Chapter 4: The Blood Remembers

The moment the shadow slithered out of the earth, the world shifted.

Not physically—but spiritually. Like the air was heavier, older, thicker with something wrong. Something unnatural. The kind of presence that made your soul want to run even if your body was frozen in place.

I clutched my bleeding hand to my chest, stumbling backward as the voice echoed again.

“You called. You bled. You belong.”

“No,” I whispered. “I didn’t summon anything.”

But the god—if that’s what it was—wasn’t listening.

It rose from the pit like smoke and bones woven into a monstrous shape. Its face wasn’t really a face, more of a skeletal snout and glowing eyes that burned with something primeval. Hungry. Intelligent. And old.

Too old.

“Damon,” Kael growled from behind the barrier. “What the hell have you done?”

But Damon didn’t flinch. His eyes gleamed like a man possessed.

“I brought us power,” he said. “What every Alpha dreams of—immortality, strength beyond strength. We were born from gods. Now we reclaim that right.”

I stared at him, horror taking root in my gut. “You knew this would happen.”

“I hoped,” he admitted. “And your blood confirmed it.”

The creature turned to me. “You are mine now. The bond has been sealed.”

“No,” I said. “I didn’t agree to anything—”

“You were born for this,” Damon interrupted. “Chosen. Not by the Moon… but by something older.”

Kael slammed his fists into the barrier, magic sparking at the edges. “Let her go, or I’ll tear you apart with my bare hands!”

“You can’t stop this,” Damon said. “You never could.”

The god’s voice echoed again, deeper this time. “The vessel must complete the rite. The awakening begins now.”

Then it moved.

Faster than anything that size should’ve been able to. It reached for me with a clawed, smoke-shrouded hand, and I felt its touch even before it connected—ice-cold, like death itself pressing against my soul.

I screamed.

And something inside me snapped.

It wasn’t like my first shift.

This was raw. Violent. Instinctual.

My blood boiled. My bones cracked—not from pain, but power. A second shift, but unlike any other. I didn’t just feel like a wolf.

I felt like something more.

White-hot energy surged through me. The god staggered back with a hiss, smoke unraveling as the shockwave blasted through the circle.

The barrier shattered.

Kael lunged forward, catching me just as I collapsed into his arms, my body still glowing faintly with some kind of lunar energy.

“She’s the Luna Star,” the witch gasped, eyes wide with terror. “The one the prophecy warned about.”

Damon’s smirk vanished.

“What prophecy?” Kael barked.

The witch hesitated. Then whispered, “The one that said she’d either save the packs… or destroy them all.”

Kael carried me away from the ritual site before Damon could say another word.

The rest of the pack was too stunned to stop him—especially after the god’s partial summoning fizzled into black ash the moment I passed out.

When I woke up, we were deep in the forest. Moonlight streamed through the canopy, and Kael was pacing like a caged beast.

“You scared the hell out of me,” he muttered when he saw my eyes flutter open.

“What… happened?” I croaked.

“You glowed,” he said. “Like… literally. You lit up and threw a god back with your blood.”

“That’s not possible,” I whispered.

“Apparently, it is.”

My heart pounded. “Kael, I don’t understand. What’s a Luna Star? Why did that creature call me its vessel?”

Kael sat beside me, running a hand through his hair. “The Luna Star is an ancient title. Most wolves think it’s a myth. A she-wolf born once every few centuries, bound to the primal moon magic—the first moon, before the packs existed. The prophecy says she can awaken gods… or destroy them.”

“And you think that’s me?”

Kael gave me a grim smile. “I don’t think. I know.”

My breath caught.

“This is why Damon wanted me,” I whispered. “Why he kept me close… but weak. If I had shifted early, if I’d known what I was…”

“You would’ve been too powerful to control.”

I stared at my hands. They looked the same. But I could feel the hum beneath my skin now. A quiet, ancient rhythm.

“So what now?” I asked. “That thing… it said I belong to it.”

Kael’s jaw tightened. “You don’t belong to anyone.”

“But if Damon tries again—”

“He won’t,” Kael said, standing. “Because we’re leaving. Tonight.”

I blinked. “Leaving?”

“There’s a place north of here. Hollowmere. The witches there are neutral. They’ll help protect you. Train you. Keep the god’s mark from spreading.”

I stood, swaying slightly. “Kael… if I leave now, Damon will see it as an act of war.”

Kael nodded. “Good. Let him.”

We barely made it out of the southern woods.

Damon’s patrols were already out. The moment they picked up our scent, the chase began.

Kael and I ran through the trees like shadows, leaping over roots and diving through mist-choked paths. My senses were sharper than ever. My wolf wasn’t just awake—it was wild, guiding me with precision and fury.

But Damon’s wolves were fast.

And they were gaining.

“They’re pushing us toward the river,” Kael growled. “They’re trying to trap us.”

“We need a distraction.”

Kael hesitated. Then handed me a small vial from his belt. “Smoke bomb. Count to three, then run east. I’ll meet you after I lose them.”

“No—”

“There’s no time to argue, Elara. Trust me.”

I clutched the vial, heart pounding.

He kissed my forehead—fast, desperate.

And then he was gone.

I sprinted east as instructed, crashing through the underbrush until I hit a clearing lit by pale moonlight. I stopped to catch my breath—

And stepped straight into a snare trap.

The wire snapped around my ankle, yanking me off the ground with brutal force.

Pain tore through my leg as I slammed into the air, dangling like prey.

Then I heard footsteps.

Slow. Measured. Familiar.

Damon stepped into the clearing.

“Found you,” he said, smiling like the devil himself. “Did you really think I’d let you go that easily?”