Chapter 5 Underneath the Blood Moon

The neutral meeting was a fight camouflaged as negotiation.

I had learned my true identity as Aria Silvermoon, the final Celestial-born, three weeks ago. Three weeks after I cured Kael from silver poisoning and watched the diabolical enforcers of the Council withdraw in the face of my emerging power. Elder Thorne had now demanded I attend this meeting, a presumably calm gathering between opposing packs.

But nothing was calm anymore.

As I walked through Moonstone Pavilion's grand hall, every gaze seemed to weigh me down. Under the crystal chandeliers, werewolves from seven different packs mingled; their comments faded to whispers as I went. Everybody knew what I was now. What I stood for.

a threat to the natural order.

Kael stood rigid as he chatted with Alpha Blackthorn at the opposite end of the hall. I could feel our mate bond humming with strain even across the room. He had changed from that evening in the woods, protecting me to the point of suffocation and staring at me as if I might burst any second.

Possibly, I would.

Barely constrained, the celestial force ran through my veins, reacting to my feelings with terrible speed. During a terrible dream last night, I had shattered every mirror in my home accidentally. Flowers blossomed wherever I walked this morning.

I was losing control, and everybody could see it.

"So you're the infamous Celestial," a velvety voice murmured from behind me.

I turned to locate Lysandra Nightshade, the gorgeous daughter of Alpha Nightshade, scrutinizing me with predatory intensity. Her midnight-black hair cascaded in waves past her shoulders, and her violet eyes had an intelligence that caused my skin to crawl.

"Just Aria," I responded slowly.

She laughed, a sound like cracking glass. "Oh, we both know you're far more than 'just' anything. Her gaze flicked to Kael, then back to me. "Tell me, how does it feel to be mated to someone who's terrified of you?

My chest tightened. "I don't know what you mean.

"Don't you? She moved closer, her voice lowering to a whisper. "I smell his terror on you. The manner he gazes at you now-like you're a loaded weapon set to go off. How long before he comes to believe you're too dangerous to keep nearby?

Her language hit their mark surgical precision. I had seen that expression in Kael's eyes as well; the deliberate distance he kept even when he held me; the way his jaw tensed when my power unpredictably flashed.

"You're wrong," I said, but even to myself, the words appeared empty.

Lysandra grinned razor-sharp. "Then why is he over there talking about 'containment protocols' with the other Alphas instead of standing by your side?

My blood chilled to ice. I looked at where Kael was standing among a group of pack leaders, their heads turned together in intense conversation. The term drifted over the room, then an assessment followed.

They were speaking about me.

Thinking about what to do with me.

The betrayal struck deeper than any silver blade.

Lysandra said casually, "The blood moon rises tomorrow night; did you know that's when celestial power is at its peak? When the last one lost control entirely and razed three cities to ash?

I murmured, though I doubted it, "That won't happen.

Won't it? She leaned her head. "You can hardly control it now. What happens when it's multiplied tenfold? When every feeling becomes a possible disaster?

The lights flickered before I got a chance to react, then exited entirely.

Emergency lights switched on, casting an eerie crimson hue that made everything seem like it was blood-soaked. As shapeshifters automatically took protective postures, scared voices grew louder.

"Council attack! somebody yelled.

Still, it was not the Council.

In a shower of glass and moonlight, the huge windows at the hall's back burst inside. Dark forms flowed through the apertures; not wolves, but something far worse.

Shadowbeasts:

Over a century, ancient monsters of utter darkness had never been observed. They moved like molten night, their forms constantly shifting, their eyes burning with unholy fire.

Chaos exploded.

Wolves switched mid-stride, their human forms melting into fur and teeth. Against beings made of living darkness, teeth and claws were ineffective. Like paper, the creatures ripped across the pack members.

As Alpha Greyback collapsed, his throat ripped out by monsters that shouldn't exist, I watched in horror. Screams pierced the air, and blood coated the marble floor.

I yelled out, searching among the chaos.

His enormous black wolf form was dancing between their strikes as he fought three Shadowbeasts simultaneously. Still, not even his alpha strength sufficed. One of the creatures struck him across the ribs, pushing him against a pillar.

Fury burst within me.

Silver light burst from my skin, making the crimson emergency lights white-hot. Nearest to me, the Shadowbeasts screeched and retreated, their shapes shaking like smoke in a great breeze.

There were just too many of them, though.

And my power was becoming too great to contain.

The energy in the room began to crackle. Crystal glasses broke. Under my feet, the marble floor broke. A few werewolves fell back, their faces frozen with terror-not of the Shadowbeasts, but of me.

Kael's voice cut through the pandemonium: "Aria, stop! He had reverted to human form with blood flowing from a gash on his forehead. "You're going to bring the whole building down!

I was unable to stop, though. My dread, my wrath, my great need to protect everyone, were all feeding on the power. It was a wildfire in my arteries, destroying all in its wake.

Drawn by the energy emanating from me like moths to a flame, the Shadowbeasts moved in. They craved my strength, wanted to gobble it.

Wanted to devour me.

She first caught my eye then.

A woman I had never seen before stood unaffected by shadow or silver light amidst the turmoil. With platinum hair that appeared to sparkle with its own internal light, she was tall and beautiful. Fangs appeared as she grinned.

Not vampire teeth.

Vampire teeth.

"Hello, tiny star," she shouted, her voice surprisingly loud over the screaming. "I have been seeking you for a very long time.

The Shadowbeasts abruptly ceased attacking. Like soldiers waiting for directions, they turned toward her.

She was not only another menace.

She controlled them.

"Who are you? I inquired, my power still rippling around me like a storm just held in check.

Her smile expanded. "I am Seraphina Blackthorn, Kael's aunt and the person who will teach you what you really are.

Words struck me as if they were a physical hit. Kael looked at me and saw the shock and understanding starting in his eyes.

"That's not possible," he breathed, and died centuries ago.

"Did I? " laughed Seraphina, the sound reverberating against the blood-stained walls. "Or did I just develop past your grasp?

She raised her hand, and the Shadowbeasts started to pull back like a tide of black flowing back through the shattered windows.

"This was just a demonstration; a taste of what's coming," she went on, staring at me with her old eyes. The blood moon draws near, little star, bringing options that will alter all you think you know about power.

She started to vanish like smoke, becoming transparent.

"Find me when you're ready to accept what you really are. Before the Council finds you first.

She then vanished, bringing along her monsters.

Except for the wounded groaning and the crackle of falling debris, the hall went quiet. Marble bears bodies strewn about; some unconscious, others worse. Fear and the smell of blood pervaded the atmosphere.

Looking at the place where Seraphina had been, I stood in the middle of it all, silver light still dancing below my skin.

Approaching gradually, Kael's actions were deliberate, precise, like he was coming toward a ferocious beast.

He murmured, "Aria," then asked, "Are you all right?

I looked at him, this guy I adored, this alpha who claimed to love me regardless. And I witnessed it there in his eyes-the thing Lysandra had advised me against.

Afraid.

Not terror of the Shadowbeasts or the enigmatic vampire who'd just cut through our defenses as if they were nothing.

Fear of me?

I whispered, "I need air," and ran before he could restrain me.

One idea, however, repeated itself with frightening clarity as I hurried through the shattered doors and into the darkness:

The blood moon was scheduled for tomorrow.

Before my power ate everything I had ever loved, I had less than twenty-four hours to find out what Seraphina Blackthorn intended for me.