Chapter Nineteen: The First Blood and the Forgotten TruthThe sky wept ash as Aria rode toward the battlefield.The air was thick with the scent of fire, smoke, and a rising stormāan omen of bloodshed. Below her, hundreds of warriors from united packs moved like a single organism, their growls blending into the rumble of thunder. The truce banners of the Bloodfang, Stoneclaw, Moonveil, and others flapped in the wind, symbols of a fragile alliance formed under the promise of survival.Kade rode beside her, eyes scanning the distant hills. He hadnāt slept in two nights, but his resolve hadnāt faltered.āHeās close,ā he muttered, nostrils flaring. āI can smell his corruption.āAria nodded. āThen we strike tonight.āBehind them, Marcus barked orders. Witches lined the ridges with protective runes. Archers dipped their arrows in silver, enchanted with ancient moonlight.Lira approached on her dark horse, her twin blades strapped across her back. āOur scouts intercepted Xarionās beasts. The
Chapter Eighteen: Allies, Assassins, and the Witchās PactThe wind howled through the pine ridges as Aria stood before the sacred flame of the Bloodfang ceremonial grounds. The moon was high, its silver light pouring down over the stone circles, washing her in its cold, holy glow. All around her, warriors waitedāsilent, reverent, and ready.This was the moment she had dreaded and prepared for.A moment that would change everything.Aria stepped forward, her voice clear, powerful, and laced with the blood of queens.āI call on the packs of the Northern Range, the clans of the West, and the old blood hidden deep in the shadowed woods. I call on the daughters of moonlight and sons of the silver hunt. Xarion has returned, and he means to burn the world in his wrath.āWhispers rippled through the crowd. Even the flame seemed to flicker in response.Kade stood behind her, eyes fierce, proud.āHe isnāt a man,ā Aria continued. āHeās a god twisted by vengeance, and we will not survive him divi
Chapter Seventeen: Blood Oaths and Broken BondsThe war council chamber smelled of cedarwood and tension. The long stone table at its center was surrounded by Bloodfang warriors, advisors, and eldersāall staring at Aria like she was both a miracle and a bomb that could explode at any moment.She stood at the head of the table, Moonfang strapped to her back, her silver eyes scanning every face.Her mate, Alpha Kade, sat beside herāsilent, watchful.In her hand, she held Xarionās letter.āMy father wants me to come to him alone,ā she began, voice steady despite the storm in her chest. āIf I donāt, heāll kill Kade.āA rumble of growls spread through the room. Kadeās eyes burned.āIād like to see him try,ā he muttered.āYou think he canāt?ā Aria asked, turning to him. āHeās the Night King, Kade. He turned my mother into a weapon. He raised me in darkness before I even knew who I was. Heās killed his own blood before. Donāt underestimate him.āKade stood, his jaw tense. āAnd you think walk
---Chapter Sixteen: Trial by FireThe chamber was engulfed in white fire. It didnāt burn. Instead, it shimmered and pulsed with an ancient magic that sank into Ariaās skin and blood like liquid moonlight. The voice of Selene, the goddess of the moon, echoed through every corner of the temple, neither kind nor cruelāonly truth.āYou must face yourself, Aria,ā Selene said. āTo wield the Moonfang, you must shed the girl you were and embrace the queen youāre becoming.āAria trembled. Not from fear, but from the weight of it all.āI donāt know how,ā she whispered.Seleneās figure floated closer. āThen we begin.āWith a wave of her hand, a silver wind whooshed past Ariaāand the others disappeared. The temple was suddenly empty. Kade, Marcus, the warriors... all gone.She was alone.No. Not alone.A mirror rose from the ground before her, shaped like a crescent moon. Its surface rippled, and when she looked into it, her own reflection smirked back at herābut it wasnāt her. Not really.This
---Chapter Fifteen: The AwakeningThe moon was high when Aria stood alone at the edge of the Whispering Forest, the chilling breeze wrapping around her like a silent omen. Behind her, the heart of the Bloodfang pack was slowly rebuilding itself after the rogue attack, but within her, something else was unraveling entirely.The moment the Nightstone had released its power into her, something ancient had awakened inside her blood. A calling. A memory not her own. Dreams of fire and silver wolves. A voice whispering in a language she didnāt understand but somehow recognized.And ever since, she hadn't been the same.Her fingers clenched. The wind shifted, brushing through her hair, and the air around her sparkedātiny flecks of light dancing like embers across her skin.She closed her eyes. She could feel the trees breathing. The earth humming beneath her bare feet. The moon above, pulsing like a heartbeat.She wasnāt just human anymore.She didnāt know what she was.āI was hoping Iād fi
Chapter Fourteen: The Betrayer Among UsThe morning sun was swallowed by clouds as thick as smoke. The entire territory trembled under the weight of an approaching storm. Aria stood at the top of the hill overlooking the training grounds, her eyes fixed on the shadowed edge of the forest.The rogues were out there.Watching. Waiting.Kade paced behind her, tension rippling through every muscle. His wolf was close to the surfaceāAria could feel it. The savage growl that rumbled in his chest each time a twig snapped in the distance sent shivers down her spine.āTheyāre testing us,ā he said, scanning the tree line. āPushing in just enough to rattle our nerves, but not enough to strike.āāTheyāre waiting for me to come to them,ā Aria whispered.She could feel itālike a magnetic pull in her chest, tugging her toward the woods. Something dark. Ancient. Familiar.Raya approached, her face pale. āThe wards are holding for now, but the energy is wrong. Theyāve got witches with themādark ones.ā