Chapter 48 The Attack in the Dark

Chapter 48 The Attack in the Dark
Arya's POV

Night in the palace never felt so wrong. It was too still—too silent, like the shadows were waiting for something to happen.

I wrapped my arms around myself as I walked down the corridor, heading back to my room after another exhausting argument with Kaden. Crescent Fang’s ultimatum hung over the palace like a storm cloud.

Hand Arya over… or face war.

The council wanted me locked up by morning. Kyle had fought them until he nearly lost his voice. None of it mattered—their fear was growing, and so was mine.

My wolf suddenly tensed. A low, warning growl rippled through my chest. I sensed danger.

I stopped walking. The torches on the wall flickered even though there was no wind. My heartbeat thudded once—hard and sharp.

“Kyle?” I whispered.

No answer. He usually patrolled this hallway around this hour. The fact that he wasn’t here made something cold settle in my stomach. I picked up my pace.

The eastern corridor was darker than usual. Only a few torches burned, weak and trembling. Then I smelled it. A mixture of metal, sweat and blood.

My instincts roared. “KYLE!”

I sprinted forward, turned the corner and my world shattered.

Kyle was on the ground, struggling beneath two masked assassins. A third held a blade to his throat. Two more circled around him like wolves waiting to strike.

There were five of them. All masked. All deadly. None of them belonged to this palace.

“Kyle!” I choked out.

His eyes snapped open—wild, desperate. “Arya…No! Run!”

I didn’t. I couldn’t.

The nearest assassin rushed at me, blade drawn. I dodged, but another grabbed my arm and slammed me against the wall. Pain exploded through my shoulder.

Kyle snarled, fighting with everything he had. The blade at his throat dug deeper. A thin line of blood trailed down his skin.

“Let him go!” I screamed.

No one listened.

The assassin holding me whirled me around and slammed me again. My head spun. My wolf howled inside me, rage and fear twisting through my bones.

Kyle’s voice broke as he struggled.
“Arya—get out of here!”

But the assassin behind him raised his blade, and everything inside me snapped.

A burning heat tore through my chest. My vision blurred, then sharpened. My hearing magnified until I could hear every breath, every heartbeat, every shift of metal.

My bones trembled. My skin crawled.
My wolf screamed— Shift. Now.

I dropped to my knees as fire ripped through my spine. My nails lengthened. My skin burned. The world dissolved into white-hot pain.

This wasn’t a normal shift. It was violent. It felt chaotic. It looked primal.

My vision turned silver. When I lifted my head, I was no longer on two legs.

The world sharpened into terrifying clarity. I stood on four massive paws, my fur glowing in the dim light—white and ethereal.

My eyes burned, silver in colour. Bright. Deadly.

The assassins froze.

“What…what is that?” one whispered.

Another stumbled back. “Impossible—”

A growl rumbled from my chest, deeper than anything I had ever made. My wolf surged forward.

She didn’t think. She didn’t hesitate. She just attacked.

I launched at the closest assassin. My jaws clamped onto his shoulder—bone cracked between my teeth. He screamed. Another swung a blade, but I hurled the first assassin into him. Metal clattered, bodies hit the floor.

A third attacker rushed me—too slow. My claws tore across his chest. Blood hit the ground, hot and fast.

They tried to regroup. They couldn’t.

The fear in their eyes fed the fire inside me.But then, a voice called out.

“A-Arya…”

Kyle. His voice cut through everything.

He was still pinned beneath the last assassin, who held his blade in shaking hands, terrified of me yet desperate to kill.

I lunged. My jaws snapped around his forearm. He dropped the blade with a cry. Kyle rolled away just as I ripped the attacker off him and threw him against the wall.

His scream ended quickly. Silence slammed into the hallway. Only our breathing filled the space—mine, rough and wild, and Kyle’s, shaky and uneven.

I turned toward him slowly. His eyes were wide—fear, shock, awe tangled together.

“Arya…” he whispered, staring at my silver eyes, my glowing fur. “Spirit… it’s really you.”

My wolf took a step closer. He didn’t back away. He reached out, his hand trembling and touched my fur gently.

His voice was barely a breath. “You saved my life.”

For a moment, everything stilled. His touch softened the wildfire in my chest. I lowered my head, brushing my nose against his arm.

Then, a sharp gasp shattered the moment. We both turned.

Lyria stood at the end of the hallway, hands over her mouth, eyes wide with terror… and twisted satisfaction.

“She—she’s a monster,” she whispered, voice trembling. “A monster among us…”

Kyle stood quickly. “Lyria, don’t—”

She stumbled back, horrified.
“No. No, this—this is wrong. Everyone will know. The queen… the council… they’ll see what she really is.”

Her eyes flickered with something ugly. Sweet victory. Footsteps thundered from behind her—guards rushing toward the scene.

Kyle’s breathing hitched.

“Arya… shift back,” he begged in a low, cracking voice. “Please.”

But I couldn’t. The silver blaze was still inside me—wild, uncontrollable. My body refused to obey. My wolf held control.

The guards reached Lyria’s side just as she pointed at me, her voice high and sharp:

“LOOK AT HER! SHE’S NOT NORMAL—SHE’S A LUNA WOLF!”

The words slammed through the hallway. Gasps erupted from the guards. They all knew the story. Luna Wolves were not legends of peace.
They were legends of destruction.

Ancient records said only one thing: Kill a Luna Wolf before it grows too powerful.

The guards raised their weapons. Kyle moved instantly. He stepped in front of me, claws out, shoulders squared, eyes blazing.

“Anyone who touches her…,” he growled, voice dripping with lethal promise, “...dies.”

The silence was heavy. Fear thickened the air. Not fear of Kyle. Not fear of the dead assassins. Fear of me. Of what I had become. Of what I truly was. The Luna Wolf.