Chapter 39 The Blood Moon Rising
Luna’s POV
The gym felt smaller and hotter. Every light, every shimmer of the decorations pressed against me, making the shadows around me twitch and coil.
Kai’s presence above the balcony should have been a relief. It wasn’t. Not fully. Not with Ethan smiling, watching, and calculating, every inch of him radiating control.
And Tyler. Oh, Tyler. Or whatever he’d become. He crouched near the far end of the gym, eyes flicking toward me, twitching unnaturally as if strings pulled him, jerked him forward.
“Stay calm,” I whispered to myself.
I couldn’t.
The shadows along the walls responded to my panic, writhing, twisting, stretching toward the intruder. My heartbeat was loud in my ears, hammering like a drum.
Ethan moved closer, seamlessly weaving through the students without anyone noticing. His hand brushed lightly along the edge of a pillar, and Tyler twitched violently, jerking like a puppet with strings too tight.
“Luna,” Ethan said softly, voice smooth, and low. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Watching them panic. Watching you strain.”
I clenched my fists, with my powers buzzing under my skin. “Stop it,” I hissed. My words were like sparks on dry wood.
He only smiled, tilting his head. “I could stop. But why would I? This is the moment you’ll truly understand… how fragile you are.”
I could feel the shadows tighten. Around me. Around Tyler. And around everything Ethan touched.
Kai’s voice thundered in my head. Do not let him control the moment. Luna, now.
I swallowed, forcing my fear down, forcing the calm I didn’t feel. I reached out…not with my thoughts, not with words…but with the core of me, raw and instinctive.
The shadows obeyed.
They stretched, thickening along the edges of the gym floor, pooling like liquid night, and curling toward Tyler. He hissed, twisting, and clawing, but he couldn’t escape. My power pushed back against Ethan’s control. I could feel it, like a tug-of-war, invisible and brutal.
Ethan’s eyes darkened. That calm, perfect mask cracked for a split second.
“You’re stronger than I thought,” he said, almost amused.
“I’m not done,” I growled.
And then chaos erupted.
Tyler lunged forward, jerking. I reacted instinctively, letting the shadows wrap around him, yanking him back like a living net. He screeched, his body convulsing, eyes wild, and for a second, I thought he might tear free.
Kai moved fast, faster than I could track. He leapt from the balcony with a silent grace, landing behind Tyler. One hand pressed to his chest, the other to my shoulder.
“Luna, focus on me,” he commanded.
I nodded, barely breathing. The shadows hummed in response. Tyler’s body twisted, the dark mist inside him writhing, screaming, but it recoiled from the wall of power I created.
Ethan clapped slowly. Once, twice, and mocking.
“Bravo,” he said. “You’ve learned quickly. But do you feel it? The strain? The blood moon rises soon. And when it does…”
He didn’t finish. He didn’t need to. I knew.
The Blood Moon. The surge of power we’d only felt in whispers, rumors, and nightmares. The night when our limits shattered. When control was ripped from the strongest of us.
My chest burned. The shadows trembled, thickening, and clinging to every surface, waiting for my command.
Tyler twitched again, more violently. This time, his voice came out…not human. A gurgling, hissing sound that made my stomach flip.
“Kai!” I shouted.
He tensed. His claws scraped the gym floor, teeth bared, eyes black as pitch. His body vibrated with raw power. But he didn’t move toward Tyler. Not yet.
Because he trusted me.
I pushed harder. The shadows snapped forward, wrapping around Tyler’s body. They were alive. They screamed with my rage, my fear, and my need to protect. Tyler’s body jerked violently. His shadow-mist howled. And then, finally, it sank into him, drawing back like a tide retreating.
Silence.
The gym was dead quiet. Students froze, eyes wide, phones forgotten. Only Ethan’s presence remained, like a knife-edge calm that sliced through the air.
“You’ve done well,” he said softly, voice like velvet and steel combined. “But the Blood Moon… that’s mine to command.”
I felt it then. The first hint of it. A pulse in the air. A deep, resonating thrum that vibrated through the walls, through the floor, and through me.
Kai’s body tensed beside me. “It’s coming,” he muttered, low, and urgent. “We need to get out. Now.”
I shook my head. “We can’t leave them here. Not yet.”
Ethan’s smile widened, sharp, predatory. “And there it is. The moment I was waiting for. You’re mine to push, Luna. And tomorrow… the night belongs to me.”
Kai’s hand tightened over mine. “Tomorrow we fight. Tonight… we survive.”
I nodded, swallowing hard, feeling the shadows thrum with readiness, my heart hammering.
And in the back of my mind… I knew the Blood Moon was more than just a night. It
was the reckoning. And Ethan… was ready.
But so was I.
And this time… I wasn’t alone.