Chapter 67: First Attack

The night air was thick with tension. The message carved into the tree—"The Blood Moon is not over."—had settled deep into the pack’s bones like an unshakable curse.

Aria stood at the pack’s meeting ground, her fingers unconsciously resting on her stomach. A life was growing inside her, but a storm was brewing outside.

Ryker approached, his face grim. “We doubled the border patrols like you said, but something doesn’t feel right.”

Aria frowned. “What do you mean?”

He exhaled, running a hand through his dark hair. “It’s too quiet.”

The wolves were restless, pacing, their instincts screaming of an unseen threat.

Then came the first scream.

The pack sprinted toward the southern edge of the territory, where a scout’s cry had shattered the silence.

When Aria arrived, her heart stopped.

Two patrol wolves lay dead. Their throats had been slashed cleanly, blood pooling beneath their bodies.

But there was no sign of struggle.

No scent of an intruder.

Liam knelt beside one of the bodies, his fingers pressing against the torn flesh. “These weren’t done by claws.”

Aria’s hands clenched. “A blade?”

“Something sharper.”

Before she could respond, a rustling came from the trees. The pack whirled, shifting into defensive positions.

But when the figure emerged from the darkness, Aria’s breath caught.

It was a woman.

Tall, draped in a dark cloak, her presence seemed to warp the air around her.

Her voice was smooth, almost amused. “You don’t remember me, do you?”

Aria’s pulse quickened. “Who are you?”

The woman pulled back her hood.

Dark crimson eyes. A cruel smile.

“Call me Selene,” she said. “I’m here to collect what’s owed.”

Ryker growled. “You’re the one who killed our patrol?”

Selene tilted her head. “Only the weak ones. The rest I left alive—barely.”

Aria stepped forward, power surging through her veins. She wasn’t just some pack leader. She was Kael’s mate, the Guardian of the pack.

And she wasn’t afraid.

“I don’t know who you think you are,” she said coldly, “but you made a mistake coming here.”

Selene smirked. “Oh, I think not.”

Then, without warning,The trees exploded.

Dozens of dark-cloaked figures surged from the shadows, their movements unnaturally fast.

Aria barely had time to react before claws slashed toward her face. She dodged, countering with a burst of strength, sending her attacker flying.

Around her, the pack was under siege.

Ryker had already shifted, tearing into an enemy, while other wolves fought tooth and nail to hold the line.

But these enemies weren’t ordinary.

They moved like ghosts.

Fading in and out of the darkness. Using shadows to strike and disappear.

Aria swung at another attacker—only for her claws to pass through empty air.

A whisper brushed against her ear.

“You can’t protect them, Guardian.”

She whirled around, but no one was there.

Selene’s laughter rang through the battlefield.

“You think Kael’s sacrifice changed anything?” she taunted. “The Blood Moon was never about him. It was about what comes after.”

Aria’s chest tightened.

What comes after?

Then, through the chaos, her gaze locked onto something.

A symbol.

Etched into the ground in blood.

And she knew, with chilling certainty.

This wasn’t just an attack.

It was a ritual.