MOONBOUND HEARTS
Chapter Seven — The Trial of the Moon
Flames circled the temple like a living wall. The Alpha's shadow stretched across the cracked stone floor, tall and distorted by the firelight. Luca stepped forward, blade raised, his breath steady despite the heat.
"The hunt is over," he said. "You'll have to face her yourself."
The Alpha's crimson eyes glimmered. "This is not a hunt, wolfling. It is judgment. The Moon marks its own; it's not for you to interfere."
Mara stood within the ring, her mark burning brighter than the flames. The world pulsed in rhythm with her heartbeat. She felt neither fear nor courage—only an overwhelming awareness that the forest itself was watching.
"What do you want from me?" she demanded.
"Proof," the Alpha said. "If the Moon has chosen you, then survive its trial."
He raised a hand. The torches flared, their light twisting into a vortex that swallowed the sky. The temple vanished. Suddenly, Mara was standing in darkness that had weight. A sound like distant thunder rolled beneath her feet.
Luca shouted her name, but his voice was already fading.
When the light returned, she was alone on a stone bridge suspended over an endless abyss. Below, silver rivers of moonlight surged like molten metal. Ahead stood three archways, each carved with a different symbol: the Fang, the Claw, and the Eye.
A whisper echoed through her head. Choose.
She hesitated. The mark on her wrist flickered toward the Eye, glowing faintly whenever she turned that way. "Fine," she said under her breath, and stepped through.
Instantly the air changed—cold, sharp, filled with the scent of iron. The corridor stretched endlessly, its walls covered in mirrored stone. Her reflection stared back from every side, multiplying until she couldn't tell which one was real.
Then the reflections began to move without her. One smiled. Another snarled. A third reached out of the mirror, its fingers scraping across the surface like claws on glass.
Mara stumbled back. "This isn't real," she whispered.
The whisper answered: Everything you fear is real.
She clenched her fists. "Then you'll have to do better than fear."
The reflections shattered, exploding outward in a burst of light. When the glare faded, she found herself standing once again in the center of the temple. The fire ring still burned, and Luca was kneeling, panting, blade broken beside him.
The Alpha watched her calmly. "You passed the first gate," he said. "Two remain."
Mara's pulse thundered, but her voice stayed firm. "Then let's finish it."
The fire dimmed until only faint embers flickered in the ash. The Alpha's gaze never left Mara. "The second gate tests the blood," he said. "You cannot walk through it as you are."
Luca struggled to his feet. "She's had enough. Whatever this ritual is—"
But Mara raised a hand. "No. Let him continue."
She had begun to understand something—this was not just a trial of power; it was the Moon's way of revealing what lived beneath the surface. The mark pulsed again, and the flames died completely.
The ground trembled. From the temple floor, a circle of light spread outward until it touched the walls. When it stopped, the air grew still—too still.
"Blood of wolf," the Alpha intoned, "meet blood of prey."
From the shadows emerged a silver stag. Its eyes glowed like frozen stars. It bowed its head toward Mara, and when its antlers brushed the stone, the mark on her wrist flared painfully bright.
She knew what the Moon demanded. A test of will, not cruelty.
She stepped forward, palm open. "I won't kill you," she whispered.
The stag's breath steamed in the cold air. Slowly, it pressed its muzzle to her hand. A searing pain cut through her arm; her blood mingled with its silver light. The mark burned until she nearly cried out.
Then it was over. The stag vanished in a shimmer of dust. The Alpha's expression darkened, unreadable. "Mercy," he said softly. "Few survive it. The Moon will remember."
The temple shook again, harder this time. A sound like thunder rolled overhead, and a column of white light speared down through the roof, striking Mara. She was lifted from the ground, weightless, caught between worlds.
The third gate, a voice whispered inside her head. Truth.
Visions flooded her mind—her first night in Bendwood, the howl that had followed her home, Luca's eyes glowing in the dark, the strange dreams that had haunted her since. Each vision twisted and merged until she saw a single shape standing beneath the Moon—half man, half wolf—reaching for her hand.
"Mara!" Luca's voice echoed faintly. She tried to answer, but the light swallowed everything.
When it faded, she was lying on the temple floor, smoke rising from the cracked stone. Luca knelt beside her, his face pale, eyes wide.
"You stopped breathing," he said hoarsely.
The Alpha stepped closer. "The Moon has spoken. She is marked not as prey, not as wolf, but as balance. The hunt will bow to her."
Mara opened her eyes. The mark on her wrist had changed—no longer a single crescent, but a full circle surrounded by silver veins like roots.
She sat up slowly. "What happens now?"
The Alpha smiled faintly, almost grimly. "Now, child of the Moon, the forest will either protect you… or destroy you."
The torches extinguished one by one, leaving them in darkness. And somewhere deep within that darkness, something answered with a howl so ancient it shook the stars.
To be continued....