Chapter 21 Blood And Moonlight
Lira
Tears blurred my vision as I fastened the pendant around my neck. The moment the silver touched my skin, I felt a surge of warmth, of connection to something vast and ancient.
The moon goddess, Selwyn whispered in awe.
But the moment of peace was shattered by Thomas's sharp intake of breath.
"We're not alone," he said quietly.
Through the broken windows, shadows moved between the trees as Kael's hand went directly to his weapon. "How many?"
"Twenty. Maybe more." Thomas's voice was grim. "They've got us surrounded."
The bond flared with Kael's protective instincts, so strong it nearly drove me to my knees. I felt his wolf clawing for control, demanding he get between me and any threat.
"Rogues?" Aria whispered.
"Worse." Kael's voice was stone-cold. "I can smell silver. Someone hired them."
A voice called out from the trees, amused. "Alpha Thorn! What a pleasant surprise to find you trespassing on Silvermoon lands."
A man emerged from the shadows—tall, lean, with auburn hair and sharp green eyes. He carried himself with the confidence of someone who'd never known real defeat.
"Elias Thornfield," Kael growled.
Elias smiled, showing too many teeth. "Now, cousin, is that any way to greet family? Especially when you've brought such an interesting guest."
His green gaze fixed on me, and I felt something cold slither down my spine.
"Lira Ashborne," he continued. "The lost princess returned at last. Tell me, my dear, do you know what your parents really died for?"
"Enough," Kael snarled. "State your business or get out of our way."
"My business?" Elias laughed. "My business is preventing the prophecy from coming to pass. And that requires dealing with our little moonblood problem."
The rogues stepped out of the trees, weapons gleaming. Not just claws and fangs—silver blades, crossbow bolts tipped with wolfsbane.
"You see," Elias continued conversationally, "some of us remember what the old texts really say about eclipse-born wolves. About what they can do when pushed too far."
"What are you talking about?" I demanded.
"The curse, darling. The one that turns moonfire from a blessing into a weapon of mass destruction." His smile turned vicious. "Your mother thought love would be enough to prevent it. But we all know how that ended."
Kael stepped protectively in front of me, every line of his body radiating menace. "You want her, you go through me."
"Oh, I was counting on it." Elias raised his hand, and the rogues tensed to attack. "After all, what better way to push a moonblood wolf past her breaking point than to kill her mate in front of her?"
The first crossbow bolt flew straight at Kael's heart.
Time slowed as I felt the bond scream in warning, felt Kael's wolf surge forward to meet the attack. But there were too many enemies, too many weapons designed specifically to kill werewolves.
They're going to die, I realized with crystal clarity. All of them. Because of me.
And for the first time since the bond completed, I felt Selwyn's power stirring—hungry for justice.
No, I whispered to my wolf. Not like this.
But as silver flashed in the afternoon light and my mate's blood began to flow, I felt the curse my mother had feared beginning to wake.
The crossbow bolt caught Kael in the shoulder, spinning him around. Silver burned through his shirt, and his roar of pain echoed through the ruins.
Through the bond, I felt his agony as if it were my own. But worse than the physical pain was the rage building inside him—berserker fury that would get him killed if he gave in to it.
"Kael!" I reached for him, but Thomas grabbed my arm.
"Stay back," he commanded. "Let us handle this."
More bolts flew as Aria cried out as one grazed her leg. The two unnamed wolves Kael had brought shifted to wolf form, snarling as they circled the rogues.
But it was twenty against six, and their enemies had come prepared.
Elias watched the battle unfold with detached interest, like he was observing a particularly entertaining play. "Magnificent, isn't it?" he called to me over the sounds of combat. "The way wolves fight when they have something to lose."
Kael had shifted now, his massive black wolf tearing into the rogues with savage efficiency. But there were too many, and they kept coming. Silver blades flashed, and I smelled his blood in the air.
He's going to die, Selwyn whispered, and this time my wolf's voice carried an edge of something dark. Our mate is going to die unless we act.
"I can't," I whispered. "I don't know how."
You know, Selwyn corrected. You've always known. You're just afraid.
A rogue broke through their defensive line, silver knife aimed at Thomas's back. Without thinking, I threw myself forward, grabbing a fallen branch to knock the blade aside.
The rogue turned on me with a snarl, and I saw my death in his yellow eyes.
Then Kael was there, his massive jaws clamping down on the rogue's throat. Blood sprayed across the forest floor as he shook the wolf like a rag doll.
But the effort left him exposed. Another rogue, larger than the rest, brought a silver-edged axe down toward Kael's spine.
"NO!"
The word tore out of my throat, carrying suppressed rage and newfound power as silver fire erupted from my skin, racing outward in a circle of destruction.
The axe-wielding rogue screamed as moonfire consumed him. The other rogues scattered, but the silver flames followed them, hunting them down.
Too much, I realized with growing horror. I can't control it.
The fire was spreading beyond the rogues, catching the dry grass, racing toward the trees. Soon it would be a wildfire, burning everything in its path.
Stop, I commanded my power. STOP!
But Selwyn was drunk on the feeling of finally being free, finally being able to protect what mattered. My wolf had spent twenty years caged in darkness, and now that she was loose, she didn't want to go back.
Let them burn, Selwyn whispered. All of them. Everyone who hurt us, everyone who might hurt our mate. Let the world burn clean.
"Lira!" Kael's voice, hoarse from shifting back to human form. "Look at me!"
I turned, and his storm-gray eyes locked onto mine. Through the bond, I felt his absolute faith in me, his certainty that I could control this.
He believes in me, I realized.
Slowly, painfully, I pulled the moonfire back into myself. The silver flames guttered and died, leaving behind scorched earth and the smoking remains of our enemies.
Elias was gone. Somewhere in the chaos, he'd slipped away.
"Coward," Thomas spat, looking around at the aftermath.