MOONBOUND HEARTS
Chapter Five — The Hidden Pack
The cave was narrow at first, forcing Mara to move sideways through the wet stone passage. Water dripped from the ceiling, echoing in the dark. Behind her, Luca's footsteps were silent except for the occasional scrape of his boots against the rock.
"How far does this go?" she asked, her voice low.
"Far enough," he replied. "The pack used these tunnels generations ago—before the hunters burned most of them out."
She glanced back. "Hunters?"
"People who learned what we are and decided the cure was fire."
They pressed on until the tunnel widened into a large chamber lit by shafts of pale light filtering through cracks in the ceiling. Strange symbols were carved into the walls—circles, crescents, and claw-like lines that shimmered faintly when the light touched them.
Mara stopped to study one of the carvings. "What do these mean?"
Luca's expression darkened. "They mark allegiance. Every pack carries its own crest. These were my family's before the curse split us apart."
She traced one of the symbols with her fingertips. The stone was warm, pulsing faintly under her skin as though alive.
"Don't touch it," Luca warned quickly.
She pulled her hand back, startled. "Why?"
"Some of the old runes still respond to the moon. They remember blood."
The way he said it made her skin crawl. "You talk like these things think."
"They do. Just not the way you or I do."
They kept walking. The air grew colder, the walls closing in again. The tunnel finally opened into what looked like an underground settlement—broken huts carved from stone, scattered fire pits long dead, the remains of tools and bones littered across the ground.
"This is where the Hidden Pack lived," Luca said quietly. "Before the Alpha drove them out."
Mara walked among the ruins, her steps soft on the ancient dust. "Why hide?"
"Because they wanted to be free from the Blood Moon. They believed the curse could be broken. The Alpha saw that as betrayal."
"So he destroyed them."
Luca nodded once. "Everyone who defies him eventually vanishes."
Mara crouched near one of the broken huts. A faded scrap of cloth lay half-buried beneath the dirt—a torn banner bearing the same crescent symbol she'd seen earlier. When she touched it, a faint vibration ran up her arm, like static.
"Luca…"
"I feel it too," he said, scanning the shadows. "We're not alone down here."
A low growl rolled through the cavern, deep and distant. Then another, closer.
Shapes began to move beyond the ruins—large, slow, deliberate.
Luca's eyes flickered gold for an instant. "Stay behind me."
The first figure stepped into the light. It was a man, or something that used to be one. His skin was pale and scarred, his eyes a clouded gray. Several more emerged, silent, their movements strange and animal-like.
Mara's pulse spiked. "Who are they?"
"The remnants," Luca murmured. "Those who refused to serve the Alpha. They stayed underground too long and became something else."
One of the figures sniffed the air and hissed. "You shouldn't have come, half-blood," it rasped. Its voice was layered, echoing unnaturally off the stone.
Mara stepped closer to Luca without thinking.
"We mean no harm," Luca said. "We only seek the path to the Alpha."
At the word Alpha, the creatures stirred uneasily. The leader tilted its head. "You would walk to your death willingly?"
"If it means ending this curse."
The creature's mouth twisted into something like a smile. "Then perhaps you are more foolish than brave."
Mara felt the vibration in her wrist again—stronger this time. The mark pulsed, bright silver beneath her skin. The creatures hissed and backed away.
"She carries the Moon's fire," one of them whispered. "The chosen."
Luca turned sharply toward her. "What did you do?"
"I don't know!"
The silver light spread up her arm, glowing brighter until the chamber itself seemed to breathe with it. The air trembled. The creatures dropped to one knee, bowing their heads.
"Moon's child," the leader rasped, "the mark accepts you. The forest's heart stirs for your arrival."
Mara looked down at her wrist, terrified. "Make it stop!"
"It's not you," Luca said, eyes wide. "It's responding to the Alpha's call."
The creatures rose again, their movements slower, reverent now. The leader pointed toward a dark corridor leading deeper underground. "Follow the river's sound," it said. "It will take you to the ruins above. There, beneath the rising moon, you will find him."
Mara hesitated. "And if we go?"
The creature smiled faintly, revealing sharp, uneven teeth. "Then your fate is already written."
Without waiting for more, Luca grabbed her hand. "We need to move—now."
They ran again, down the narrow tunnel the creature had shown them. The light from her mark illuminated the way, casting long shadows that crawled along the walls.
At last, they emerged into open air. The forest stretched wide below them, the moon half-risen and crimson at its edge.
Mara turned to Luca. "That thing back there—did it tell the truth?"
He looked out over the trees, jaw tight. "The Alpha doesn't wait for anyone. If we don't find him first, he'll find you."
"And what happens then?"
Luca's eyes glinted in the red light. "Then the real hunt begins."
To be continued....