Chapter 5 Awakening Under Eclipse

The night thickened, pressing against the trees like a living thing.

The unseen predator lurking in the shadows prowled closer, its steps soundless, its breath a whisper in the cold air.

Lila barely clung to consciousness. Each breath was a struggle, her body half-shifted and broken. Her wolf had retreated so far that she was little more than a hollow shell, drifting through darkness.

Above her, the full moon burned silver... and then dimmed.

A ripple passed through the forest-a vibration deeper than sound, older than memory. Lila's limp body shivered against the mossy ground as the world itself seemed to pause.

The moon darkened as a shadow crept across it.

The rare lunar eclipse had begun.

And with it, something ancient stirred inside her.

The rogue wolf crouching in the underbrush tensed.

Riven had been tracking her ever since he caught the scent of fresh blood carried on the wind. His instincts had screamed to stay away-nothing good ever followed the scent of a broken wolf. But something else, something deeper, had pulled him forward.

Now, hidden among the trees, he watched as the girl's body convulsed, her hands clawing at the earth.

Light burst from beneath her skin-silver, wild, untamed. It wasn't the simple shimmer of a shift. It was power-raw and primal-breaking free like a dam torn apart by a flood.

Riven flinched as the ground beneath him trembled.

"What in the goddess's name..." he muttered under his breath.

The girl's scream tore through the night. It wasn't human. It wasn't wolf. It was something else entirely. Something ancient.

And then she changed.

Not smoothly, like a trained shifter.

Not beautifully, like the young wolves of the pack.

No-this shift was violent. Bones cracked at wrong angles. Fur erupted in jagged bursts across her body. Her wolf was bigger than any Riven had ever seen, sleek and silver with strange, faint markings that pulsed with the eclipse's muted light.

She wasn't just a wolf.

She was something more.

Something forgotten by time.

And she was dying.

The brutal awakening of her powers had cost her too much. Her body-too weak, too broken-was giving out even as her wolf form fully emerged. She collapsed in a heap, fur matted with blood, barely breathing.

Riven cursed under his breath.

Every instinct screamed to leave her there. To let the forest claim her. He had survived too long as a rogue by not getting involved. Especially not with cursed, glowing wolves who could tear open the earth with a scream.

But he couldn't walk away.

Not this time.

With a low growl of frustration, Riven strode forward, stepping into the clearing. His own wolf stirred restlessly under his skin, drawn to her in a way that had nothing to do with reason.

The moment he touched her, a spark leapt between them-hot, electric, wrong.

Riven jerked his hand back, staring down at the unconscious girl. What the hell was she? What had she become under the eclipse's shadow?

And why, despite everything, did his soul whisper: protect her?

The eclipse reached its height.

The entire forest plunged into an eerie twilight, neither night nor day.

The air grew heavier. The trees seemed to lean closer.

There wasn't much time.

Riven knelt beside her, feeling her faint heartbeat flutter weakly against his fingers. Without thinking too hard about it-because thinking would only talk him out of this-he lifted her into his arms.

She weighed almost nothing.

And yet she felt like she carried the weight of the world.

Riven shifted into his wolf form-black as a starless night, scarred and battered from years of exile-and cradled her limp form against his back. He ran through the trees, his powerful legs eating up the distance.

There was only one place that might be able to save her now.

One place untouched by the wars and hatreds of the outside world.

The Sanctuary of the Ancients.

---

Hours later, the hidden valley finally came into view-a lush cradle of life hidden deep in the mountains, where magic still whispered through every blade of grass.

Riven stumbled into the clearing, panting heavily. His paws left bloody prints behind him. The journey had cost him, but he didn't care. The girl's breathing had grown dangerously shallow.

From the largest hut, a figure burst out-

Dark hair flying, golden-brown eyes wide with fear.

"Mia!" Riven gasped in recognition-though he had never spoken to her before, he had heard her name whispered among rogues who still remembered the packs.

But Mia wasn't looking at him. She only saw the broken figure he cradled.

Her face crumpled. "Lila?!" she choked out, racing toward them.

Without hesitation, Riven shifted back into human form and gently laid Lila into Mia's trembling arms.

"She needs help," he rasped.

Mia dropped to her knees beside Lila, pressing her hands frantically over her wounds, whispering words of comfort even as tears streaked her face.

"What happened to you?" Mia whispered brokenly, brushing tangled hair from Lila's bloodied face. "How did it come to this?"

Another figure appeared at the doorway-an older wolf, a healer among the Ancients-and Mia snapped at them.

"Help me! We need herbs-salve-anything!"

The others rushed to obey, scattering into the night.

Inside the warm sanctuary hut, Mia worked feverishly, refusing to let go of Lila's hand even for a moment.

"You're going to be okay," Mia whispered fiercely. "You're not leaving me, Lila. Not after everything."

Riven stood awkwardly at the edge of the room, heart hammering.

He had seen death before. He had caused it.

But something about this girl-this wolf-made him feel like a child again, standing at the edge of a story too big for him.

He felt the power coiled inside her even now, dormant but burning

It wasn't normal. It wasn't natural.

And somehow... it felt tied to him too.

Mia finally turned to look at him, wiping the blood from her hands.

"Who are you?" she demanded hoarsely. "Why were you with her?"

Riven hesitated.

"I found her," he said roughly. "Under the eclipse. She shifted into... something else. Something powerful."

Mia's face tightened, but she didn't argue. She had felt it too-the strange energy humming through the air even now.

She looked back down at Lila, smoothing hair from her face.

"No matter what she is," Mia whispered, "she's my best friend. And I'll die before I let her be taken again."

Riven's chest tightened strangely at her words.

Outside, the stars blinked into existence again as the last sliver of the eclipse faded.

And deep within Lila, under the shattered ruins of her broken heart, something ancient was stirring to life.