The cloaked figure didn't blink.
"The Moonblood must die," it repeated, its voice like dry leaves scraping across stone. The mask hid its face, but the menace in its tone was clear.
Ava felt her heart hammering against her ribs.
Aiden stepped in front of her, shifting in seconds. Bones cracked, fur ripped through his skin, and his black wolf stood growling, ready to tear through anything.
But the figure only raised a hand and Aiden's wolf staggered back like it had hit an invisible wall.
He howled in pain and dropped to his knees, shifting back to human, breathing hard.
"Aiden!" Ava shouted, grabbing him.
"Run," he gasped, blood at the corner of his lips. "Run, Ava!"
But Ava didn't run.
She stood.
The mark on her wrist pulsed harder, like it was reacting to the danger. Her body started to tremble, not from fear, but from something inside her. A heat, a vibration. Something ancient, waking up.
The masked figure raised his hand again but this time, Ava raised hers too.
And the air cracked like lightning.
A shockwave blasted from her chest, knocking the cloaked figure back ten feet. Trees swayed. The ground split slightly under her feet.
Aiden stared, wide-eyed. So did the masked attacker.
"What... did I just do?" Ava whispered.
The cloaked figure groaned and stood, his bones snapping back into place. He hissed, this time with caution in his voice.
"She's not ready yet," he snarled. "But she will be. And when the blood moon rises in seven nights... she'll either be awaken fully or burn."
Then he vanished in a cloud of black smoke.
Ava dropped to her knees.
Her skin was hot. Her blood buzzed like electricity.
"Aiden..." she whispered, her voice shaking. "I don't know what's happening to me."
He knelt beside her, pulling her close. His heartbeat thundered under her ear.
"You're awakening," he said. "The Moonblood... it's real. You're not just some lost girl. You're a weapon. Maybe even a queen."
Ava shook her head. "But I don't want to be a queen. I just wanted... to belong."
"You do," he said softly. "With me."
She looked up at him.
He leaned closer. "I was a coward. But I won't be anymore."
Then he kissed her roughly, fierce, desperate. Like he was trying to make up for all the pain, the rejection, the fear.
And Ava kissed him back.
But their moment didn't last.
A grayhaired pack elder furiously, burst through the trees with guards. "Alpha Aiden! You've broken sacred laws. You claimed the rogue!"
Aiden stood, shielding Ava.
"She's not a rogue. She's Moonblood."
"And that's exactly why she's dangerous!" the elder snapped. "She's a threat to every pack in the region."
"She just saved my life," Aiden growled.
"She also just unleashed magic that hasn't been seen in over a century," the elder barked. "The council will decide her fate."
Then the guards grabbed Ava.
She didn't fight. Her hands were still shaking. Her body was weak. She couldn't stop them.
She looked back at Aiden as they dragged her away.
He stared after her, fists clenched, jaw tight.
And as the moon rose fully overhead, red and heavy in the sky, Ava knew nothing would ever be the same again.