The Moon Whispers

Three days had passed since Silas collapsed. The black veins had faded from his skin, but he remained weak, spending most of his time in bed surrounded by his books and scrolls.

Aria sat by his bedside, watching him scribble notes with shaky hands.

"You should be resting," she said, taking the pen from his fingers.

Silas looked up, his amber eyes tired but determined. "Time is running out. For all of us."

"Don't say that," Aria whispered. She couldn't bear the thought of losing any of them. Despite everything, the bond had grown stronger each day. She felt their emotions like they were her own—Riven's struggle, Kade's passion, Silas's fear.

"Your training with Kade starts today, doesn't it?" Silas asked, changing the subject.

Aria nodded. After four brutal days with Riven, learning to fight and stand like a Luna, she would now train with the middle brother.

"Be careful," Silas warned. "Kade feels the bond most strongly. He won't hold back like Riven does."

Before Aria could ask what he meant, the door opened. Kade stood there, grinning.

"Ready for some real fun, little omega?" he asked.

Unlike Riven's cold training sessions, Kade took Aria to the heart of the pack grounds. Pack members stopped to stare as they passed.

"Today's lesson: presence," Kade announced, spinning to face her. "A Luna doesn't hide in shadows. She shines."

"But they all hate me," Aria said quietly, feeling the weight of dozens of stares.

"They fear what they don't understand," Kade replied. He took her hand, sending that now-familiar warmth through her body. "Show them who you really are."

For the next hour, Kade led her through the pack, introducing her to everyone from pup caretakers to hunters. He showed her how to speak with authority, how to listen to pack problems, how to stand beside an Alpha.

"See? Not so hard," he said as they took a break near the pack's garden.

Aria had to admit it felt good to be seen after years of being invisible. Some pack members had even smiled at her. "You make it look easy."

"That's because I'm not fighting it," Kade said, suddenly serious. He stepped closer, his hazel eyes intense. "Not like Riven."

"Fighting what?"

"This." Kade placed his hand over her heart. "What's between us."

Aria's breath caught. When Kade touched her, the bond flared hot and bright, making her dizzy with emotions that weren't entirely her own.

"Kade," she started, not sure what to say.

"I know you feel it too," he whispered, leaning closer. "Stronger with me than with them."

Before she could respond, a child's scream pierced the air.

They spun to see a young girl, no more than six, hanging from a high branch in the ancient oak tree. Her grip was slipping.

"Help!" she cried.

Pack members rushed forward, but the branch was too high. Even in wolf form, no one could reach her.

Without thinking, Aria ran toward the tree. Something inside her, something wild and powerful, pushed to break free. She raised her hands toward the girl.

"Jump!" she called. "I'll catch you!"

"Are you crazy?" someone shouted. The girl was at least twenty feet up.

But the child looked into Aria's eyes and let go.

Time seemed to slow. Aria felt energy rush through her body, from her core to her fingertips. The air around her hands shimmered with silver light.

The girl didn't fall—she floated, gently lowered by an invisible force until she landed safely in Aria's arms.

Silence fell over the gathering crowd. The girl looked up at Aria with wide eyes.

"You made me fly," she whispered in awe.

Then the murmurs started:

"Did you see that?" "Magic..." "The Moon Goddess's power..." "The curse..."

Kade pushed through the crowd, his face a mix of shock and pride. "Aria?"

But Aria couldn't answer. The power that had flowed so easily now drained away, leaving her legs weak. Darkness edged her vision.

Strong arms caught her before she fell. Not Kade's—Riven's. He had appeared from nowhere, his face grim.

"Get her inside," he ordered Kade. "Now."

As they carried her back to the pack house, Aria caught glimpses of faces in the crowd. Some showed fear, others wonder. And there, at the back, Elder Varyn watched with narrowed eyes, his thin lips moving in silent words.

Inside, they laid her on a couch. Alpha Magnus and Silas rushed in, followed by Maelin.

"What happened?" the Alpha demanded.

"She saved Clara," Kade explained, still looking stunned. "With... magic."

"Not magic," Maelin corrected, kneeling beside Aria. She touched the crescent mark on Aria's shoulder, which burned hot. "Birthright."

Aria felt strength returning slowly. "What's happening to me?"

The Alpha and Maelin exchanged looks. Something passed between them, some old secret.

"Tell her," Silas said from the doorway, leaning heavily on a cane. "She deserves to know."

Alpha Magnus sighed heavily. "It's not safe—"

"None of this is safe," Riven cut in. His voice was hard, but when he looked at Aria, something softer flickered in his eyes. "The power is waking up whether we tell her or not."

The Alpha paced the room, then nodded to Maelin. "You were there. You tell her."

Maelin sat beside Aria, her strange eyes serious. "The night you were born, the moon turned blood red. Your mother knew what it meant—the curse that had slept in your bloodline for generations had awakened in you."

"My mother?" Aria whispered. She had no memory of her parents. She'd been told they died in a rogue wolf attack when she was a baby.

"She was more than she seemed," Maelin continued. "As are you. That night, she begged me to seal your power away, to save you from the fate that comes with it."

"What fate?" Aria asked, her heart pounding.

"The fate of all Moon Daughters," Maelin said quietly. "To love, to lose, and to destroy everything they touch."

The room fell silent. Outside, clouds covered the sun, casting shadows through the windows.

"But the seal is breaking," Silas said. "With each day, more power escapes."

"And the curse grows stronger," Riven added grimly.

Kade, who had been unusually quiet, suddenly knelt in front of Aria and took her hands. "It doesn't matter. We'll face it together."

"Always the romantic," Elder Varyn's scratchy voice came from the doorway. He entered slowly, his ancient eyes fixed on Aria. "But this is beyond romance. The girl must be contained before she brings destruction upon us all."

"Contained?" Kade growled, rising to his feet. "She's not a prisoner. She's our mate!"

"She is the Moon's curse made flesh," Elder Varyn hissed. "Look what happened today—power she can't control. And that's just the beginning."

"That's enough, Elder," the Alpha commanded.

But Varyn wasn't finished. "The prophecy is clear: 'When the daughter's power breaks free, blood will flow like rivers to the sea.' We must act now, before it's too late."

"No one is acting against Aria," Riven said, surprising everyone with his fierce tone. "She is under my protection."

"And mine," Kade added.

"And mine," Silas echoed, his quiet voice firm.

Elder Varyn's face darkened. "Then you doom us all." He turned and left, his walking stick tapping a rhythm like a heartbeat against the floor.

That night, Aria couldn't sleep. The events of the day kept replaying in her mind. The power that had flowed through her had felt right, natural—not like a curse at all.

A soft knock interrupted her thoughts. Silas stood at her door, looking better than he had in days.

"May I come in?" he asked.

Aria nodded, making room for him to sit beside her on the bed.

"I've been researching," he said, his voice low. "About the Moon Daughters. The true story, not the twisted version Varyn tells."

"And?" Aria asked eagerly.

"The curse isn't what they think," Silas whispered. "It's not your power that's cursed—it's how others try to control it."

Aria's heart raced. "I don't understand."

"The Moon Goddess blessed her daughters, not cursed them," Silas explained. "But men feared their power and tried to contain it. That's when the tragedy happened."

"What tragedy?"

Silas hesitated, then reached for her hand. The moment their skin touched, something strange happened. A vision flashed between them—a woman with silver eyes standing beneath a blood moon, surrounded by wolves, her hands glowing with light.

Aria gasped and pulled away. "What was that?"

"Memory," Silas said, looking shaken. "Not yours or mine. Older. From the bond itself."

"I need to know more," Aria insisted.

"It's dangerous," Silas warned. "Elder Varyn is watching all of us. But tonight..." He leaned closer. "Tonight when the moon rises, meet me at the ancient oak. I'll show you what I've discovered."

After he left, Aria lay back on her bed and closed her eyes. Sleep came suddenly, pulling her into strange dreams.

She stood in a forest clearing under a blood-red moon. Three wolves circled her—one black, one brown, one golden. Beyond them, shadows gathered, watching with hungry eyes.

"Choose," a voice whispered from the moon above. "Choose or lose them all."

The wolves began to change, becoming the three brothers. Each held out a hand to her.

"Time is running out," they said with one voice.

Blood began to drip from the moon, falling like rain around them. Where it touched the ground, flowers grew—beautiful and deadly.

"The curse or the blessing," the voice said. "It was always your choice."

Aria woke with a gasp, her nightgown soaked with sweat. Outside her window, the moon was rising, full and bright.

It was time to meet Silas.

As she slipped out of bed, she didn't notice the figure watching from the shadows outside her window. Nor did she see the dark smile that crossed Elder Varyn's face as he clutched a strange pendant in his withered hand.

"Come, Moon Child," he whispered. "Walk into my trap."