They Found Them

The night air was sharp with pine and panic.

Ava's legs ached as she ran, dodging low-hanging branches and trying not to trip on roots hidden beneath the leaves. Behind her, Aiden moved like a shadow, quick, focused, constantly glancing back to make sure she was still with him.

The forest felt alive. Every rustle of leaves, every snap of a twig sounded like a threat.

"Where are we going?" Ava asked, her voice low, breathless.

"There's a safehouse," Aiden said without slowing down. "It is an old one but it's protected and should buy us time."

Ava didn't ask how he knew about it. Right now, she just needed to believe it existed.

They pushed through the undergrowth until the trees thinned, revealing a stone cabin hidden behind a curtain of ivy. It looked ancient, but solid like it had stood through storms and wars.

Aiden led the way inside.

The moment Ava crossed the threshold, she exhaled. It was surprisingly warm. A small fire crackled in the hearth, casting a soft orange glow across the room. There was already food on the table. Blankets stacked near the corner. Someone had been here… recently.

"You sure it's safe?" she asked.

He nodded. "For now."

Before Ava could sit, there was a soft knock at the back door. She froze, her instincts flaring.

Aiden motioned for her to stay put and approached the door cautiously.

Then he opened the door and Ava almost collapsed with relief.

"Mara?"

Mara stepped inside, cloaked and damp from the forest, her dark eyes sharp.

"I figured you'd need this." She dropped a worn satchel onto the table and pulled out a stack of items, maps, scrolls, and a thick leather book that looked older than all of them combined.

Ava stepped closer, her eyes catching the title etched in faded gold:

Bloodlines of the Moonborn.

She swallowed hard.

"This was banned years ago," Mara said. "The Elders destroyed every copy they could find. But my grandmother hid this one."

Aiden flipped the book open, skimming pages with practiced hands. "Moonborn… they were real? Not just some old story?"

"They were more than real," Mara said. "They were powerful Guardians of balance until the packs attacked them."

Ava leaned in, eyes scanning through drawings. There were wolves wreathed in flame, sigils etched in blood, a woman standing beneath a burning moon.

One image made her stop.

A white wolf standing in fire.

The same one from her dreams.

"This is me," she whispered.

Mara nodded slowly. "You're not cursed, Ava. You're the last of them."

A heavy silence fell.

Aiden looked between the two of them, jaw tight. "And the Elders? They know?"

"They suspect. That's why they wanted you locked away before the Blood Moon."

Ava flipped to a marked page. The words there chilled her more than the dungeon ever had.

"When the Blood Moon rises over a divided pack, the Lost One shall awaken. If bound, she brings ruin. If freed, she brings reckoning."

She closed the book slowly. "So… they're afraid I'll destroy everything they've built."

"Maybe you will," Mara said, not unkindly. "Or maybe you'll build something better."

Before Ava could reply, a sound tore through the night, a howl, long and low, that didn't sound natural.

They all froze.

Then came the rustle of leaves.

The snap of branches.

Aiden moved to the window and pulled back the curtain.

Eyes.

Dozens of them glowing in the darkness.

"They found us," he said.

Ava stood up. Her heart raced, but her hands were steady now.

"I'm done running."

Aiden glanced at her, pride flickering in his eyes. "Then we fight."

The firelight caught in Ava's eyes and just for a second, something flickered behind them.

Something ancient.

Something waking.

The white wolf was stirring.

And the Blood Moon was only hours away.