CHAPTER ONE: The Sacred Night Ritual

The Sacred Moon Rite always started off the same, fire, rituals and the joyful dance around the sacred fire.

I stood between my parents as the wolves congregated in the full moonlight, lighting the whole territory with the glow of the ceremony.

The wolves rounded in circles, chanting harmoniously and receiving the blessing of the Moon Goddess.

It all seemed so peaceful and calm. Alpha Ciaro, dressed in fur that was adorned by silver markings.

"This isn't your first sacred rite Ana, you should also go dance and get the blessing of the Moon Goddess. " my father said, never bothering to turn towards me.

"I've been there before," I stated. Alpha Ciaro turned to me. "Watching is one thing; but being a part of it is something completely different."

Luna Thaila rubbed the back of my cloak, holding onto it longer than usual..

"You should listen to your father " she muttered. "Not now Mom." "You will" she said softly. "You seem tense. It's just a dance okay but if you don't want to dance it's fine."

I scowled at her, but she was already looking past me towards the ceremony again. Drums beat deeper. The Pack raised their chants.

The fire in the middle burned higher, as though responding to the beats. And then I saw something I shouldn’t have seen.

The guard of the eastern gate wasn’t facing outward anymore. He was facing inward. I tilted my head a little. “Father… “

“What?” “The guard…” I whispered, “he turned around.” He did not even look up fully. “Rotation change.”

“He was not assigned to tonight’s duty”

Mother’s hands stopped moving behind my shoulders. For a single second.

Then she kept smoothing my cloak.

“Ana,” she soothed, “don’t pay attention to things that are insignificant.”

This, however, was not insignificant.

Since the guard himself didn’t just stand incorrectly. He seemed planted there on purpose. The chanting intensified. The flames rose and lit. The moon above became nearer and heavier with its gaze, weighing upon us.

Then there was a scraping noise, softly made and not ceremonial. Definitely not right, yeah. My eyes turned towards the east gate again.

The guard was gone. I blinked my eyes, “Where is he… ?”

There was a cry heard above the chants,

cutting through the air like a knife. Silence stretched for half a second. Then came another cry. Followed by yet another one. The ceremony was destroyed in seconds.

"What is that?!" someone screamed.

A warrior turned and fell. Before I could fully understand what was happening, I saw the sword in his back.

It's Cirgee’s. My body clenched tightly in panic.

"Father…" I whispered. But Alpha Ciaro had already reacted.

He sent out his aura, pushing it against everyone there. "All guards, formation now!" It almost worked. All of the warriors turned to listen.

They reformed. Until three warriors stopped moving. Exactly at the same time. As though they had received the same silent order.

Then they turned to Alpha Cairo simultaneously.

"No…" I breathed. The gates in the east lowered slowly from within the compound.

My father saw what was happening. His demeanor changed suddenly. Not out of fear but out of calculation.

"Who opened the gate!…" he screamed loudly.

Then, the horn rang out. But it wasn't ours. A rogue signal. The trees on either side burst. Wolf soldiers walked into the light. Fast and purposefully as though they were invited.

My heart sank. "This is an attack" I whispered. "Stay behind me," Luna Thaila demanded, gripping my arm.

Alpha Ciaro continued forward.

"Seal the gate!" They no longer moved as one. Instead, guards turned to attack the other guards.

"Why is this happening…" I whispered again. But then I saw him. Lucan Graves.

Standing in front of the central fire as if he had always belonged there.

Alpha Ciaro paused abruptly. "Lucan!". Lucan didn't move or react like a man who was caught. He simply glanced around.

At the shifting guard formation, at the open gates and at the dividing Pack. He smiled.

A smile that was somehow off in the blood stained sacred night.

"You're early," Lucan said. Alpha Ciaro’s Wolf flared up violently. "What have you done?!"

Lucan merely tilted his head a little.

"I completed what you couldn't even begin." Alpha Ciaro immediately attacks him. But just before he touched Lucan, two guards faced him.

Alpha Ciaro’s movements halted because they weren't just random guards. They were his inner guard formation, his skilled personal warriors.

My stomach fell out. "They are his guards…" I said quietly. Lucan appeared unfazed. "They are mine now," Lucan said confidently.

Alpha Ciaro was pushed back. He couldn't believe the betrayal right before him. It was like a dream that shouldn't come true.

As if the entire battlefield is compressing around him, he is isolated, Luna Thaila tries to save him but Lucan comes closer to him and within a split of seconds Lucan kills Alpha Ciaro with a dagger.

Luna Thaila screamed and pulled me harshly. "Ana. You have to move. "I hesitated.

Lucan orders for Alpha Ciaro’s body to be burnt in the sacred fire, his body is thrown into the fire.

I ran with my mom, but I kept watching in tears, I could see how my father's body burned in the sacred fire.

The massacre continues, anyone who stepped in to stand for Luna Thaila and I is killed.

We found the boundary of the sacred ground on which the opening to the tunnel was concealed under stones.

When my mother opened it, cold air burst out. “run faster,” she commanded. I stopped. “Without You?”

“Ana” “I need you to survive even if I have to protect you to my last breath I will!”

The sounds of approaching guards split the air above the battleground behind us.

Getting closer… Luna Thaila whirled around. Her expression faltered. She turned around and faced me. “Ana,” she said, grabbing my shoulders. “When I say, ‘run,’ you will run.”

“She shoved me violently into the tunnel.

“Ana run!”. Mother… I said sobbing as I stumbled into the tunnel.

I turned, She stood there, blocking the whole world from reaching me with nothing but her body.

“Ana!” she shouted only once. Then the tunnel door stones started moving behind me and it suddenly closed.