Chapter 8: BLOOD UNDER THE MOON

KAEL'S POV

We ran, branches and twigs broke underneath our paws. We tore through the Silverfang territory at our full speed. Serena ran beside me.

Her wolf was the silver one. And she moved like moonlight cutting through shadow. She basically knew what she was doing.

My wolf was a darker color. And I was larger. Anyone who saw my wolf would know that it was built for war.

At first it was the scent. And it wasn't ours. It smelled like iron, smoke and fur that was foreign. One word canme to mind: rogue.

Moments later, we burst into another clearing. This one was smaller and it was near the stones located at the eastern boundary. One of my sentries was already there but he was slumped against a tree, and he was bleeding from his shoulder. Regardless, he was still breathing.

On the other side of this sentry, four wolves. I noticed they weren't from Silverfang neither were they our allies.

Not Silverfang.

Not allied.

I checked their pelts. Well, there were scars there, one could tell. Some patches which had been marked by brands of the old territories. And it had been burned into their flanks.

These were rogues.

But organized.

Too organized.

One of them took a step forward. He was big and was the color of ash. His left ear had been torn off, and those eyes of his looked at us in a calculating manner.

Didn't look to me like he was here to scavenge.

He was here to send a message.

He looked at me first.

Then at Serena.

Seemed to recognize her.

How was that even possible? Made it all the more interesting.

He came at us first.

We attacked back.

Teeth.

Claws.

Impact.

Violence everywhere. I went for the wolf with the missing ear. Slammed into him with enough force to broke one or two of his ribs. The wolf was string as well, had probably trained well. He twisted under my weight and clawed at my flank.

That seemed to hurt a lot. But it was a welcome pain. That was part of the struggle for victory.

From where I was, I glanced at Serena to see how she was faring and I was surprised that she dared better than I did.

Serena moved like she’d been born for this.

Not brute force.

Precision. Like every move of hers was calculated before being executed.

She maneuvered from a bite and struck his throat so fast that he didn't notice. Blood pushed onto the clearing. He fell.

The second one was too show even as he circled her. She finished him off even before he hit the ground.

Some feeling came over me. And it was one of respect. It wasn't...

The ash wolf was still alive and I had almost forgotten. It snapped at my neck and I was lucky to rear back in time. Then I locked my jawd around his shoulder and threw him against a tree. The force was hard enough to crack the bark of the tree.

He staggered — but didn’t retreat.

Instead, he shifted.

Bones cracked.

A man stood before me — body filler with scars, bleeding, smiling.

“You feel it too, don’t you, King?” he asked and it felt like he was taunting me.

I didn’t shift.

Didn’t answer.

He glanced past me — at Serena.

“The Moon stirs,” he said. “And the old packs are waking.”

Old packs.

I didn't like the sound of that.

Serena finished off the last rogue and shifted smoothly into human form. She was breathing hard but that was nothing to worry about.

“Speak clearly,” she ordered.

The rogue grinned wide.

“Your Luna walks unclaimed. That breaks more than ceremony.” He coughed blood but kept smiling. “It breaks seals.”

“What seals?” Serena demanded.

He looked at her.  “Ask your seers about the Northern Veil,” he whispered. And then he bit down hard on something hidden in his teeth.

Poison.

He collapsed before I could reach him.

Man was dead.

Silence in the clearing. Except the shallow breathing of our wounded sentry behind us.

Serena stood still, staring at the rogue’s body. “Old packs?” she said quietly.

I shifted back. The night air was cold against my skin. I felt uncomfortable.

“There are legends,” I said.

“Tell me.”

I hesitated. Why? Because legends weren’t meant to become real.

“Before Silverfang ruled these lands,” I began, “there were five sovereign packs. Not territories. Kingdoms. They were bound by something called the Veil — a pact sealed by blood and by the first Luna.”

“The first Luna?”

“Yes.”

“The one from the prophecy?”

I didn’t answer that immediately. Because I didn’t like where this was heading.

“The Veil was meant to keep them united,” I continued. “But something happened. It split when the Luna died. Unclaimed.”

Serena went very still. “That’s not a coincidence,” she said.

No. It wasn’t.

Behind us, the wounded sentry groaned in pain.

Serena was there before me, knelt beside him, and pressed her hand to his injury to slow the bleeding.

Her touch glowed faintly.

I froze.

So did she.

The light wasn’t bright.

But it was there.

Silver. Moonlit.

The sentry’s breathing grew normal under her touch.

Her eyes lifted slowly to meet mine. “I didn’t mean to—”

“I know,” I said. But I didn't know. Not at all. Lunas could control bonds and strengthen packs. But I didn't know when they became capable of healing. That was something old.

Serena got to her feet.  “This is bigger than us,” she said.

“Yes.”

“Then stop treating it like it’s only about pride.”

Her gaze was steady. Not accusing.

Challenging.

I stepped closer. “It stopped being about pride the moment you walked into that circle,” I said quietly.

She searched my face. “Are you afraid?” she asked.

I almost laughed.

“Of rogues? No.”

“Of me.”

Bold question. But I decided that I would give her an honest answer.

“Yes.” Afraid of her power.

Of what it meant.

Of what it would demand from me.

“I am not afraid of you,” I said finally.

“I am afraid of what happens if I fail you.”

I noticed a change in the wind. There was a new scent. I believed this to be more rogues. And not just four, but more.

“How many?” she asked.

“At least eight,” I said.

She smirked at me.  “Good.”

I raised a brow.

She stepped beside me. “Let them see,” she said softly. “If the Veil is breaking… then they should know Silverfang isn’t.”

This was a woman who rejected a king under the full moon and healed a warrior without trying.

“Stay with me,” I said again.

Her eyes glowed a golden color. "Always.”

The rogues finally arrived out of the trees.

And this time, we didn’t wait for them to strike.