Chapter 13: First Blood

Nyra's POV

The scream cuts through the night session like a blade.

I'm halfway across the summit courtyard when the first rogue breaks through the perimeter. Then another. Then six more.

They move with precision that makes my blood run cold. This isn't random violence. This is coordinated.

The smaller pack delegates scatter. A young beta from Riverbend stumbles, and a rogue lunges for his throat.

I don't think. I just move.

Silver light erupts from my palms, and the rogue combusts mid-leap. Ash rains down where flesh used to be.

"Get behind me," I snap at the beta.

He scrambles backward, eyes wide with terror.

More rogues flood the courtyard. Ten. Fifteen. They're targeting the weaker packs specifically, ignoring the alpha delegates entirely.

A female omega from Mistwood is cornered against the fountain. Two rogues circle her like predators savoring a kill.

The lunar marks on my skin flare hot.

I reach for the ruins' power, and it answers immediately. Eager. Hungry.

Silver flames spiral up my arms as I step between the omega and her attackers. The rogues freeze, nostrils flaring as they scent what I am.

"Run," I tell the omega.

She doesn't need to be told twice.

The first rogue charges. I raise my hand, and moonlight solidifies into a blade that cuts through him like paper. He doesn't even scream. Just turns to ash and scatters on the wind.

The second hesitates. Smart.

"Leave," I say quietly. "Or die here."

He snarls and lunges.

Stupid.

The power flows through me like ice water and lightning combined. I don't need to touch him. The silver flames reach out on their own, wrapping around his body and consuming him from the inside out.

More rogues pour into the courtyard. They keep coming, wave after wave, and I realize with sickening clarity that this was planned. Orchestrated.

Someone wanted this chaos. Someone wanted blood.

A rogue tackles an elderly delta to the ground. I'm there before his claws can connect, my hand closing around his throat. The lunar magic burns through my palm directly into his flesh.

He screams. Once. Then silence.

"Get to the main hall," I shout at the delta. "Now."

Around me, the courtyard has become a war zone. Smaller pack wolves are running, hiding, trying to survive against trained killers.

And I'm standing in the center of it all, turning rogues to ash with every breath.

The power doesn't tire. Doesn't hesitate. It wants this.

A part of me wants it too.

A rogue with scars across his face grabs a young omega by the hair. She's maybe nineteen, tears streaming down her face as she begs for mercy.

I don't give him time to hurt her.

Silver flames erupt around him like a cage, then collapse inward. He burns from the outside in, his screams cutting off abruptly as the magic consumes everything.

The omega collapses, sobbing. I pull her to her feet.

"Go. Don't look back."

She runs.

Three more rogues approach in formation. Coordinated. Trained.

I spread my arms, and the lunar marks on my skin glow brighter. The power builds in my chest, begging to be released.

"Last chance," I say.

They attack as one.

The silver flames explode outward in a circle, catching all three mid-stride. The heat is instantaneous. Absolute. When the light fades, there's nothing left but ash drifting in the wind.

I scan the courtyard. Bodies litter the ground, some rogues, some defenders. The smaller pack wolves are huddled near the hall entrance, protected by a handful of brave deltas.

Movement to my left. Two rogues trying to flank me.

I turn, power already gathering in my palms.

Then I hear him.

"Nyra."

Kael's voice cuts through the chaos like a knife.

I don't turn. Can't turn. There are still rogues in the courtyard, still wolves who need protecting.

"Get the survivors inside," I call back. "I'll handle this."

"Nyra, stop."

"I said I'll handle it."

A rogue rushes me from behind. I spin, and silver light lances through his chest. He drops without a sound.

"You're going to kill yourself," Kael shouts.

"Better me than them."

The last three rogues realize they're outmatched. They try to run.

I could let them go. Should let them go.

But they came here to slaughter wolves who couldn't defend themselves. They targeted the weak specifically.

The power surges, and I don't stop it.

Silver flames race across the courtyard like hunting hounds, catching the rogues before they reach the tree line. Their screams are brief.

Then silence.

I stand in the center of the courtyard, surrounded by ash and silver fire that dances across my skin like living light. My chest heaves. The lunar marks glow so bright they cast shadows.

I can feel Kael approaching. Feel the bond pulse between us, wrong and jagged and alive.

"Nyra."

His voice is softer now. Careful.

I finally turn.

He's standing twenty feet away, his warriors fanned out behind him. Mira is there, her expression unreadable. They're all staring at me like I'm something dangerous.

They're right.

Kael takes a step forward. The silver flames react, flaring higher.

He stops.

"Are you hurt?" he asks.

The question almost makes me laugh. "No."

"The rogues. . ."

"Are dead. All of them."

His jaw tightens. "You shouldn't have fought alone."

"There wasn't time to wait for backup."

"You could have. . ."

"What?" I cut him off. "Let them massacre those wolves while I ran for help? Let that omega die because proper protocol required an alpha's permission to defend her?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

He doesn't answer. Can't answer.

The flames around me begin to dim as the adrenaline fades. Exhaustion hits like a wave, but I force myself to stay upright. To stay strong.

Kael's eyes trace the lunar marks still glowing on my skin. The silver light in my hair. The ash coating my hands.

"You're terrifying when you fight," he says quietly.

"Good. Maybe it'll keep people alive."

"That's not. . ." He stops. Starts again. "I meant you're magnificent. And terrifying. Both."

Something in my chest clenches.

I look away, focusing on the ash scattered across the courtyard. Each pile was a rogue who came to kill. Each one is gone because I chose to stop them.

The power feels heavier now. Not just strength, but responsibility.

"The smaller packs need protection," I say. "Someone's targeting them specifically."

"I know."

"Then do something about it."

"I'm trying."

"Try harder."

The words come out harsher than I intended. Kael flinches like I've struck him.

Behind him, Mira shifts her weight. Watching. Evaluating.

I force myself to meet Kael's eyes again.

And that's when it happens.

The flames dim completely. The lunar marks fade to silvery scars. And for just one moment, the walls I've built so carefully crack.

I'm not the Moonshadow. Not the weapon. Not the goddess.

I'm just Nyra. Tired and scared and standing in a courtyard full of death because no one else was there to stop it.

The girl he rejected. Still trying to prove she matters.

Kael sees it. I watch the recognition flash across his face, followed by something that looks like grief.

His expression does something I don't expect.

It breaks.

Not his control. Not his walls.

Something deeper. Something that was already shattered but managed to hold its shape until now.

He takes a step toward me, hand outstretched.

I don't know if he means to touch me or pull me close or just reach for something he lost five years ago.

I don't wait to find out.

I turn and walk away, leaving him standing in the ash.