The forest felt like a second skin.
My paws thundered over the earth as I ran, wind streaking through the black fur that now cloaked me. I didn't know where I was going—I didn't need to. Instinct carried me.
And I let go.
Branches parted for me. The scent of the night air was intoxicating—moss, distant prey, the faint trail of moonflowers. My senses were alive in ways I could never have imagined in my human form.
I wasn't just running. I was freeing something.
But I wasn't alone.
A howl rippled through the trees behind me. Deep. Familiar.
Kane.
I slowed, heart pounding, and glanced back. A silver wolf emerged from the shadows. Sleek. Powerful. Watching me with eyes that glowed like embers under moonlight.
Even in this form, I knew him.
Our gazes locked—and something ancient sparked between us.
He approached slowly, cautiously, like I was a wild thing unsure of its own strength.
And maybe I was.
But I didn't attack. I didn't run.
I let him draw near until his fur brushed mine.
And then, together, we ran.
We moved as one—fluid and fast, like twin shadows darting through the trees.
Kane led me to the edge of the cliffs above the gorge. The moon hung low, full and pulsing with silver light. The blood moon would rise tomorrow, but tonight—it felt like a prelude.
We shifted back near the edge, the transformation painful but faster this time.
I gasped, collapsing on my knees. Naked. Shaking. Covered in sweat.
Kane turned his back to give me a shred of dignity, tossing me a long cloak from a hidden tree hollow nearby.
"Here," he said, voice deep and quiet.
I wrapped it around myself, trembling.
"That... was—" I couldn't even finish.
"I know," he said.
I looked at him. "Is it always that overwhelming?"
He met my eyes. "The first time? Always. You lose who you were... but only to find who you're meant to become."
I sank down on the rock, breath coming in heavy, uneven waves. "I felt like I was dying."
"You were," he said simply. "Your human side was holding too tightly. But she let go."
I thought of the voice from the spring. The ghost—or memory—of my mother.
Stop clinging to the girl you were.
I swallowed hard. "She said it would burn me alive if I didn't let go."
Kane looked over sharply. "Who?"
"I don't know exactly. She looked like my mother. But... I think it was someone else. From beyond the Veil."
He didn't answer right away. Then: "The spirits are watching you. The Veil stirs when someone important is about to rise. You're awakening the bloodline, Elara."
I stared at the moon.
"I don't know what I'm supposed to be."
His jaw tensed. "You're a hybrid. The last born of the Moonveil lineage. The only one who can either open the Gate—or seal it forever."
A chill traced my spine.
"And tomorrow," he said, "when the Blood Moon rises, the others will come for you."
My breath caught. "What others?"
"The Howlborn," he said darkly. "The broken packs. The ones who were twisted by the Rift."
I knew the stories. Packs that were exiled during the Great Culling. Those who swore allegiance not to the moon—but to the Rift that split our kind.
"Why would they come for me?" I asked.
"Because your power can break the Seal. They'll want to use you. Or kill you if you won't bend."
I hugged the cloak tighter. "And what do you want, Kane?"
His silence stretched too long.
Then he stepped closer, his voice low and rough. "I want you to survive."
Later that night, I couldn't sleep.
The Sanctuary was too quiet. My skin still buzzed with residual magic from the shift, and my mind wouldn't shut off.
I wandered the stone corridors, lit only by torches that flickered with strange shadows.
I passed the Hall of Ancients, the glass garden where moonflowers bloomed even in winter, and finally reached the southern wall.
That's where I saw her.
A girl—maybe a year younger than me—with white streaks in her dark braids and a curious scar that ran from her temple to her chin.
She was leaning against the wall, watching the stars.
"You're the new hybrid," she said without turning. Her voice was light. Amused.
"Should I be concerned that everyone knows me before I know myself?"
She chuckled. "Only if you plan on disappointing them."
I raised a brow. "And who are you?"
"Lyra. Tracker. Veil-marked. And possibly the only person who doesn't care who your ancestors were."
That made me smirk, despite everything.
"What are you doing here?"
"Same as you. Waiting for the storm."
She finally turned to face me. Her eyes weren't brown or blue—they shimmered violet. Not natural. Not human.
"You're Veil-touched," I whispered.
She nodded. "I walked through once. Didn't come back the same."
I wanted to ask a thousand questions, but she stepped closer and placed a hand on my arm.
"You've got until sunset tomorrow to figure out who you want to be. After that... war comes."
She pulled something from her cloak. A talon carved from bone, strung on black leather.
"This will help you see through illusions. Don't wear it unless you're ready to face the truth."
She pressed it into my palm.
Then she was gone.
I stared at the talon long after she vanished.
So many were preparing for war. For power. For the return of ancient blood.
And I was still trying to remember how to breathe.
But I knew one thing now, clearer than ever:
I wasn't just a girl who stumbled into a prophecy.
I was the key to a gate the world forgot.
And ready or not, they were coming for me.
Tomorrow, under the Blood Moon, everything would change.
bloodline first?