chapter 9: claiming her name

Night fell gently over the Night Fang estate. The snow outside reflected the moonlight so brightly that the room seemed washed in silver. Alex sat curled beside the fire, wrapped in Aeron’s cloak. The warmth didn’t feel borrowed anymore.
Aeron entered the room quietly, carrying a small, lacquered box carved with the symbol of a crescent moon wrapped in a wolf’s tail.
Alex sat up, heart thudding.
“What’s that?”
Aeron sat beside her — not too close — and placed the box between them.
“It belonged to your mother.”
Alex froze.
Her breath caught in her lungs. Her wolf pressed closer, alert, waiting.
Aeron opened the box carefully, as if the memories inside could shatter.
Inside lay:
A blood-red ribbon, frayed at one end
A pendant shaped like a full moon, cracked down the center
And a small, rolled piece of parchment tied with silver thread
Alex reached out with trembling fingers and brushed the ribbon.
It was soft. Warm. Loved.
“My mother…” her voice faltered. “What was she like?”
Aeron’s expression softened, but his eyes carried weight.
“Selene Bloodmoon was one of the strongest alphas of her generation. Not because of her power—though she was formidable—but because of how deeply she loved. Her mate. Her pack. Her children.”
Alex swallowed hard.
“And my father?”
“Aric Bloodmoon,” Aeron said. “Brave. Loud. Loyal to a fault. Your mother was the calm. He was the fire. Together… they were unstoppable.”
He paused.
“Until the attack.”
Alex braced herself.
“What happened?”
Aeron drew in a breath — not to speak for her, but to honor the telling.
“Your pack was targeted by a faction seeking to overthrow the natural order. Your mother was chosen by the Moon Goddess herself to guard a legacy — a power that awakens only once every few centuries.”
Alex’s heart slowed.
Her. He means her.
“When the Blood Moon Pack was ambushed,” Aeron continued, “your parents fought to buy time. Just long enough for you and your brother to be carried away.”
Alex closed her eyes — and memory flickered:
Hands carrying her.
A woman crying.
A little boy screaming her name.
Marcus.
A sound escaped her — half-sob, half-whisper.
Aeron reached out, slow enough to give her time to refuse.
She didn’t.
His hand rested against her back — warm, steady, grounding.
“Marcus lived,” Aeron said softly. “He is with your mother’s parents. Safe.”
Alex bowed her head.
Tears dripped onto the cloak.
“But why me?” she whispered. “Why did I survive when they—”
Aeron gently turned her to face him.
“Because the Goddess chose. Because you were born to rise when others fall. Because your wolf hid herself, not from weakness… but from wisdom.”
Her wolf spoke inside her, firm, loving:
We survived so we could return.
Alex let out a slow, shaking breath.
“And… the legacy?” she asked.
Aeron lifted the moon pendant from the box. The crack glimmered like silver lightning.
“This is half of what your mother carried. The other half waits for you. When whole, it awakens the Blood Moon Alpha — the wolf chosen to unite what has been broken.”
Alex’s fingers closed around the pendant.
It pulsed warm — like a heartbeat.
Aeron didn’t move closer, didn’t claim her, didn’t push.
But his voice was soft with something raw:
“You are her daughter, Alex.
Not the omega they tried to break.
Not the girl they tried to erase.
You are Blood Moon reborn.”
Her tears streamed freely — but she did not fall apart.
She was becoming.
Her voice steadied:
“Then teach me.”
Aeron bowed his head — not as Alpha to subordinate, but as Alpha to Alpha.
“With my life,” he whispered.
And her wolf answered:
We rise