POV: Aira Moonstone
The scream tore from her throat before she even opened her eyes.
Aira shot upright in bed, drenched in sweat, chest rising and falling in heavy gasps. Her heart raced wildly, like it was trying to break free from her ribs.
She blinked rapidly, trying to separate reality from nightmare—but it still clung to her like a second skin.
The forest had been burning. Blood coated the earth, the sky was stained red, and everything around her was crumbling. And in the heart of it all stood him.
The man from ten years ago.
The same crimson-eyed monster who had taken her mother's life.
Only now, he looked older—his hair streaked with gray, his shoulders broader, a thick black cloak hanging from his frame like a mantle of death. But his eyes… they hadn't changed.
"I've been waiting for you… little wolf," he had whispered, his voice curling around her like smoke.
Her breath caught.
She placed a trembling hand over her pounding heart.
It wasn't just a dream…
Her wolf, Nina, stirred inside her. There was no mistaking the warning in her low growl.
"He's real.""And he's close."
Aira wrapped her arms around herself, squeezing tight as if she could hold the fear in.
Today was supposed to be a new beginning.
But it felt like the end of something.
She walked quietly through the early morning mist, her footsteps crunching against frost-kissed grass as she made her way toward the one place that gave her peace—the cemetery.
Rows of pale stone markers rose like ghosts from the ground. Aira didn't have to look to find her mother's grave. Her feet knew the path like a prayer.
Selene MoonstoneBeloved mate, warrior, and mother.Gone but never forgotten.
Aira knelt beside it, brushing away the fallen leaves, her fingers tracing the carved letters.
"I had the dream again," she whispered.
Her voice cracked.
Her throat burned.
"I saw him. The Rogue King. Just like that night... when you died."
Tears welled in her eyes but didn't fall. She had cried enough over the years to know when her body had nothing left to give.
Nina stirred again.
"It's time."
Aira nodded faintly. "I know."
She pressed her forehead to the cold stone. "It's my birthday today. I'm eighteen."
She swallowed the lump in her throat.
"I wish you were here."
As the sun climbed higher, Aira walked toward school, the sky above her strangely tinted—soft shades of red laced the clouds, casting an eerie glow on everything.
It was the Blood Moon.
A sacred day in werewolf legend.
According to history, it was the night Selene, the Moon Goddess, received her divine powers from the stars. Her avatar had been born on a night just like this one—marked by fate, chosen to shift the balance between light and dark.
Some packs celebrated the Blood Moon with feasts and ceremonies.
Others feared it, whispering stories of prophecy, destruction, and rebirth.
For Aira, it was both.
Because today, she would finally come of age.
Tonight, her mate would be revealed—if she had one.
And that was what terrified her most.
"Happy Birthday, you glowing, glorious wolf!" came a voice from behind her.
Aira turned to see Lila Ashwood, bounding down the sidewalk, a wild grin on her face, a bouquet of mismatched wildflowers in hand.
Aira smiled, a genuine warmth blooming in her chest. "You remembered."
"Of course I did!" Lila said, wrapping her in a hug. "You think I'm gonna forget the day my best friend might meet her mate?"
Aira chuckled, though her heart ached at the word mate.
"I… I'm scared, Lila," she admitted softly.
Lila pulled back, searching her eyes.
"What if he rejects me?" Aira whispered. "What if he sees I'm just… me? Just a weak, unwanted omega?"
"Stop that," Lila snapped gently. "You're not weak. And if any guy rejects you, that's his loss. But if it is your mate, I'll be right there with you. I promise."
Aira nodded, blinking quickly to push down the tears.
"Can I ask something?" she murmured.
"Anything."
"When it happens—when I find him—will you… will you stay close to me? Please?"
Lila squeezed her hand. "I wouldn't dream of being anywhere else."
As they walked into school, Aira felt her chest lighten. Just a little.
But even with Lila beside her, the air felt heavy.
The scent of something wrong lingered at the edge of her senses. Shadows stretched too long. Her wolf growled again in warning.
"It's coming."
She didn't know what.
But tonight, under the Blood Moon, her fate would rise.
And something would come to claim her.