Chapter 3 Beneath the Blood Moon

Hearing nothing as he walked, Elena and Kael were surrounded by the nearly overpowering scent of pine and moss. He wanted her to come back to the Mooncrest Pack with him right after Lucien's strange appearance-he thought they were no longer safe near the edge. She hadn't said anything to argue back. How was it possible for her? I didn't understand anything anymore.

Her uncle. Her power. Her eyes looked like silver moonlight now. She looked often at herself in the truck mirror on the way up, crossing her fingers that, if she blinked enough, everything would be gone.

But the effects could still be seen. That's how they described Kael too.

Soon, they headed deeper into Moonbound land which was a hidden stretch of mountains covered in a mysterious mist. The moonlight above was leaving strange shadows among the tree trunks. She gripped the hem of her coat with stronger hands.

"Do you stay this silent all the time?" she asked gently.

Kael gave her a glance from the side and his face was hard to read. I only say something when there's something important to say.

That must mean I am extraordinarily boring.

His mouth curled in a tiny strengthening of his smile. Not really a smile, but it's not far off. Elena, you are many different things. But I wouldn't describe Seychelles that way.

It wasn't easy to pinpoint, but something about how he spoke and said her name gave her an uneasy flutter. Or maybe this is really true. She couldn't understand why anymore.

She exclaimed, "Why didn't you turn down the bond?" I'm not really a wolf either. Leaving you would have been an option.

"It would be possible," he said, pausing as he spoke. However, I didn't.

"Why?"

He glanced at her, letting his silver eyes reveal itself. When I saw you for the first time, I knew it. More powerful than how our instincts lead us. Like the moon had used part of my own being to form you.

Elena found it hard to look at and swallowed. Thinking through that was more than she could do at this time. That might hardly ever happen.

They walked as far as a clearing close to a cliff and arrived at Kael's large stone manor, known as his pack house. It looked regal and old and ivy climbed up its walls as symbols were carved into the archways.

Elena appeared and when the Moonbound Pack came to greet their Alpha, they all stood still. Some people bent their knees respectfully. Others were suspicious of her presence.

"That's her," someone said under their breath. "The Moonborn."

"She looks like a real person."

If you haven't seen her eyes, you haven't seen the whole picture.

Even though Elena felt watched by the people around her, Kael reached around to place his hand over her lower back. It wasn't private or closed. It felt like it was keeping me steady.

Inside the pack house stood a striking woman who was very tall. Her hair was braided into a dark braid that included silver strands and her eyes were like sharp flints.

Kael was her curt response. "You brought her to New York."

Her safety now depends on me, Kael promised.

The woman looked at Elena as if she were something that had to be figured out. "I'm Astra. Kael's Beta. On your stay, you will be in the east wing. Follow me."

Kael didn't make any movements. I never forgot Elena.

Elena turned her gaze quickly to him. "What?"

I'm not comfortable allowing the girl out of my eyes until I know she is safe.

She raised one of her eyebrows. We don't usually work that way.

There's nothing normal about her, Kael said to himself.

Astra acknowledged Jasro by nodding and then walked away with an angry look. She followed Kael upstairs and into a room that provided a wonderful mountain view. The place was basically decorated but lovely, with its stone walls, a fireplace, cozy soft rugs and wide windows that showed the moonlight.

She slumped onto the bedside, exhausted all of a sudden.

She couldn't decide what to ask first, so she just said, "I don't know." What made my eyes change? What does it mean to be Moonborn? What is the identity of the First Mother? I wonder why that ancient voice keeps talking quietly inside me.

She stood by the window, looking out through the glass with her arms crossed the entire time. People said that the first children of the moon goddess were the moonborns. Rare. Powerful. It was thought to have disappeared a great many years ago.

But I'm not only a wolf either. I'm a very different thing entirely."

He just replied, "Yes." And that's why you turn into a threat... or a weapon.

Elena flinched. Is that what you think about me?

Kael looked straight at me, his expression serious. "No. However, that's the way others will do it.

She got up and started walking around the room. Lucien told me that my mother had the same thing. Why wasn't I ever told? What reason could my... father have for telling a lie?"

Kael hesitated. "It's dangerous to reveal the truth."

There was no sound for a long time.

Her voice then became lower. War broke out among three packs because of the last Moonborn mentioned in history. She had an unbeatable strength. Uncontrolled. Dangerous."

I am not that person.

No, he said. Even so, what's inside your mind could be farther from right. Or better. It's your choice whether or not you become involved.

About that time, the whispers got louder again.

The blood moon made an appearance tonight. The sound of breaking becomes clear. She should not have any memories."

Elena covered her head and gasped heavily.

Kael arrived next to her almost instantaneously. "What's happening?"

"Hearing it again," she murmured. "They are getting more intense. I almost feel like there's something waking up inside me.

Just before Kael could speak, a loud and heart-piercing howl came from above.

Astra appeared in the room just moments afterward. There are intruders here now. North ridge. You can see Shadowclaw runes on them."

Kael struggled to open his eyes and kept them closed. Not long afterwards, Lucien came on the scene.

Her blood suddenly grew cold. They want me.

Kael inclined his head. "Stay here. Always remember to lock the doors. No one else but me enters the place.

Almost immediately after he stopped talking, Elena struggled with a strange energy that seemed to be moving her rather than keeping her grounded. Everything got fuzzy before her eyes. The room started whirling around me.

She made her way slowly to the mirror.

And screamed.

She seemed to think differently.

Her eyes were shining white.

At her back in the mirror stood a woman. She wore old garments, with moonlike hair and a face I could not forget.

The woman said, "Elena" from the other side of the glass. They have tried to hide the truth for way too long.

What is your identity? Elena couldn't speak.

My child, I am your mother.

Elena could feel her breath departing as she moved aside. That can't happen-

You have my family's DNA. My power. Another thing I notice... my memories are about to return. However, you have to be fully prepared."

"For what?"

A look of gravity appeared on the woman's face.

"Who gets to live? Plus, who gets killed.

The mirror broke into pieces at that moment.

I heard a howl from just beyond our doors.

The old wolf in Elena showed signs of life for the first time.