Chapter 34 THE SECRET BENEATH BLOOD MOON

Chapter 34 THE SECRET BENEATH BLOOD MOON

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

The council hall erupted into chaos.

"Three days?"

"That's impossible!"

"Gray Ridge fell less than a week ago!"

"How many wolves does he have left?"

Questions flew from every direction as the wounded scout was carried toward the healer's quarters.

Chris remained motionless, he stood watching the chaos that unfolded in camp. Anna stood beside him, her pulse refusing to slow down.

Draven was only three days away. The reality of it settled heavily over the room.

For weeks, Draven had been a looming shadow, a distant threat and nightmare waiting beyond the horizon.

Now he was real. Close enough to strike, close enough to take everything they loved.

Steve slammed a hand against the council table.

"Quiet!" The room immediately fell silent.

Chris finally looked up. His golden eyes swept across the gathered wolves. Every face reflected the same thing. Raw, undeniable fear.

"We'll prepare for it ." His voice was calm and steady. The voice of an Alpha.

"We fortify every border."

Nobody interrupted.

"We move non-warriors to the eastern shelters." Several elders nodded immediately. "We double the patrols."

"What if he attacks before then?" Tyler asked. The younger wolf's question echoed through the room.

Because everyone was thinking the same but Chris met his gaze. "Then we fight."

Something about the certainty in his voice steadied the room enough to remind everyone who they were.

Blood Moon.

The meeting continued for another hour before Chris finally dismissed everyone.

Patrol assignments were handed out. The Warriors organized defense positions. Healers prepared their supplies. The pack shifted into war mode.

But yet… the unease in Anna's chest remained. She couldn't stop thinking about the letter. The Moonborn bloodline. Draven's obsession with the legend. None of it made sense to her.



By midnight, the territory had grown unusually quiet. Most wolves had finally retreated indoors.

Tomorrow would be exhausting, they needed whatever rest they could get.

Anna expected Chris to return to their cabin. Instead, she found him standing alone outside the old Whitmore’s house.

The original home of Blood Moon's Alphas. A large stone building that had remained untouched for years.

Moonlight illuminated the building. It looked ancient, almost forgotten.

"What are you doing?"

Chris glanced over his shoulder. For the first time all evening, uncertainty crossed his face.

"I think my father knew."

Anna frowned. "Knew what?"

Chris looked toward the old house. "The Moonborn bloodline."

A chill ran down her spine. "You think that's why Draven is coming?"

"I don't know." His jaw tightened.

"But I think answers are in there." The old house had been locked for years.

After his father's death, Chris had rarely entered it.

There were too many memories buried there. Anna walked beside him.

"Then let's find them."

For a moment, he simply stared at her and nodded at her. Together they climbed the stone steps.

The wooden door groaned loudly as Chris pushed it open.

Dust filled the air immediately. The scent of age and abandonment surrounded them. Nothing inside had really changed.

The furniture remained exactly where it had been left years ago. Portraits hung crooked on the walls. Bookshelves lined entire sections of the room.

Anna could almost feel history pressing in around her. Chris moved silently through the darkness. His expression grew more distant with every step.

"This was his office."

He stopped before a heavy oak door. For a second, Anna hesitated. This wasn't just a room. This was his father's legacy. His secrets.

Chris pushed the door open. The office was surprisingly untouched. A desk stood near the window. Stacks of books covered the surface.

Maps were pasted on the walls and behind the desk sat an enormous wooden cabinet. It was locked.

Chris immediately noticed it. "So that's interesting."

Anna raised an eyebrow. "You think?" She paused and stared at Chris.

The cabinet looked older than everything else in the room. The lock itself appeared ancient. Strange symbols were carved on it, moon symbols.

Chris approached the cabinet carefully. Then frowned. "It's already unlocked."

That made both of them pause. Nobody had entered this room in years.

Slowly, Chris opened the cabinet. Inside sat dozens of journals, letters, scrolls and documents. This was his father's personal archive.

Anna exchanged a glance with him. "Looks like we're going to be here awhile."



Hours passed.

They went through different scrolls but nothing made sense to them. Most documents covered normal Alpha business, territory disputes and alliance agreements. Nothing unusual.

Then Anna found something. A leather-bound journal hidden beneath a false panel.

"Chris."

He looked up immediately. "What is it?"

She handed him the book. The cover bore a familiar symbol. A crescent moon surrounded by silver markings.

The same symbol she'd seen in her visions and the same symbol in the letter.

Chris opened it carefully. His father's handwriting filled every page. The first entries appeared ordinary until they reached a section near the middle.

Chris read aloud.

"The legends are true. The Moonborn bloodline survived."

Thick silence filled the room. Anna's heartbeat quickened.

Chris continued.

"I encountered evidence during negotiations with the Western Territories. A child was hidden among humans decades ago to protect her from those seeking the bloodline."

Anna felt her stomach twist. A child hidden among humans?

Chris turned the pages. His expression slowly darkened. Then it froze completely.

"What?" Anna asked her eyes widening.

He didn't answer. Anna stepped closer.

His finger rested on a single line. One sentence.

"The child bears the surname Bennett."

Anna's breath caught immediately. Bennett, her surname.

Her hands immediately began trembling. "No."

The whisper escaped before she could stop it. Chris looked at her. Neither of them spoke.

The evidence sat directly in front of them. The bloodline. The visions. Draven's obsession. Everything suddenly connected.

Anna sank slowly into a nearby chair. The room spun around her. Her entire life had been built upon a lie or at least a secret. A secret even she hadn't known.

Chris kept reading. His face became grimmer with every page.

"What does it say?"

He hesitated, then answered quietly.

"My father knew about you years ago."

Anna looked up sharply. "What?"

Chris swallowed. "He knew the Moonborn line survived."

The revelation stunned them both. "But how?"

"I don't know." His voice sounded strained. "But apparently he spent years protecting information about your family."

Anna stared at him. Trying to process everything.

Chris reached the final pages and abruptly stopped. His entire body went rigid.

Fear shot through Anna instantly. "Chris?"

His eyes remained fixed on the page.

"Chris, what does it say?."

Slowly… He handed her the journal.

Anna looked down at the pages. The final entry had been written shortly before his father's death. The handwriting appeared rushed. As if the writer had known time was running out. The words sent ice through her veins.

"If Draven discovers the truth, Blood Moon will become his target."

She swallowed hard then read the next line. She felt her world stop for a brief moment.

"The greatest danger does not come from outside our pack."

Anna's pulse thundered violently against her ears. The next sentence was underlined twice.

As though Chris's father had wanted to ensure it was never overlooked.

"Beware the wolf closest to your son."

Silence fell heavily in the room. The room suddenly felt much colder.

There was only one person close enough to fit that description. Steve.

Anna's vision flashed through her mind. The shadow beside Draven. The betrayal. Her blood ran cold.

For the first time since the vision… Chris looked genuinely afraid.