CHAPTER 0004

CHAPTER 4

Aria

It was morning and I was now feeling better than ever. I stared at my arms and could not believe the markings had disappeared. I hurried to the mirror, and what I saw was even more surprising.

"Do not tell me you are startled," Catherine murmured as she entered.

"No, it is simply that I do not normally look this wonderful," I said, maybe in agony.

"Well, it is the result of your awakening powers and the ointment I put on you," she said.

"Okay, what do you want me to do around here? I mean, I might be of tremendous service, perhaps cooking, cleaning, or even—"

"No, you are not going to do any of that; your people have been waiting for years, and we can not delay your coming any longer," she said, and I had no idea what she meant.

People?

I only prayed she was not asking me to return to Nightshade. "You know what happens to those who disrupt the moon Goddess' intentions," she replied, and I was still gazing at her perplexed.

"Will you let me —”

"Put this on, we need to go,” she said, throwing some clothes at me. I hurriedly pulled on the shirt and jeans before retrieving the shoes she had left at the entrance.

"Where are we going?” I asked as I followed behind.

"You'll find out soon,” she responded and kept walking.

We arrived at our destination in a pack that resembled the ones from the bedtime tales my mother used to tell me when I was a kid. Its surface sent an unidentified tremor at every angle, and I could hear its trees whispering in a language that had been forgotten for years.

It was as though someone was observing me and my magic was able to identify the surroundings. While I was engaged in researching the surroundings, Catherine was only interested in wherever she was taking me.

“Where are we?" I whispered.

“Duskrend," she replied.

How did I even come this far? The idea of at least being protected gave me hope even if I could not believe what I was seeing. There was mist and a ring of cliffs around this location. Since none of its Luna links have survived, it is cursed and kept secret from future generations.

Even the moon Goddess is reported to have abandoned them. I noticed that I was seeing dozens of wolves with various expressions. Some were terrified, others hollow-eyed and cautious. But I could tell none was scared of me.

“Why are they staring at me like that?" I asked Catherine as it felt like they were ready to tear me apart.

“They don’t trust outsiders,” Catherine muttered.

“But you'll get comfortable soon so don't worry."

The wind shifted.

And I looked in a direction I probably shouldn't have. My eyes fell on him.

Alpha Zion Hurricane.

Tall and fortress-like, with eyes as black, inscrutable, and full of hidden fire as the storm itself. Even though his presence required stillness, I did not sense authority in the way he stared at me. It was recognition.

White stirred inside me, her ears perking.

“What are you doing?" I asked White.

“That scent,” she whispered. “Why does he smell like Moonfire?”

I did not notice Zion standing in front of me since I was too preoccupied with talking to White about her attempt to misbehave.

“Alpha," Catherine said clearing her throat before pinching me

Before he ordered me to lift my head, I swiftly bent it. I then kept my eyes down while Catherine informed him about me and begged if I might remain.

Zion didn’t respond at first. He just looked at me like he was removing the few remaining layers. Then he remarked in a voice as quiet as distant thunder.

“You can stay. But keep your magic to yourself.”

I nodded, unsure why his words struck something in me. Not anger. Not fear. Something perilously near consciousness, something I had not experienced since Claus.

"Thank you," I said in a raspy voice.

On the brink of the cliffs, Catherine showed me a tiny hut. A place of solitude, but not despair. It peered down over the mist-choked valley with the twisted, ghostly trees.

“This is yours now,” she said. “You’ll be safe here. For now.”

I sat at the window that night and watched the moon strive to break through the shroud. White was restless inside me, pacing.

“He’s different,” she said, referring to Zion.

“I know.”

“His wolf... it called to me.”

“Don’t say that,” I whispered. “We can’t do this again. We won’t.”

However, I was unable to ignore my feelings. The way my spirit had silenced when Zion appeared. The pack gazed at him with faith rather than terror as they adored and respected him. He bore their weight, and now I found myself in their storm.

Jordan, Zion's younger brother, and I met him the next day. A seer, they said. But he felt more like the Moon’s forgotten child to me.

“Aria Knight fate's chosen portion. I knew you were not far when the sign was given," he said and I was so confused.

"Uhmm sorry, is there something I don't know about?” I asked hoping to get clarity.

“You’re not here by accident,” he told me as we walked through the half-dead orchard. “This place—this curse—it’s been waiting for you.”

What?!

“I didn’t come here to fix a pack,” I snapped. “I came here to survive I don't mean to be disrespectful but maybe —”

Jordan only smiled. “Sometimes survival is the beginning of healing. You’ll see.”

That sounded like something I thought would be buried in the excuse of surviving.

Since healing wasn’t easy. Especially not when the darkness still clung to me. Especially not when the scar of my severed bond still burned beneath my skin. Catherine warned me that something had followed me into Duskrend. Something ancient. Hungry. Watching.

“You drew Eryx’s gaze, girl,” she said once while placing protective wards around my cabin. “That thing feeds on broken bonds like yours. He’ll send whispers. Dreams. Worse.”

And he did.

That night, I dreamed of Claus.

Of blood. Of the obsidian blade. Eryx's voice slithered through my consciousness, donning Claus's face and speaking things I wished to forget.

But when I woke, the air was different.

Pine, Earth, and Wind.

I smelled him before I saw him.

Zion.

He stood outside with crossed arms. His wolf's presence was both dominating and real. Without saying anything, his eyes were fixed on the moon.

And for a moment, I wasn’t afraid.

I opened the door with confidence causing him to turn

The quiet between us seemed louder than any shout.

"You should be careful with your dreams," he continued without looking at me.

“You saw them?” I asked with shock

“Felt them,” he responded.

He paused. Then she said, "Your wolf... she called mine."

My breath caught. White howled softly within me.

“I don’t want this,” I said.

“Neither do I,” he said but his eyes said otherwise.

But the connection did not matter what we sought. It pulsed between us—unspoken, raw, and real. And under the shattered moon, Zion muttered a name I had not expected to hear from anybody.

“Moonfire.”