Chapter 6 The Blood Rite Conspiracy

The den's great hall was quiet in the dead of night. Flickering torchlight cast restless shadows against ancient stone, and the distant howl of wolves echoed through the black forest. Within these walls, bloodlines plotted and old grudges stirred.

Alpha Draven Corven stood before the war table, its surface scarred by centuries of battle plans and betrayals. He traced a finger along a faded map of Blackmoor territory, stopping at a mark where the sacred Blood Moon Ritual would take place in three nights' time.

Behind him, a handful of men and women gathered in a semicircle. Warriors loyal not to Blackmoor, but to Draven. Dissidents, opportunists, and wolves hungry for a new order.

"Are you certain about this?" Elara Varyn asked, her voice sharp as the twin daggers she always wore at her belt. "Kade may be reckless, but killing him at the Blood Rite... it risks open war."

Draven's lips curled into a sneer. "Kade's weakness infects this pack. He consorts with healers and refuses to put down the rogues. The Blood Rite will bind the council's loyalty under moonlight , or it will leave us free to seize what should've been ours."

A voice, cold and edged like iron, spoke from the doorway.

"Then you'll need a blade that strikes clean, without a trace."

Heads turned as a tall figure stepped into the torchlight. Callen Mire.

A mercenary known in hushed tavern corners and on wanted posters half-burned. Callen had no pack, no loyalty, only a reputation for finishing the jobs others feared to attempt.

His skin bore the pale scars of old hunts, and a jagged slash marred his brow. His wolf eyes gleamed like burnished copper.

Draven gave a cold smile. "Callen Mire. I wondered if you'd crawl out of whatever pit you've been hiding in."

"I heard you had work," Callen replied, voice gravel and ice. "I don't deal in politics. Only in outcomes."

Elara stepped forward, appraising him like a predator weighing prey.

"Do you know who we're asking you to kill?"

"I don't care," Callen answered. "As long as the coin's good, and the job's clean."

Draven gestured to the table, pointing to a small red mark. "The Blood Moon ritual takes place at the old cairn. Kade will be alone for the offering. No guards. No witnesses."

Callen's brow lifted. "Convenient."

"You'll have one chance," Draven continued. "A swift strike. Silver-dipped blade. His death must look like an act of rebellion. The healer girl too, if she's there."

Callen gave a sharp grin. "Two for one. I like those odds."

Elara leaned in. "If you fail, you won't leave these woods alive."

The mercenary didn't flinch. "I never fail."

He reached for the small leather pouch Draven slid across the table , the down payment heavy with coin and a vial of nightshade for emergencies.

Draven fixed him with a final warning. "Remember this, Mire. No traces. No witnesses. The Blood Moon leaves no room for mistakes."

The mercenary tucked the pouch into his coat. "I don't leave mistakes. I bury them."

With that, he turned and disappeared into the darkened hall.

As silence fell once more, Elara spoke, a note of unease in her voice.

"What if Kade senses it? The Alpha bond is strong. He's not a fool."

Draven's eyes gleamed like a wolf scenting blood. "Then we strike harder. And when the dust settles, Blackmoor will have a new Alpha. One who remembers what wolves are meant to be."

Outside, the wind carried the mournful howl of a lone wolf.

A storm was coming.

And it would be red as blood.

Chapter 7: Hidden Affections

The night air in Blackmoor hung thick with unease. Though the council chambers bustled with wolves preparing for the Blood Moon Ritual, Aria Wynn felt the chill of an oncoming storm in her bones.

Ever since Kade brought her inside Blackmoor's borders, eyes had followed her every step. Some with curiosity, others with suspicion, but most with barely concealed hatred. She'd saved their Alpha's life, yet no healer , especially a lone borderlander , was ever truly welcome among packs.

Tonight, though, it wasn't the others she feared.

It was what Riven Hale would say.

She found him waiting by the northern cliff edge, where the pines thinned and moonlight silvered the treetops. Riven's silhouette stood against the darkness, arms crossed, jaw tight. The wind tossed his dark hair into his eyes, but he didn't move.

Aria hesitated before stepping closer. "You asked to see me?"

He turned, and for the first time since she'd met him, there was no teasing smirk, no sharp-edged sarcasm. Only a quiet, restless pain.

"You shouldn't be here, Aria," he said. "Not anymore."

She frowned. "Because of the Blood Moon?"

"Because of everything." Riven took a step forward, his voice low. "There's danger you don't see yet. Not just in the council, or the rebellion Kade's trying to smother. There are those who would slit your throat just to hurt him."

Aria's chest tightened. She thought of the whispers in the corridors, the icy glares at council gatherings. She should leave. It was the smart choice.

But she couldn't.

"Kade saved me too," she said softly. "And I... owe him."

"Owe him?" Riven gave a humorless laugh. "You've already paid your debt. You should be running. Back to the borderlands. Before it's too late."

His voice cracked slightly on the last word, and that was when she realized what this really was.

Not a warning.

A confession.

"Riven..."

"I shouldn't feel this way," he bit out, looking away toward the distant trees. "Not about you. Not when you're tied to him. But damn it, Aria, every day you stay here is a knife in my chest."

She opened her mouth to speak, but the words tangled on her tongue. She hadn't seen it , hadn't let herself see it. Riven, always hovering nearby, always fierce, always protective. And now... too late.

"I care about you," Riven said quietly. "Enough to want you safe. Enough to want you far from this place, even if it means never seeing you again."

Aria's heart ached, not because she returned his feelings, but because she didn't. Because in another life, another story, she might have.

She stepped closer, placing a gentle hand on his arm.

"Riven... you're one of the bravest people I've met. And I'll never forget what you've done for me. But my heart... it doesn't belong to you."

The words hurt them both.

For a moment, neither spoke. The wind howled between the cliffs. Somewhere below, wolves howled in eerie harmony.

"I knew," he said hoarsely. "I knew the moment he brought you back bleeding and half-dead, and you opened your eyes looking for him."

A single tear glimmered in his eye, but he blinked it away with a shaky breath.

"Promise me something."

"Anything."

"When this turns bloody , and it will , you'll run if you have to. Don't die for a bond you don't understand."

Aria gave a sad, small smile. "I won't run. But I'll fight smart."

It wasn't the promise he wanted, but it was the only one she could give.

Without another word, Riven turned and vanished into the trees, leaving her standing alone beneath the rising blood-red moon.

And though her heart broke for him, it pulled her unerringly toward another , one she shouldn't want, one who carried the weight of a cursed bond neither of them fully understood.

As the night deepened, a single thought haunted her.

What if this bond wasn't a gift, but a curse designed to destroy them both?