Chapter 10 Chapter 10
Two weeks after I wake up from my battle with the demon, I'm finally allowed out of bed.
Elder Moira insisted I rest completely, letting my body recover from being a vessel. Dante enforced her orders with protective enthusiasm, bringing me every meal, reading to me, keeping the children's visits short so I wouldn't tire.
It was sweet. And suffocating.
"I'm going for a walk," I announce at breakfast.
"Alone?" Dante looks up from his paperwork with concern.
"Yes, alone. I've been cooped up for two weeks. I need fresh air and time to think."
He wants to argue. I can feel it through the bond. But he also knows I need space.
"Stay within the fortress grounds," he finally concedes. "And take your phone."
I kiss his cheek. "Thank you for not being completely overprotective."
"I'm being moderately overprotective. There's a difference."
I laugh and head outside. The morning air is crisp and clean. I walk through the courtyard where warriors are training, waving at familiar faces.
Riley jogs over. "Hey! You're up!"
"Finally. Elder Moira cleared me this morning."
"Want company on your walk?"
I'm about to say yes when I feel it—a strange pull. Not through the mate bond. Something different. Something calling me toward the forest.
"Actually, I think I need some alone time. But thanks."
Riley nods understandingly and returns to her training.
I follow the pull into the forest. It's not threatening, just... insistent. Like someone gently tugging on my sleeve.
I walk for maybe twenty minutes before I reach a clearing I've never seen before. Strange, since I've explored these woods extensively.
In the center of the clearing stands a woman.
She's beautiful in an otherworldly way—tall and slender with long silver hair that flows like water. Her eyes are violet, like mine, but they hold centuries of wisdom. She wears a simple white dress that seems to be made of moonlight itself.
I know who she is before she speaks.
"Moon Goddess," I breathe, falling to my knees.
"Rise, child," she says, her voice like music. "We are beyond such formalities, you and I."
I stand on shaking legs. "Why are you here?"
"To give you a warning. And a gift." She moves closer, and I notice she doesn't quite touch the ground when she walks. "You defeated the demon. This was good. Necessary. But it has awakened something far worse."
My heart sinks. "The demon mentioned others."
"Yes. There is a council of ancient beings—demons, yes, but also fallen gods, corrupted spirits, entities that predate werewolves entirely. They've existed in the void for millennia, feeding on darkness."
"And now they know about me."
"They know a blood moon child was strong enough to destroy one of their own. They're terrified of what that means." The Moon Goddess's expression is grave. "They're planning to attack before you become too powerful to defeat."
"When?"
"I don't know exactly. Time works differently for them. But soon. Within the year, certainly."
I want to sit down, but there's nowhere to sit. "What do I do?"
"You train. You prepare. You gather allies." The Moon Goddess reaches out and touches my forehead. Warmth floods through me. "And you accept my gift."
Images pour into my mind. Knowledge. Ancient techniques for fighting supernatural beings. Spells. Rituals. Battle strategies used by the first werewolves when they fought these entities thousands of years ago.
It's overwhelming. Too much information at once. I gasp and stagger.
"Easy," the Moon Goddess says, steadying me. "Your mind will organize this knowledge over time. You won't remember everything immediately, but when you need it, the information will be there."
"Thank you," I manage. "But why me? Why am I the one who has to fight these things?"
"Because you're the strongest blood moon child born in ten thousand years. Because the prophecy always pointed to you. Because your soul chose this path before you were even born." She smiles sadly. "I'm sorry, Aria. I wish I could give you a normal life. But greatness is often a burden."
"Will I survive? Will my family survive?"
"That depends on the choices you make. The future is not fixed." She starts to fade, becoming translucent. "But I have faith in you. You've already proven yourself capable of the impossible."
"Wait! I have so many questions!"
"And I'll answer them when we meet again. But for now, you need to return to your mate. He's beginning to worry."
She disappears completely, leaving me alone in the clearing.
I stand there for a long moment, processing everything. Then I pull out my phone and see seventeen missed calls from Dante.
Oops.
I call him back. He answers on the first ring.
"Where are you? Are you okay? I felt something weird through the bond—"
"I'm fine. I'm in the forest. I'll be back in twenty minutes."
"What were you doing?"
"Talking to the Moon Goddess."
Silence. Then: "Of course you were. Why would anything about our lives be normal?"
I can hear the exasperation and fondness in his voice. "I'll explain when I get back. It's important."
"Everything with you is important."
When I return to the fortress, Dante is waiting at the entrance. He sweeps me into a hug immediately.
"You scared me. You just disappeared and I couldn't feel you clearly through the bond."
"Sorry. The Moon Goddess apparently blocks the bond when she visits. Privacy reasons, I guess."
He leads me to his office where Elder Moira, Kade, and Riley are already waiting. I tell them everything—the warning, the gift of knowledge, the threat of the ancient beings.
Elder Moira goes pale. "The Council of the Damned. I've read about them in the oldest texts. They're not just powerful, they're nearly immortal. The first werewolves barely drove them back into the void. It took armies of thousands."
"Well, we don't have armies of thousands," Kade points out. "We have maybe five hundred warriors if we combine all allied packs."
"Then we need more allies," I say. "What about the vampires? The witches? Other supernatural creatures?"
"Most of them hate werewolves," Riley says doubtfully.
"But they'll hate the Council of the Damned more. These entities threaten everyone, not just wolves." I look at Dante. "We need to call a summit. Every supernatural faction. Convince them to work together."
Dante's eyes gleam with approval. "A united front. It's risky—getting that many different species in one place could lead to fights. But you're right. It's our best chance."
"I'll start making calls," Kade says, already pulling out his phone.
Elder Moira stands. "I'll search the archives for anything about the Council. Battle strategies, weaknesses, anything that might help."
"And I'll start training harder," Riley adds. "If we're going to war, I want to be ready."
They all leave to begin preparations. Dante and I sit in his office, the weight of this new threat settling over us.
"We just finished one fight," he says tiredly. "Now we're starting another."
"Story of our lives." I lean against him. "But at least we're together this time. No more sacrifices. No more dying."
"I'll hold you to that." He kisses the top of my head. "How are you really feeling? About all this?"
I think about it carefully. "Scared. Overwhelmed. But also... determined. These entities want to destroy everything we've built. Our family, our pack, the safe haven we created for blood moon children. I won't let them."
"We won't let them," he corrects. "It's not just your fight anymore."
Through the bond, I feel his absolute certainty. He'll stand with me against anything. Even ancient, immortal beings who've existed since the dawn of time.
It should terrify me. Instead, it makes me feel invincible.
"We should tell the children," I say. "Maya especially. She needs to know what's coming. She's old enough to start training seriously."
"She's five."
"And she's already powerful. If the Council comes for us, they'll target her too. Better she's prepared."
Dante hates the idea—I feel it through the bond. But he knows I'm right.
"Fine. But we tell her gently. And we don't scare her more than necessary."
We find Maya and Marcus in the playroom with several other pack children. Maya is showing off her powers, making little shields of silver light while the other kids watch in awe.
"Maya, Marcus, come here please," Dante calls.
They run over. Marcus immediately climbs onto Dante's lap. Maya stands between us, looking worried.
"Are you sick again, Mama?" she asks.
"No, baby. I'm fine. But we need to talk to you about something important."
We explain as simply as we can. Bad things are coming. We're going to fight them. And we need her to be brave and train hard.
Maya listens seriously. When we finish, she says, "Like the demon?"
"Similar. But there will be more of them."
"Will you have to die again?"
The question hits me like a punch. "I'm going to try very hard not to."
"Okay." She thinks for a moment. "Can I help fight?"
"When you're older and stronger, yes."
"How much older?"
"We'll see."
She nods, accepting this. Marcus, who's been mostly confused during this conversation, pipes up: "Can I have a cookie?"
Dante laughs and ruffles his hair. "Yes, you can have a cookie."
We take them to the kitchen. As I watch them eat cookies and chatter about normal kid things, my resolve strengthens.
These entities want to take this from me. This normal, happy family moment.
They can try.
But they'll have to go through me first.
And I'm much stronger than they realize.
\---
Over the next month, preparations intensify.
Dante sends out invitations to every major supernatural faction—vampires, witches, fae, shifters of all kinds. Surprisingly, most accept. Apparently, rumors of the Council of the Damned have been circulating in the supernatural world, and everyone is worried.
The summit is scheduled for the new moon, one month away.
I train every day with Elder Moira, learning to access the knowledge the Moon Goddess gave me. Slowly, the information becomes clearer. I learn spells that can harm immortal beings. Tactics for fighting multiple enemies at once. Ancient languages that hold power.
I also train with Dante and Kade, improving my physical combat skills. I'm never going to be as strong as a regular werewolf without my wolf, but I'm faster and more strategic.
Maya trains too. She takes to it naturally, her powers growing stronger daily. She can create shields large enough to protect multiple people. She's learning healing magic. And she's started having visions like mine.
It terrifies me and makes me proud simultaneously.
Marcus is too young to train, but he shows signs of power too. When he's upset, flowers bloom around him. When he's happy, people nearby feel sudden joy. Elder Moira thinks he's an empath, capable of affecting others' emotions.
"Your children are remarkable," she tells me one evening. "They'll be powerful allies when they're older."
"They're five and three. They should be playing with toys, not preparing for war."
"The world doesn't always give us what should be. It gives us what is."
She's right, but I hate it.
The blood moon children from the temple are training too. Fifteen kids between ages six and sixteen, all with different abilities. Together, they're formidable.
One week before the summit, I have another vision.
I see the fortress surrounded by darkness. See creatures pouring from the void—demons, yes, but also things I don't have names for. Things that shouldn't exist.
And in the center of it all, a figure in a black cloak. I can't see their face, but I feel their power. It's massive, ancient, terrible.
The leader of the Council of the Damned.
I wake up screaming. Dante is there immediately, holding me.
"Another vision?"
"They're coming. All of them. Led by someone—something—incredibly powerful."
"When?"
"I don't know. The vision wasn't clear about timing."
Dante's jaw sets in that way it does when he's making a difficult decision. "Then we accelerate our plans. The summit happens in three days instead of one week. I'm calling everyone now."
He spends the rest of the night making urgent calls. By morning, all our allies have agreed to come early.
Three days.
In three days, supernatural beings from all over the world will gather at our fortress.
And hopefully, hopefully, we can convince them to stand together against the coming darkness.
Because if we can't, if we fight divided, we'll all fall.
I watch the sunrise from our bedroom window. Dante comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.
"Nervous?" he asks.
"Terrified."
"Good. Fear keeps you sharp." He kisses my neck. "But we're going to win this. I know we will."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I've seen what you can do when you're fighting for your family. And that scares me more than any ancient council." He turns me to face him. "You're the most powerful being I've ever encountered. And you're mine."
"Ours," I correct. "We're in this together."
"Together," he agrees.
Three days.
Three days until the summit.
Three days to convince vampires, witches, fae, and others to trust werewolves.
Three days to prepare for a war that could end the world.
No pressure.
I take a deep breath and start planning.
We have work to do.