The Ancient Bloodline

The journey to find the Moon Stones would start at dawn. Kai could not sleep. They paced through the little cabin, inspecting their packs for the hundredth time. Food, drink, additional clothes, and the map Eira had created based on historical stories—everything was prepared.

Kai jumped as he heard a faint knock on the door.

"Come in," they said.

Aurora, Rowan's mother, walked inside. Her silver hair gleamed in the lamplight. She was nervous, which was unusual for Alpha Silverfang, her generally confident partner.

"I need to speak with you," she said. "Alone."

Kai nodded, curious. "Rowan is helping Luna get supplies. "We have time."

Aurora closed the door and examined the windows, as if she was frightened someone was listening. Then she took something out of her pocket—an ancient leather pouch.

"I should have told you this long ago," she said. "But I was sworn to secrecy."

Kai's heart pumped quicker. "Told me what?"

"About your mother," Aurora explained. "About who she really was."

Kai froze. Their mother died when they were only babies. Nobody ever talked about her.

"My mother?" Kai whispered. "What about her?"

Aurora's hand trembled as she opened the packet. Inside was a silver pendant shaped like a crescent moon, with a little blue stone in the center. It appeared quite old.

"This belonged to your mother," Aurora explained. "Her name was Lyra."

"I know that much," Kai responded. That was at least what Elder Blackwood had told them.

Aurora shakes her head. "But you do not know her whole name. It was Lyra Silverfang.

The room seems to revolve around Kai. "Silverfang? "Like Rowan?"

"Yes," Aurora answered. "She was my cousin."

Kai dropped into a chair, too frightened to stand. "But that would mean..."

"You are part Silverfang," Aurora revealed. "Not just any Silverfang. Your mother sprung from the original alpha lineage, the first wolves that forged a bond with the moon spirits thousands of years ago."

"That's why I can see visions," Kai said quietly. "Why I could use the blue crystal against Fenrir."

Aurora nodded. "The eldest kid from each generation of the original lineage inherits sight. Lyra had it, too."

"But why didn't anyone tell me?" Kai demanded, his wrath increasing over their shock. "Why keep this secret?"

Aurora's eyes streamed with tears. "Because Lyra was not meant to breed with a Blackthorn wolf. It was forbidden. When she fell in love with your father, both packs were outraged."

"So they hid me away," Kai said bitterly. "Treated me like a nobody."

"To protect you," Aurora insisted. "There were people who wanted you dead, Kai. A youngster with both bloodlines was harmful to wolves that wished to keep the packs apart."

Kai touched the pendant and felt its chilly weight. "Who wanted me dead?"

Aurora paused. "Elder Thorne was one. "But there were others."

"Like who?"

"Like my husband," Aurora confessed, her voice breaking. "Alpha Silverfang refused to accept that his niece had betrayed the pack. He... he told your mother to leave you behind and return to us.

Kai felt like he had been punched. "And she refused."

Aurora nodded. "She ran away with you and your father. They hid in Blackthorn territory, where Elder Blackwood provided protection. But Fenrir discovered them first.

"Fenrir killed my parents?" Kai gasped.

"He was working with Elder Thorne even then," Aurora stated. "Your father died to defend you and Lyra. Your mother was severely hurt, but she was able to deliver you to Elder Blackwood before dying.

Kai's fingers tightened around the pendant. "Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because you need to know the truth before you face what's coming," Aurora told me. "The pendant holds a little portion of the original Moon Stone. It's not much, but it may help you locate the others."

She put the silver chain around Kai's neck. The instant the pendant contacted their skin, it warmed up. The blue stone in the center started to glow faintly.

"It recognizes you," Aurora said. "The true blood of both packs."

"Does Rowan know about this?" Kai asked.

Aurora shakes her head. "No one knows but me and Elder Blackwood. "And now you."

"So Rowan and I..." Kai flushed. "We're cousins?"

"Very distant cousins," Aurora assures them. "The bloodlines split more than twenty generations ago. Your bond as fated partners is far greater than any blood relationship."

Suddenly, the door flew open. Rowan stood there, face blanched.

"Aurora," he exclaimed excitedly. "Father has collapsed. He's asking for you.

Aurora sprung up, terror in her eyes. "Did he say anything?"

"Just one word," Rowan said. "Fenrir."

They hurried to Alpha Silverfang's cabin. The powerful wolf lay in his bed, his skin dark and clammy. Blue streaks stretched across his chest like spider webs.

"What's happening to him?" Kai asked.

Eira was already present, mixing herbs. "Fenrir's shadow binding wasn't completely broken," she stated coldly. "A piece remained, dormant until now."

"Can you help him?" Rowan inquired, his voice breaking.

"I'm trying," Eira said. "But this is old magic."

Alpha Silverfang's eyes flickered awake. When he noticed Kai wearing the pendant, he gasped.

"Lyra's child," he muttered. "I was wrong... so wrong..."

Aurora took her mate's hand. "Save your strength."

Alpha Silverfang shook his head. "Listen," he rasped. "Fenrir knows about the lineage. About Kai. He's not only assembling an army. "He's hunting."

"Hunting what?" Kai inquired, moving closer.

"The other children," Alpha Silverfang murmured. "Others like you... with the ancient blood."

Rowan seemed perplexed. "What is he talking about?"

Aurora became quite still. "Lyra wasn't the only one," she explained softly. "Others had abandoned the pack. "Who had children with outsiders?"

"How many?" Kai questioned.

"Seven families," Aurora explained. "Scattered across different territories."

Alpha Silverfang grasped Kai's wrist with unexpected power. "Find them before he does." "He needs their blood for the ritual."

"What ritual?" Rowan inquired.

But Alpha Silverfang rolled his gaze back. His body convulsed once and then remained still. The blue lines on his chest pulsed and then faded away.

"Father!" Rowan cried.

Eira checked his pulse and nodded. "He's alive, very barely. "I have never seen anything like this before."

Outside, wolves began to howl, a warning signal. Luna burst through the door.

"Scouts spotted shadow wolves near the northern border," she reported anxiously. "At least fifty of them."

"Fenrir's coming for us already?" Rowan asked.

"No," Kai said, touching the bright pendant. "This is not for us." "For him." They pointed at Alpha Silverfang. "Fenrir knows he spoke. "Now he is attempting to silence him."

Luna had a grim expression. "What do we do?"

Kai straightened up and made his decision. "Change of plans. We leave tonight. Rowan, Luna, and Eira: pack only what you can carry. We have to find the other bloodline children before Fenrir does."

"What about my father?" Rowan asked.

"Aurora will keep him safe," Kai said. "And Elder Blackwood will defend Moonhaven."

As everyone hustled to prepare, Kai took a brief trip outside. The moon was nearly full, casting a silvery glow over the settlement. In two months, it would be blood red again.

The pendant became warmer against their flesh. Kai held it up and saw the blue stone pulse like a small heartbeat.

Seven little lights appeared in the shadows beyond the limits of Moonhaven, twinkling like distant stars. Then they disappeared one by one.

And somewhere in the darkness, a wolf howled, full of hunger and victory.