Chapter 1: The Night That Watched Her
The forest of Noctyra never slept.
Even when the moon hid behind clouds, the trees whispered. Leaves trembled as if they remembered things better left forgotten. Every creature knew one rule—
Do not wander when the red moon rises.
But Aelira didn't know fear the way others did.
She floated just above the forest floor, her wings glowing faintly like crushed starlight. A fairy of the Lumin Vale, born of light and morning dew, she should never have been here. Darkness weakened fairies. Shadows drank their magic.
Yet tonight, something had called her.
A pull.
A warning.
Or maybe a promise.
Aelira paused near a clearing, her fingers tightening around the small crystal hanging at her neck. The air felt heavy—thick with danger. Then she felt it.
Eyes.
Not human.
Not kind.
Watching.
Far beyond the trees, hidden where moonlight refused to touch, Ravyn Blackfang stood still.
The werewolf king.
The villain of every whispered tale.
The monster mothers used to scare children into sleep.
His golden eyes burned through the dark as he watched the glowing fairy drift through his land. The red moon carved shadows across his sharp features, fangs barely visible as his jaw tightened.
A fairy… here?
Impossible.
And yet—there she was. Fragile. Radiant. Alive.
Something stirred in Ravyn's chest. Not hunger. Not rage.
Recognition.
The curse in his blood growled, urging him forward. Fairies were enemies. Light and darkness were never meant to touch.
But Ravyn did not move.
Because for the first time in centuries, the villain hesitated.
From the far side of the forest, footsteps echoed—controlled, purposeful. A figure cloaked in silver armor emerged briefly between the trees.
Kael Arden.
The hero of the realm.
The one sworn to kill the werewolf king.
His gaze wasn't on Ravyn.
It was on Aelira.
Ravyn's claws dug into the earth.
So this was how it began.
The fairy who wandered into darkness.
The hero who would protect her.
And the villain who should destroy her—
But didn't.
Aelira felt a sudden chill and turned slowly, sensing something ancient behind her.
And in the shadows, a pair of golden eyes met hers.
The forest held its breath.