Chapter 4 Blood And Shadows

Kaela's breath hitched in sharp, frosted bursts as she stared at the cloaked figure standing against the storm-lit night. The wind howled across the cliff's edge, tugging at her torn cloak and sending embers from Ravenspire's distant fires swirling into the night. Her dagger was still in hand, her limbs taut, senses on high alert.

A figure stepped forward from the gloom, boots silent against the jagged cliffstone. Moonlight spilled over them in streaks, revealing silver hair braided down their back and a face carved with sharp, ethereal grace. Their eyes glowed violet, not from magic but from power long buried.

You carry her blood, the stranger said again, their voice both soothing and charged with something ancient.

Kaela bared her teeth instinctively, her wolf prowling beneath her skin. "Who are you?"

The figure stopped a few paces away, gaze steady. My name is Maelin. High matron of the Luna circle. Once Seraphine's bonded sister.

Kaela's heart slammed against her ribs. Seraphine had never mentioned a sister-bonded Luna. But then again, Kaela was only beginning to see how much had been kept from her.

You are a rogue? Kaela asked, voice low, her dagger never wavering.

I am a wolf who survived, Maelin replied.

What do you want from me? Kaela demanded, eyes narrowing. "Why now?"

To find you and offer you the truth the packs tried to bury and the power to fight back, maelin responded.

Kaela's throat tightened. Cassian died for me, she whispered. He said my mother saw something, a vision. And that my father killed her to silence it.

What do you mean by 'bonded sister'?" Kaela asked warily, her fingers still gripping the silver dagger at her side.

Maelin's eyes darkened with memory. In our world, not all bonds are fated by the Moon Goddess. Some are chosen by soul. Your mother and I, we shared a Luna oath. It made us sisters in magic, if not blood. I knew her dreams, her fears and I felt her death the moment it happened.

Kaela's breath caught. Her wolf stilled, ears alert. You felt it?

I felt her scream echo through the leylines. I searched for her spirit for nights after, but she was gone. taken before her time. Snuffed out by betrayal.

Kaela stepped forward, anger and grief clawing their way back to the surface. Then you know my father did it.

Maelin nodded once. He feared the prophecy. The same one Seraphine saw.

Seraphine saw the end of the old order. She saw you. The Luna who would challenge the false Alphas and bring the bloodline back to balance. But your father feared the vision. He chose power over love.

Kaela looked away, the truth still raw and jagged in her chest. He raised me like a warrior but used me like a pawn.

He raised you to serve his reign, Maelin said softly. But the moon raised you for more.

Kaela's grip on the dagger tightened. I need to take back Ironclaw. I need to make him pay.

Maelin's eyes burned brighter and you will but not alone. There are other wolves cast aside, Alphas stripped of title, Lunas betrayed. They wait in the shadows, in the wild lands beyond the border. They follow the prophecy too.

You want me to lead them?

I want you to become what you were born to be.

Kaela turned to the edge of the cliff, looking out over the wasteland of Ravenspire. The sky above it churned with storm clouds, moonlight bleeding red through the mist. Somewhere down there, her enemies regrouped. Somewhere beyond that, her father plotted on his stone throne.

She remembered her mother's smile, faint and fading.

What now? Kaela asked.

Maelin extended a hand. We go to the Wyrmroot Caves. The last Luna Circle gathers there under the next moon. They will decide if you are worthy.

Kaela didn't hesitate.

She took Maelin's hand.

The journey through the dead lands was brutal. Winds cut through Kaela's cloak like knives. Her injuries throbbed. They crossed silent plains littered with bones and passed through forests thick with fog where wolves whispered from the trees but never showed themselves.

Maelin didn't speak much but when she did, she told Kaela things no one else dared.

About the ancient matriarchal lines. About the true laws of Luna and Alpha, long buried under male rule. About the Luna Circle, a hidden sisterhood that survived in secret after the rise of patriarchs like Ronan Ironclaw.

They will test you, Maelin warned one night as they camped near a ruined shrine. Not just your strength, but your heart. They will look into your soul, Maelin warned. To see if you are forged in fire or if you will crumble into ash.

Kaela only nodded. She would already bury the girl she used to be. The one who begged for her father's approval. The one who thought Ironclaw was home.

She was ready to be Someone else.

The Wyrmroot Caves were deep beneath the earth, laced with glowing moss and ancient carvings. The air was warm, heavy with incense and magic. As Kaela stepped into the central chamber, she felt dozens of eyes on her, women cloaked in furs, feathers and moonstone beads, Warriors, Seers and Lunas.

At their center sat a throne of bones, carved with runes.

An elder with silver hair and a blindfold stepped forward. Kaela Ironclaw, she said, voice echoing through the cave. Daughter of Seraphine. Born under the Blood Moon. Do you come to claim your legacy?

Kaela met her gaze, unflinching.

I came to earn it.

The elder nodded. Then face the fire.

A path opened, revealing a stone arch etched with lunar glyphs. Beyond it, a chamber pulsed with red light.

Maelin touched Kaela's shoulder. It's not a test of your body, but your spirit. The fire shows you the truth, even the parts you wish to bury.

Kaela stepped through.

The chamber closed behind her.

Within the Fire

Kaela stood in darkness.

Then fire burst to life around her, not burning but revealing images, memories and truths.

She saw her mother, holding her as a baby, whispering promises of freedom and love.

She saw her father, cold and distant, watching her train like a soldier.

She saw Seraphine's death not at the hands of rogues, but a blade through her back.

Her father was standing over her.

Unmoved.

Then, she saw herself standing over a battlefield, crowned in moonlight, wolves bowing before her.

But her hands were stained red.

Too red.

She dropped to her knees.

I don't want to become like him, she whispered, the words trembling from her lips like a confession.

You are not him, her mother's voice echoed from the flames. You are me and so much more.

The fire roared.

Then faded.

Kaela emerged into silence.

Every eye was on her.

The elder stepped forward again.

You carry the fire, she said. You are no longer Kaela Ironclaw. You are Kaela Moonborn, Luna of the Rebellion.

The Circle bowed.

Kaela stood tall, the embers of prophecy burning in her blood.

Ironclaw would fall.

And she would rise.