — sharp, urgent, echoing through the mountains.
Alex flinched.
Aeron’s expression shifted instantly — Alpha calm turning into Alpha command.
“They’ve reached the border,” he said.
Alex stood — fear rippling through her.
Run, her instincts begged.
Hide.
Disappear.
But her wolf was no longer silent.
No.
We do not run from them anymore.
Aeron placed a hand near — but not on — her back.
“You don’t have to face them,” he said. “Stay here. I will return.”
Her heartbeat thundered.
No.
She had run her whole life.
“I’m coming,” Alex whispered.
Aeron turned to her — and something in his eyes changed.
Respect.
“Then stay by my side,” he said. “No one touches you.”
The Border
Night Fang warriors lined the treeline like shadows made of muscle and fury. The Silver Moon trackers stood on the opposite side — smaller, tense, uncertain.
Rex was there.
He looked worse than she remembered — frantic, desperate, angry.
“Alex!” he shouted when he saw her. “Come back. Now.”
Aeron stepped forward before Alex could speak.
His power rolled through the clearing like thunder.
“She is under Night Fang protection,” Aeron said. “You will not take her.”
Rex laughed — high, sharp, hollow.
“She doesn’t belong here. She’s ours.”
“No,” Alex said — her voice stronger than she expected.
“She never belonged to you.”
Murmurs rippled. Even Rex blinked.
But he recovered fast, jaw tightening.
“You don’t know who she is,” he snapped.
A slow, terrifying smile touched Aeron’s lips.
“Oh, I know exactly who she is.”
He looked down at Alex — not claiming her —
Acknowledging her.
“She is Blood Moon. Alpha-born. Chosen.”
The Silver Moon wolves paled.
Rex’s face drained of color.
“This isn’t over,” he spat.
“No,” Aeron agreed. “It is the beginning.”
Rex turned and retreated, fury burning behind his eyes.
Alex sagged — not from weakness, but from release.
Aeron placed his cloak around her shoulders again.
“You stood,” he said softly. “You didn’t hide.”
Alex blinked up at him — tears gathering.
“I wasn’t alone.”
Aeron’s voice lowered to something warm and reverent:
“You will never be alone again.”
Her wolf pressed against her heart.
We are safe.
Alex exhaled — shaky, real, alive.
And for the first time in sixteen years—
She believed it.