THE TRUTH IN BLOOD

Aria woke up screaming.

Pain. Everywhere. Like her bones were trying to break through her skin from the inside.

Hands pinned her shoulders to the bed. Strong. Firm. Two people pressing her down.

"Breathe through it." Lyra's voice. Calm. Like Aria wasn't dying. "The seal is breaking. It's going to hurt."

"Make it stop." Aria thrashed. Couldn't control her body. "Please make it—"

Her chest erupted in silver light, the room warping around her.

The windows of the cottage broke. Glass was all over the place. Books were flying off the shelf. The middle of the bed cracked.

Then it stopped.

Aria collapsed back. Gasping. Covered in sweat. Her whole body was shaking.

Lyra stood over her. Completely unfazed. "Better?"

"What—" Aria couldn't catch her breath. "What was that?"

"Your power rejecting the seal." Lyra walked to the shelves. Started picking up books like nothing had happened. "It's been suppressed for twenty-two years. Now it's waking up. Violently."

Aria looked at her hands. They were glowing again. Faint silver light under her skin. Pulsing with her heartbeat.

"This isn't normal."

"No. It's not." Lyra set a book on the table. Ancient-looking. The leather cover is stained dark. "But it's not a curse either. That's what I need you to understand."

Aria pushed herself up. Everything hurt, but she could move now. The bed was definitely broken, though. Split right down the center.

"You said something last night. About my mother."

"I did."

"You knew her?"

Lyra was silent for a while. She then took out a chair. Sat. "When she was pregnant with you, your mother came to me."

Seven months along. Terrified. The Elders had told her you were cursed. That you'd destroy the pack.

They wanted her to— She came to a halt. "They wanted her to terminate the pregnancy."

Aria felt sick to her stomach. "They wanted her to kill me."

"Yes."

"But she didn't."

"No. She came here instead. Asked me to tell her the truth about the Moonveil Curse." Lyra opened the book. Pages covered in symbols and old text. "So I did."

"What is it?" Aria moved closer. Looked at the pages. "What's the truth?"

"The Moonveil Curse isn't a curse." Lyra traced one of the symbols. A crescent moon dripping blood. "It's a seal. Created three hundred years ago by the Council of Elders to suppress the original Luna bloodline."

"I don't understand."

"The first Lunas weren't just mates to Alphas. They were powerful. More powerful than any Alpha. They could command wolves with a thought. Heal fatal wounds. See the future. Control the elements." Lyra looked up. Met Aria's eyes. "They were gods among wolves. And the Alphas feared them."

Aria's heart was pounding. "So they—"

Created the seal. Disguised it as a curse. Convinced everyone that Luna's power was dangerous. That it would destroy packs." Lyra flipped pages. Showed Aria images of women with glowing marks. "They marked the bloodline. Suppressed the power.

certain that no Luna would ever be powerful enough to question the authority of an Alpha once more."

"That's—" Aria gasped for air. "That's insane."

"That's control."

Lyra closed the book. "Your mother understood. She knew what you were. What you could become. She refused to kill you. Refused to let them win."

"She died." Aria's voice cracked. "She died giving birth to me."

"Yes."

"Because of the seal?"

Lyra hesitated. "The seal weakens the body. Makes childbirth dangerous. Your mother knew the risks. She did it anyway."

Aria sat down hard. Her legs wouldn't hold her anymore. "She died protecting me."

"She died giving you a chance." Lyra leaned forward. "The seal should have killed you, too. Should have crushed your power before you took your first breath. But you survived. You're the first in three centuries to survive it fully intact."

"I'm not intact. I'm broken. My wolf barely existed. I couldn't shift. Couldn't—"

"Because the seal was working. Suppressing everything you were supposed to be." Lyra gestured to Aria's glowing hands. "But last night, when that Alpha rejected you, when you felt that pain—the seal cracked. And now your real power is waking up."

Aria stared at her hands. The light pulsing under her skin. "The shadows. I killed those wolves with shadows."

"Yes."

"How?"

"Luna power manifests differently in everyone. Some heal. Some see. Some control." Lyra smiled. Sharp. "You? You manipulate darkness. Shadows. Fear. Emotions." She paused. "Pain."

"That's not—that can't be—"

"You've felt it your whole life, haven't you?" Lyra spoke softly.

Knowing. "Other people's emotions. Their fear. Their disgust. It wasn't just in your head. You were sensing it.

taking it in. You could still feel it even though the seal prevented you from using it.

Aria reflected on all the times she had discovered someone was lying. Even before they spoke, it was clear that they detested her.

Thought she was just paranoid.

"Oh god."

"The rejection broke something in the seal. Made it unstable. Now your power is leaking out." Lyra stood. Walked to the window. "And it's only going to get stronger."

"What if I can't control it?" Aria's voice shook. "What if I hurt someone? What if they were right to fear me?"

"They were right to fear you." Lyra turned. "Just not for the reasons they thought."

Silence.

Aria looked at her hands again. The light was getting brighter. "What happens if the seal breaks completely?"

"You become what you were always meant to be." Lyra crossed her arms. "The most powerful Luna in three hundred years. Strong enough to challenge any Alpha. Strong enough to—"

A howl cut through the air.

Close. Too close.

Lyra's face changed. "Get up. Now."

"What—"

"Someone's here." She moved to the door. Fast. "Someone who shouldn't be able to find this place."

Aria stood. Her legs wobbled but held. "The Blackwater wolves?"

"No. Worse." Lyra grabbed something from the shelf. A knife. Silver blade. "Much worse."

The howl came again. Different this time. Multiple voices. Harmonizing.

"Stay behind me." Lyra opened the door. Stepped outside.

Aria followed. Her heart was hammering.

The clearing was empty. Trees surrounding them. Shadows everywhere despite it being midday.

Then the shadows moved.

Wolves stepped out. Six of them. Huge. Bigger than normal wolves.

Their eyes sparkled in the faint light, and their fur was dark, nearly black.

Aria felt her blood chill.

"What are those?"

"Blood Hunters." Lyra's voice was tight. "Wolves corrupted by dark magic. They track power. Feed on it."

The lead wolf shifted. Bones cracking. Skin stretching. Stood up as a man. Tall. Scarred. Covered in symbols that looked carved into his flesh.

"Lyra." His voice was rough. Damaged. "Been a long time."

"Ronan." Lyra didn't lower the knife. "You're not welcome here."

"Not here for you." His red eyes were fixed on Aria. "Here for the girl."

Aria's mark burned. Hot. Getting hotter.

Ronan smiled. Teeth are too sharp. "There it is. Luna power. I can smell it from here. Taste it." He took a step forward. "You know how rare that is? How valuable?"

"She's under my protection."

"Your protection means nothing anymore, witch." Another wolf shifted. Female. Just as scarred. "The old laws are dead. And we're hungry."

Aria's hands started glowing. Brighter. The light spreads up her arms.

Ronan noticed. Laughed. "Look at that. She doesn't even know how to control it. This is going to be easy."

"Run." Lyra didn't look at Aria. Kept her eyes on Ronan. "Run and don't stop."

"I'm not leaving you—"

"RUN!"

The Blood Hunters attacked.

Lyra moved fast. Faster than someone her age should move. The silver knife flashed. Caught the female wolf across the throat. Blood sprayed.

But there were five more.

Aria ran.

Into the forest. Away from the clearing. Behind her, sounds of fighting. Lyra was screaming something in a language Aria didn't know.

Branches whipped her face. Roots grabbed her feet. She didn't stop.

A wolf burst from the trees ahead of her.

Aria skidded. Changed direction. The wolf followed. Fast. Too fast.

Her mark was burning. The light under her skin is getting blinding.

The wolf lunged.

Aria threw her hands up.

Shadows exploded from her palms.

The wolf hit them like a wall. Flew backward. Slammed into a tree. Didn't get up.

Aria stared at her hands. They were completely silver now. Glowing so bright it hurt to look at.

Two more wolves came at her from different sides.

The shadows moved on their own. Shot out. Wrapped around the wolves. Squeezed.

Bones cracked.

The wolves dropped.

Aria was shaking. She'd killed them. Three wolves. Just like that.

"Impressive." Ronan's voice. Behind her.

She spun.

He was standing there. Alone. Covered in blood. Not his.

Lyra.

"What did you do?" Aria's voice sounded hardly human. "What did you do to her?"

"The witch is dead."

Ronan smiled. "Put up a good fight, though. I'll give her that."

Something inside Aria snapped.

The light under her skin exploded outward. Not just from her hands. From everywhere.

The forest seemed to be at midday under the intense silver light.

Ronan's grin vanished. "What the—"

The earth was covered in shadows. There are hundreds of them.

Thousands. They filled the air. Blocked out the light.

Aria didn't control them. Didn't direct them. They just moved. Responded to her rage. Her grief. Her hate.

They descended on Ronan like a tidal wave.

He shifted. Tried to run. Too slow.

The shadows wrapped around him. Lifted him off the ground. Tightened.

"Wait—" He choked. "Wait, please, I didn't—"

Aria watched him struggle. Watched him suffer.

Felt nothing.

The shadows squeezed harder.

Ronan screamed.

Then the scream cut off.

His body dropped. Broken. Eyes wide. Dead.

The shadows faded. The light dimmed. Aria fell to her knees.

Silence.

Just her and six dead wolves and the horrible realization of what she'd done.

She'd killed them. All of them. Without thinking. Without trying.

Footsteps.

Aria looked up. Ready for more. Ready to kill more.

Lyra stepped out of the trees.

Alive.

Bleeding. Limping. But alive.

"Lyra." Aria's voice broke. "I thought—"

"Takes more than Blood Hunters to kill me." Lyra limped over. Looked at the bodies. At Ronan's twisted corpse. "Well. That's unfortunate."

"I killed him."

"Yes."

"I didn't mean to. I just—I was so angry—"

"I know." Lyra sat down hard. "The seal is breaking faster than I thought. You're accessing power you shouldn't be able to control yet."

"What does that mean?"

Lyra looked at her. Really looked at her. "It means Alpha Ronan Ashford—leader of the Ashford Pack, member of the Council—is dead. Killed by a supposedly cursed wolf everyone thinks is helpless."

Aria's stomach dropped. "The Council—"

"Will hunt you." Lyra finished. "They'll send every wolf they have. Because now you're not just dangerous. You're proof."

"Proof of what?"

"That everything they've built is a lie." Lyra struggled to stand. "That Luna power isn't a curse. That they've been suppressing the bloodline for three hundred years. That—"

A branch snapped.

Both of them froze.

More footsteps. Multiple. Coming from all directions.

"We need to go." Lyra grabbed Aria's arm. "Now."

"Who—"

"Blackwater wolves." Lyra pulled her toward the cottage. "Someone must have seen the light. Sent word."

They ran. Well, Aria ran. Lyra hobbled.

They burst into the clearing. The cottage was surrounded.

Twenty wolves. All in Blackwater colors. All armed with silver.

And standing at the front, face carved from stone, eyes burning silver.

Alpha Thorne Blackwater.

He looked at Aria. At the blood on her dress. The silver light was still fading from her skin.

"Aria Nightshade." His voice was flat. Empty. "You're coming with me."

"No." Aria's voice didn't shake. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

"That wasn't a request." He gestured. His wolves moved forward. Surrounding them. "You're under arrest for the murder of Alpha Ronan Ashford and six of his pack members."

Aria's mark burned. The shadows stirred.

Thorne noticed. His eyes narrowed. "Don't."

"Or what?" Aria met his gaze. "You'll reject me again? Too late. Already did that."

Something flickered in his eyes. Pain. Quickly buried.

"You killed an Alpha. That's a death sentence."

"He attacked me. I defended myself."

"With dark magic. Forbidden magic." Thorne took a step forward. "You're everything they said you were. Dangerous. Uncontrollable. A threat."

Lyra laughed. Sharp. Bitter. "Is that what you came here to say? That you were right to throw her away?"

Thorne's jaw tightened. "I came here to bring her in. Before the Council sends someone who won't bother with a trial."

"How noble." Lyra spat blood. "The great Alpha Blackwater. Saving the girl he destroyed."

"Enough." Thorne looked at his wolves. "Take them both."

The wolves moved in.

Aria felt the power rising. The shadows are responding. She could kill them. All of them. Could rip them apart like she did Ronan.

But Thorne was there. Her mate. Former mate. The bond might be broken, but something in her still recognized him. Still—

Lyra grabbed her hand. Whispered something. Old words. Magic words.

The world shifted.

Aria felt as if she were being pulled through water. Through darkness. Through nothing.

They landed hard. Somewhere else. Somewhere dark.

Aria gasped. Looked around. A cave. Deep. Hidden.

"What—"

"Teleportation spell." Lyra collapsed. "Can only use it once. We're safe. For now."

Behind them, miles away, Thorne stood in an empty clearing. Staring at the place where Aria had been.

His wolves looked at him. Waiting for orders.

"Find them." His voice was cold. Dead. "Search every inch of this forest. I want her found."

Kieran stepped forward. "Alpha—"

"Now."

The wolves scattered.

Thorne stood alone. His fists clenched. His wolf howling inside him.

He'd seen her. Seen what she'd become. Powerful. Terrifying. Beautiful.

Everything he'd been too afraid to claim.

And now she was gone.

Again.

Because of him.

His phone buzzed. He pulled it out. Message from Elder Marius.

"Is the girl secured?"

Thorne stared at the message. At the empty clearing. At the blood staining the ground where she'd killed an Alpha.

He typed back. "She's contained. No longer a threat."

Lies.

She was more of a threat now than ever.

And he'd just let her slip away.