Chapter Four – The Blood Moon
569 Words
The sky had turned an unnatural crimson by mid-afternoon. Even from my basement window, I could see the horizon bleeding into scarlet and gold, the clouds glowing as if lit from within. The villagers in the nearby woods had long feared this phenomenon—the Blood Moon, they whispered, was a sign of upheaval and change, of power shifting in ways no one could predict.
I felt it too.
Carrying a basket of linens across the courtyard, I kept my head bowed, trying to blend into the shadows. The ground beneath my feet felt alive, pulsing with an energy I didn’t yet understand. My chest ached with anticipation, my muscles tense. Something was waking inside me, something that had waited patiently for this night.
Lyra, of course, made it impossible to ignore her. She had dressed in a deep crimson gown to match the sky, gold thread glinting in the moonlight. Her hair shimmered like liquid fire as she moved through the crowd, her grin sharp and predatory. Around her, her friends fawned, hanging on every word.
“The Moon Goddess herself favors me tonight,” she announced, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Kael will see the truth, and all will know that I am his Luna!”
Murmurs and nods spread through the gathered pack members, though some looked uneasy. The Alpha’s eyes scanned the crowd, lips tight, jaw clenched. I noticed the Luna, Kael’s mother, bite her lip in worry, her pale hands twisting together in her lap.
I tried to ignore it all, but the thrumming inside me refused to be ignored. My pulse raced, and my ears felt hot. The basket of linens trembled in my grip.
Then it began.
A sharp pain tore through my spine, like fire lacing my bones. I stumbled, spilling the linens to the cold, stone ground. My vision blurred as the energy inside me surged. I gasped, falling to my knees, clutching at my chest. The world tilted and swayed. The crowd’s murmurs turned to shocked cries.
“She’s shifting!” someone shouted.
I shook my head violently. No. This wasn’t possible. Omegas didn’t shift like this—certainly not before twenty. Certainly not like… this.
My body convulsed, bones reshaping, muscles tearing as if from the inside. Fur—white as fresh snow—sprouted across my skin, glowing faintly in the Blood Moon’s light. My claws lengthened, my teeth sharpened, and the air around me hummed with energy.
I tried to scream but only a howl escaped, loud and raw, echoing across the courtyard and into the surrounding woods. People scattered in shock.
Lyra shrieked, her hand flying to her mouth. “No! This is impossible! She can’t—”
Kael’s horse thundered into the courtyard, hooves pounding the cobblestones. He swung down, landing lightly, his gray eyes locking onto me. The world seemed to pause. His wolf stirred behind his gaze, as if recognizing something only it could see.
“Elara,” he whispered.
Something in me answered. My chest ached, a strange heat pulling me toward him. I wanted to run, to flee the chaos, but instinct and destiny both pushed me forward. The world blurred around us, the Blood Moon washing everything in silver and scarlet, and I felt… more than I had ever felt.
I was no longer the shadow of Blackwood Manor. I was something else, something dangerous, something powerful.
- Writer
