The forest erupted into chaos.
Darkfang wolves burst through the trees, shadows ripping free from the underbrush. Their eyes glowed red with Moonblood fury, their growls vibrating through the ground. Lyra stumbled back as three launched themselves toward her, claws slashing through the air.
Kael moved faster.
His massive silver wolf form collided with the first Darkfang mid-air, sending it crashing into a tree. Another snapped at him, teeth grazing his flank, but he spun with lethal precision—jaws clamping onto its throat.
"Lyra—MOVE!" Kael's voice echoed through the Oath, ringing in her bones.
She ducked as a Darkfang leapt over Kael's back, heading straight for her. Instinct told her to run—
But the mark burned and something inside her snapped.
"No," she whispered.
And the mark answered.
Silver fire surged from her arm, blazing across her skin. The energy formed a barrier in front of her, crackling like lightning. The Darkfang collided with it and flew backward, smoke rising from its fur.
Lyra stared at her glowing hand.
"Did I—did I just do that?"
Kael pivoted, his wolf eyes fierce. "Good. Again."
But Lyra barely had time to breathe. More Darkfangs rushed from every direction—drawn to her, driven by prophecy and Moonblood madness.
One of them—a massive, scarred wolf with pitch-black fur—lifted its head and howled, voice scraping like something dead.
"The Seer is here," it growled.
"Take her mark."
Lyra stepped back, heart slamming against her ribs.
Kael snarled so loudly the trees shook.
"Over my dead body."
He lunged at the scarred wolf, claws ripping into its side. The Darkfang Alpha countered, teeth locking around Kael's shoulder. Kael roared in pain, twisting violently, forcing the creature to release him.
Lyra froze.
Her vision flashed.
A glimpse of Kael… bleeding.
Falling.
Her hands glowing as the ground cracked beneath them.
"No."
She clenched her fists. "Not again. Not tonight."
A Darkfang pounced toward her from behind.
Lyra whipped around—too late—
But the Oath reacted before she could.
Kael felt her fear.
The silver wolf flashed across the clearing in a blur, knocking the Darkfang away from her with a brutal shoulder slam. His eyes glowed, wolf and man overlapping for a heartbeat.
"I told you," he said, voice trembling with fury and fear,
"no one touches you."
The scarred Darkfang laughed, low and cruel, blood dripping from its fangs.
"Protect her all you want, Alpha. When the Moonblood rises, the Seer always breaks."
Lyra felt the energy inside her spike.
"Leave him alone!" she cried.
The mark exploded.
A pulse of silver light erupted from her body, blasting outward in a wide shockwave. The forest shook. Leaves and dirt whipped into the air. Darkfangs were thrown off their feet, yelping as silver burned into their shadows.
Even Kael staggered, stunned.
Lyra sagged forward, trembling.
"What… was that?"
Kael shifted back into human form, chest heaving, blood dripping from his shoulder. He cupped her face, eyes wide with something she had never seen before—
Fear.
"Lyra… that wasn't a shield."
He swallowed hard.
"That was raw Seer power. You could level a pack with that."
Her heart dropped.
The prophecy's words echoed in her mind:
The Alpha she is bound to will either save the pack… or destroy it.
The scarred Darkfang rose again, limping but grinning.
"See?" it rasped. "She is the end."
Kael's eyes blazed with rage.
He stepped in front of Lyra, voice low and lethal.
"No. She is mine."
He lunged—
But the Darkfangs were already retreating, melting back into the forest. Their leader's final words drifted on the wind:
"We will return on the next Bloodmoon. And she will choose destruction."
Silence fell.
Lyra's legs gave out and she collapsed. Kael caught her instantly, pulling her against his chest.
"It was a vision," she whispered, shaking.
"Kael—I saw you dying again."
His grip tightened around her.
"Then we fight fate," he murmured into her hair.
"Together. No matter what the moon shows."
But Lyra wasn't sure fate could be changed anymore.
Not after what she'd just unleashed.
And far away, deep in the forest, the Darkfang Alpha smiled—
Because the Moonblood had only begun