📖 Episode 6 – The Blood Moon Rises
By SpeciallyMade
(Approx. 2,000 words)
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The fog parted around her, curling like smoke as Raven stood before the kneeling Enforcers. Her limbs still pulsed with the strange silver power, her breath visible in the cold air. For a moment, there was no sound but the low thrum of her heartbeat.
Lucas took a cautious step forward. "You… commanded them."
Raven turned to him slowly, her silver-blue eyes flickering like fire and ice. "I didn't mean to. It just happened. I felt something snap open inside me."
Morrana approached from the shadows, her eyes glinting. "You didn't command them, child. You awakened them. The Moonbound heir does not rule with fear—but with blood. You carry the mark that binds all wolves."
Raven stared down at her hands. The claws had retracted. Her skin shimmered faintly, then returned to normal. "Why now? Why me?"
"The Blood Moon nears," Morrana said. "That's when your full power will awaken. The Council knows this. They sent the Enforcers to kill or capture you before then. But now…" She looked toward the kneeling figures. "They'll report back. They've seen what you are."
Lucas grimaced. "We need to move. If the Council knows she awakened them, they'll come with everything they've got."
Raven shook her head. "No. No more running. I need to understand what I am. What I can do."
Morrana smiled faintly. "Then you must undergo the Rite of Reflection."
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The Rite
Deep beneath Hollow Creek lay the ruins of a long-forgotten temple, its entrance hidden beneath twisted roots and stone. Morrana led them into the underground catacombs, lit only by blue flames that burned without heat.
At the center of the chamber was a pool of dark water. Silent. Still.
"This is the Mirror of Blood," Morrana said. "To enter it is to face your truth. Your ancestors. Your curse."
Raven swallowed hard. "And if I'm not ready?"
"You'll drown in your own reflection."
Lucas placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be right here when you return."
She nodded, stepped to the edge of the water, and breathed in deeply. Then she lowered herself in.
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Within the Mirror
The water was icy at first, biting through her skin, through her bones. But as Raven sank deeper, the cold faded. She wasn't underwater anymore. She was somewhere else.
A forest. Moonlit. Silent.
She was standing barefoot in the snow. The trees around her bled shadows, and in the distance, wolves howled.
Then she saw them.
Three figures emerged from the darkness. One was a woman—her mother. Soft eyes. Long hair. She radiated peace.
The second was a man—her father. Strong. Weathered. A fighter.
The third was cloaked in shadows. It moved like smoke, its face a shifting void.
Her mother stepped forward. "You have come far, my daughter."
"Mama?" Raven whispered.
The woman nodded. "I am only a memory, but I left part of my soul here—so you'd know the truth."
"I don't understand."
The shadowed figure growled. "Because you haven't chosen."
Her father stepped forward, his voice like thunder. "The curse in you is not a punishment. It's a bond—to our kind, to the earth, to the moon. But you also carry the shadow—something ancient, something forbidden."
The shadow hissed. "Power."
Raven felt the tension building in her chest. "What am I supposed to choose?"
Her mother lifted her hand, and a silvery dagger appeared. "You must choose what kind of Alpha you'll be. One ruled by light… or by darkness."
The shadow surged forward. "Why not both?"
Raven's pulse raced. She stepped toward the dagger. Her fingers brushed the handle—and suddenly the forest trembled.
The ground split open.
From the crack, a single blood-red eye opened. Watching. Waiting.
The Blood Moon.
It whispered her name: "Raaaaven…"
And then—
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She Came Back Screaming
Raven shot out of the pool, gasping, eyes wide with terror. She was back in the catacombs. Lucas caught her as she stumbled.
"I saw it," she panted. "The Blood Moon. It's coming."
Morrana nodded. "And now you know. The Blood Moon awakens not only your power—but its hunger."
Lucas frowned. "What do you mean 'its'?"
"There's something ancient buried beneath the werewolf curse," Morrana said. "Something sealed away during the last Blood Moon centuries ago. That power is stirring again—because Raven's blood can break the seal."
Raven backed away. "You're saying I could unleash a monster?"
"Or destroy it," Morrana replied. "That's the choice you must make. When the Blood Moon rises, you either become its vessel—or its end."
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Back at the Council
Far away, in the heart of the Silverfang Mountains, the High Council sat in a circle of flame.
"The Moonbound has awakened," growled Elder Maelor. "She turned our Enforcers without lifting a finger."
Another elder slammed his staff. "She's a threat to the Order."
"But she is also prophecy," said the oldest of them, a blind woman wrapped in red silk. "She may unite the fractured packs. Rebuild what we destroyed."
Maelor sneered. "Or she may burn everything down."
A messenger stepped forward, his head bowed. "We've tracked her to Hollow Creek."
Maelor's eyes gleamed. "Then gather the Alphas. We end this before the Blood Moon rises."
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Meanwhile in the Forest
Night had fallen again. Raven sat on a stone outside the ruins, staring at the sky. Lucas joined her, his hands full of kindling.
"You okay?" he asked, sitting beside her.
She shrugged. "No. I saw my parents. I saw something… worse. Something waiting for me."
Lucas threw a twig into the fire. "I've heard stories. About a god sealed under the Moonstone Temple. A being that fed on wolfblood."
"Do you believe it?"
"I believe in you," he said simply.
Raven turned to him. "Why are you helping me, Lucas? What do you gain?"
He hesitated. "I knew your father. He saved my life once. I promised him I'd watch over you if anything happened. But it's more than that now."
"What do you mean?"
He reached out and gently brushed a strand of hair from her face. "You're not just a prophecy to me, Raven. You're the first person who's ever made me feel like I belonged."
Raven's heart thudded. For the first time in days, she let herself feel something other than fear.
But before she could respond, a howl split the night.
Not just one.
Dozens.
Then came the scent—burned pine. The Council's mark.
"They found us," Lucas said, rising to his feet. "We're out of time."
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To Be Continued…