The howl ripped through the night, so loud my bones vibrated.
It wasn't a wolf's cry. It was deeper. Darker. Wrong.
Kael's head snapped toward the trees, his silver eyes flashing. "Stay behind me."
I didn't argue. Every instinct screamed to run, but my legs felt rooted in place. The rogues still circling us froze, ears pinned flat, their earlier confidence evaporating.
The sound came again—closer this time. My heart pounded so hard it hurt.
A shadow moved between the trees, gliding toward us with inhuman grace. My breath caught as it stepped into the moonlight.
It wasn't a wolf.
It wasn't even human.
Its eyes burned crimson, its skin shimmered like molten metal, and every step it took made the air ripple with heat.
"What is that?" I whispered.
Kael didn't answer. His stance shifted, low and ready, claws sliding from his fingers. "When I tell you to run, you run straight to the pack house. Don't stop. Don't look back."
"What about you?"
His gaze flicked to me for a heartbeat. "Just do it, Aria."
The thing smiled—too wide, too sharp. "So… the Moon's Chosen lives."
Chosen? My mind tripped over the word, but I didn't have time to ask. The creature moved in a blur, closing the distance in an instant.
Kael lunged, meeting it head-on, claws against claws. Sparks flew as they clashed, the force of impact shaking the ground.
One of the rogues made the mistake of charging me. The heat in my chest roared to life again. My hands lit up, blinding white light exploding outward. The rogue screamed as it hit the ground, smoking.
When my vision cleared, Kael was staring at me—like he'd just seen something impossible. "What the hell was that?"
I swallowed hard. "I… don't know."
"Yes, you do," he growled. "And we're going to talk about it—if we survive this."
The creature was already standing again, its grin unfazed. "This is only the beginning."
The thing tilted its head like a predator studying prey.
Heat rolled off its body in waves, making my skin prickle. My wolf was silent, frozen, like she couldn't decide whether to fight or curl into a ball and hide.
Kael didn't hesitate. He shifted mid-lunge, his massive black wolf form exploding forward with a snarl that made the rogues scatter. Claws and teeth met glowing skin, but instead of tearing flesh, his strikes left faint burn marks that faded almost instantly.
It laughed. "Strong. But not enough."
I stumbled back as the ground under us cracked, steam rising from the soil. The smell of scorched earth filled the air.
Kael's voice rang in my head through the mate bond we shouldn't even still share. Run, Aria!
I didn't. Couldn't. My eyes were locked on the thing's burning hands as it swung at Kael, narrowly missing his head. The heat was unbearable, but something deep in my chest pulsed in answer—like my body recognized it.
The creature's attention snapped to me. "Ah. There you are."
My heartbeat stuttered.
"I've waited centuries for the Moon's Fire to awaken," it hissed, stepping toward me, ignoring Kael completely.
Kael roared, slamming into it from the side, forcing it away. "Stay away from her!"
But its words… Moon's Fire. I'd never heard them before, yet they felt carved into my bones.
The fight blurred—Kael's black fur, glowing claws, bursts of light when they collided. But then Kael was knocked back, skidding across the ground. His wolf form shook itself, trying to stand.
The creature turned to me again. "You will come with me."
Something inside me snapped. The light in my chest burst outward, surging into my hands until they burned with white-gold flames. I didn't think—I threw my palms forward.
The blast hit it square in the chest.
It screamed, the molten skin cracking, glowing fissures spreading across its body.
For a second, I thought I'd won.
Then it laughed—low and guttural—and the cracks began to seal.
"Not yet awakened enough," it taunted. "But soon."
It vanished in a shimmer of heat, leaving only the scent of burned earth behind.
Silence crashed down, broken only by Kael's heavy breathing as he shifted back, naked and furious. His eyes—those silver, stormy eyes—locked on me.
"What. The hell. Was that?" he demanded.
I hugged my arms around myself. "I told you—I don't know."
His jaw clenched. "That thing was after you. It knew you. And you—" he pointed at my still-glowing hands, "—you had power I've never seen before."
The rogues were gone, scattered into the forest. The danger had passed, but the tension between us was a living thing.
"I don't owe you answers," I said finally.
He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "You owe this entire pack answers, Aria. Whatever that was—it's tied to you. And if you think I'm letting you walk away without explaining, you don't know me at all."
I met his gaze, my heart thundering for a reason that had nothing to do with fear. "You rejected me, Kael. Remember? My life stopped being your business the moment you said I wasn't enough."
His expression flickered—guilt, anger, something else—but then his Alpha mask slammed back into place. "We're not done here."
I turned to leave, but his next words froze me mid-step.
"That thing isn't the only one coming for you."