Chapter One: The Blood Moon Returns

The night was too quiet, that kind of silence that presses against your ears and makes your heartbeat sound too loud.

The town of Eldara had fallen into an unnatural hush. Shadows danced like hungry ghosts, whispering long-forgotten secrets that make your skin crawl.

Above the small, forgotten town of Eldara, the night sky burned red. It hadn’t shone like this for over a century. The elders called it the “Blood Moon Requiem”, but to most, it was just another eerie sky. The majority of the young folks had stopped believing in legends.

However, to Liora, it felt like the world was watching her.

Liora’s beauty was stunning. Her gray eyes held mysteries and intensity, and she moved with a quiet power, as if a goddess herself had shaped her.

Liora stood at the edge of her grandmother's attic, holding tightly to the leather-bound journal she had taken from beneath the floorboards. Its cover felt warm despite the dusty cold. The moment she opened it, the pages started to glow, just enough to make her question her own eyes.

She traced one of the symbols with a trembling finger. It was familiar and yet foreign; she was sure she had never seen the book before. Suddenly, a sharp knock sounded downstairs, breaking the silence.

Liora froze.

“No one comes here, not since Grandma Arlen passed away three months ago,” she thought. The cottage had been empty. She was terrified, so she crept to the window and peeked through the lace curtain.

A man stood beneath the blood-lit oak tree. He was tall and lean, dressed in black, and very handsome. He leaned against the trunk like he belonged to the darkness. His face was half-shadowed, but something about him pulled at her, just as the journal did. It felt like he was connected to something deeper than skin.

And then he looked up. His eyes glowed violet, a genuine purple, glowing like they had their own light source.

"Okay, that's not normal," she whispered.

Liora staggered back. She didn't hear the creak of the front door. One second she was staring out the window, the next she felt the house shift around her like it was holding its breath.

When she turned around, he was already at the top of the stairs.

“How the hell did you get up here?" Her voice came out higher than she'd intended. The man tried to reach out to her. “I’m not here to hurt you.”

His voice was low and smooth. Liora backed toward the window. “You broke into my house.”

He stepped closer. “Technically, the door was open,” he said.

“Then technically, you’re still trespassing.” The faintest smirk tugged at his lips. “You have read from the journal.”

Liora's blood ran cold. “What do you know about it?”

He took another step. “Look at your wrist. That mark only appears when the seal is broken.”

“What mark?” she said. He pointed at her arm. She glanced down, and there was a faint, glowing sigil just below her wrist, a symbol that looked like it had been drawn with moonlight into her skin. It hadn’t been there before.

She stumbled back, heart racing. “What the hell is happening? What did you do to me?”

"Nothing. You did that yourself." He paused, studying her face like he was looking for something. "You really don't remember, do you... Serelai?"

"My name is Liora, not whatever you just said."

"Well, that's the name they gave you to keep you hidden," he said.

Her chest tightened.

He looked at her not like a stranger. It was as if he knew her past, present, and some part she hadn’t become yet.

Before she could say another word, there was another impact. This time the noise came from the back door; something crashed into the house. The whole structure shook below.

"What was that?" she whispered.

“I’ll explain everything, but not here,” his voice sharpened. “They’ve already sensed the awakening.”

A wild growl rumbled through the walls, not from any dog she'd ever heard. "We need to leave now.” She turned to the stranger. “What are they?”

He didn’t hesitate. “Werewolves, or what’s left of them.” Before she could scream, he was at her side, his hand grabbing hers. His skin was icy, but his grip was steady.

“I said come with me if you want to live.”

Liora nearly laughed. “You did not just quote an action movie to me.”

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" But even as she said it, another crash rattled the house, followed by sounds of claws scraping against wood.

“I was hoping it’d make you move faster because those things down there aren't here to chat,” he said.

Then another slam rocked the house again. She nodded. “Fine. Let’s go.”

He led her through a hidden panel behind the fireplace down a stone tunnel that shouldn’t have existed. Through it all, the howls followed, growing more desperate.

They emerged into a cold underground chamber lit by blue flame. The first thing she noticed was the ancient symbols carved into the stone walls; they glowed as they entered.

The man pressed a hand to the center of a carved circle. The wall shimmered and closed behind them, sealing the tunnel.

"You've got to be kidding me," she muttered. "My grandmother had a secret passage?"

"Your grandmother had a lot of secrets." Only then did he let go of her hand.

Liora spun to face him. “Start talking,” she said.

“My name is Ashiel, but you can call me Ash.”

“Well, that's a start, but it tells me nothing. So keep going,” she said.

“This is going to sound insane."

"More insane than secret tunnels and glowing skin? Try me."

He was quiet for a moment, as if choosing his words carefully.

“I’m not from here, not from this side of the world, or even this century. I was bound to your bloodline centuries ago, before your grandmother erased your name and sealed your power. She was hiding who you really are; she was trying to protect you."

"From what?"

"From people who would use you, or kill you." His voice was gentle now, as if talking to someone who might break.

“My name is Lio-ra,” she snapped.

He shook his head. “No. Your true name is Serelai. You’re the last of the Moonblood line. ‘Daughter of the divine.’”

Liora’s breath caught. “You’re insane.”

Ash stepped closer. “Then how do you explain that mark?” He reached out, and the glowing sigil on her wrist pulsed brighter. The journal in her bag was getting warm again, as if reacting to the conversation.

“That journal only opens for Moonblood descendants. And when the blood moon rises, so do the hunters,” he continued.

“The wolves?” He nodded. “And others far worse.”

“Why me?”

“Because you’re the only one who can end this or begin it again.”

"That's ridiculous. Don't you think I'd remember something like that?"

"Like I already told you, your grandmother erased your memories. She made you forget. But now that you've opened that journal," he gestured at her bag, "there's no hiding anymore."

The room trembled as a deep howl pierced the underground air. It didn’t come from outside.

It came from within. "I thought you said this place was safe," she said.

"I said it was hidden. Safety is relative, Serelai."

Ash drew a dagger from beneath his coat, its blade dark as night, glowing faintly at the edges. “They found us and they’ve breached the wards,” he said, turning toward another tunnel she hadn't noticed before.

Suddenly, the air shifted. From the shadows, a figure emerged, taller than any man, its face obscured by a hood. But its eyes… they were the same violet as Ash’s.

“Ash…” Liora whispered.

He stepped protectively in front of her. "Kael. You should be dead."

"So should she," Kael said, pointing at Liora. "Yet here we both are."

“Hello, brother,” the figure said. Its voice echoed unnaturally, too many layers beneath it. “You are still playing guardian to a girl who doesn’t know what she is?”

“She’ll remember,” Ash growled.

“Or she’ll die before she does.”

The figure raised

a clawed hand, and the chamber exploded with light.

Whatever was happening between them, it was far from over. It was just getting started.