Chapter 3 Blood Awakening

The scalding water couldn't wipe away the trauma.

Desperate to rid myself of Elder Thorne's charges, of the silver bolt that had nearly pierced my heart, of the impossible power that had burst from my very soul, I scrubbed my skin until it turned red.

*Moonborn.* The word reverberated in my head like a death sentence.

Though steam clouded the small bathroom mirror, I could still see my reflection-still see the girl who had spent eighteen years thinking she was nothing more than a feeble omega. I was now fixated on a stranger whose eyes featured flecks of silver I had never seen before.

A soft knock interrupted my swirling ideas.

Elias' voice was painstakingly regulated, yet I caught the underlying tension. "We need to talk.

Cracking the door, I wrapped a towel around myself. His generally warm brown eyes were watchful, almost terrified.

"How long have you known? I softly murmured.

He stepped back, hand passing across his golden hair. "I suspected something when your scent began shifting following the ceremony. But what happened in that clearing. He shook his head. "That wasn't normal omega magic, Aria. That was antiquated. Something meant to be dead.

My legs gave way. I dropped on the edge of my bed, gripping the towel more firmly. "Elder Thorne said I was the last of my bloodline, destined either to unite the packs or to destroy them.

Elias whispered, "The Council of Elders has been hunting Moonborn offspring for generations. I think your sort is too dangerous to exist. "

I chuckled cruelly at kind?

Long, grieving, and eerily familiar howls pierced the night before Elias could answer. My link with Kael erupted to life, anguish and hopelessness pouring throughout it.

He suffered a wound. Terribly.

I reached for clothes and shot to my feet, my towel forgotten. "I have to go to him.

"Aria, no. Elias grabbed my wrist. 'It's too dangerous. If the Council finds you-"

I pulled free, yanking on jeans and a sweater. "But I won't let him die for me.

Another howl, less powerful this time.

The link was weakening.

My naked feet on the cold floor, I ran for the window. "Tell me the truth, Elias. All of it. What aren't you telling me about my family?

He was silent for so long that I feared he wouldn't respond. He spoke then, just as I reached for the window latch.

"Your parents didn't die in a car accident, Aria. They were executed by the Council when you were six months old. I've been hiding you ever since, waiting for your powers to manifest so I could train you to control them."

The words hit me like physical blows. Everything I'd believed about my life was a lie.

"You're not my brother," I said numbly.

"No. I'm your guardian. And I've failed you." His voice cracked. "Because now they know what you are, and I can't protect you anymore."

I stared at him-this man who had raised me, loved me, lied to me for eighteen years.

"Who are you really?"

He met my eyes, and for the first time, I saw the truth there. "I'm the last of the Moonborn hunters. The one who was supposed to kill you when your powers emerged."

The betrayal cut deeper than any silver blade.

But before I could process it fully, Kael's howl echoed again-desperate, dying.

I made my choice.

I dove through the window into the night, leaving behind everything I'd ever known.

Including the man I'd called brother, who had been my would-be executioner all along.

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