✨ Chapter 39 – The Ritual in the Woods
The academy quieted after the first strike, but it was the wrong kind of quiet —
a tight, watchful silence.
The kind people held before storms.
Ariana couldn't sleep.
Kai knew it before she even opened her door.
He stood outside her dorm room, leaning against the wall, arms crossed.
His eyes softened the instant he saw her.
"You couldn't sleep either," she whispered.
Kai shook his head.
"No. Not with what Aster said."
Ariana stepped into the hall.
"Walk with me?"
Kai nodded, falling into step beside her as they made their way outside into the cold moonlight.
They walked along the cliff path—a quiet area overlooking the dark forest.
Ariana finally spoke.
"They want to get in early. Before the full moon."
Kai exhaled sharply.
"They're scared of you."
Ariana hugged her arms.
"No… they're scared of what I could become if I keep getting stronger."
Kai stopped walking.
He turned to her fully, voice low and fierce.
"You becoming stronger is the best thing that could happen to the academy."
Ariana's throat tightened.
"Do you really think that?"
Kai didn't hesitate.
"I know it."
Her cheeks warmed.
She looked away, down at her hands—
—when suddenly her wolf surged forward.
"Forest. South. Something wrong."
Ariana gasped.
Kai stepped closer.
"Ariana? What is it?"
"The forest," she whispered.
"There's something there. My wolf… she senses something new."
Kai's grip tightened around her forearm.
"Show me."
Heading Into the Woods
Ariana guided him through the trees, her wolf's senses leading her deeper and deeper.
The air grew heavier.
Colder.
Kai's wolf stirred too — she could feel it.
That meant whatever they were walking toward was powerful.
A crack of a twig behind them made Kai instantly shift his stance.
"Who's there?"
A voice answered:
"Relax, wolf boy. It's just me."
Seraphina stepped through the trees, blond hair glowing like a lantern.
Ariana blinked.
"Seraphina? What are you doing here?"
Seraphina crossed her arms.
"Loren told me you were going into the forest. No one should go alone right now. I'm coming."
Kai groaned.
"Absolutely not—"
Seraphina cut him off.
"You need a charms specialist, Kai. And I'm the best one here."
She pushed past him to stand beside Ariana.
"And Ariana trusts me. Right?"
Ariana nodded.
"Yes. I do."
Kai looked betrayed.
Seraphina smirked.
"See?"
Kai muttered something under his breath that sounded like "unbelievable."
Ariana giggled softly.
Then her wolf pulled again.
"Closer."
"This way," Ariana said.
They reached a clearing — wide, empty, eerily silent.
At first Ariana saw nothing.
Then—
A spark of red appeared on the ground.
Seraphina's breath hitched.
"Is that…?"
Ariana stepped forward.
A glowing red rune pulsed beneath the grass — buried just inches underground.
Kai knelt beside it.
"A ritual seal."
Ariana nodded slowly.
Her wolf hissed.
"Void mark. Dangerous. Wrong."
Seraphina knelt opposite Kai.
"This isn't finished," she whispered.
"It's a preparation rune."
Ariana frowned.
"For what?"
Seraphina bit her lip.
"For channeling something… large."
Kai stiffened.
"How large?"
Seraphina looked pale.
"Large enough to feed hundreds of creatures."
Ariana's blood went cold.
"It's part of the battlefield."
Seraphina nodded.
"And it's not the only one."
Ariana turned sharply.
"What?"
Seraphina waved her hand, releasing a pulse of charm-light.
More red runes lit up across the clearing.
Dozens.
Ariana whispered:
"It's a ritual field."
Kai clenched his fists.
"They're prepping the whole forest for the attack."
But Ariana's wolf wasn't focused on the runes.
She was focused on something farther.
Something deeper.
Something hidden.
Ariana stepped past the runes, past the clearing, toward a cluster of dead trees.
"Where are you going?" Kai called.
Ariana didn't answer.
Her bracelet burned faintly.
Her wolf whispered harshly:
"Here. Something sleeping. Something old."
Ariana reached the dead trees—
—placed her hand on one—
—and nearly collapsed.
Pain shot through her skull.
Images flashed:
Red smoke.
Hands made of roots.
A moonlit sky drenched in blood.
A voice whispered:
"Moonborn… the door is not the only thing that will wake."
Ariana gasped.
Kai grabbed her, lifting her before she fell.
"Ariana! Ariana—look at me!"
She clutched his shirt, breathing hard.
"Kai… something else is coming."
Kai swallowed.
"Something besides the door?"
Ariana nodded.
"It's… it's another creature. A large one. A monster bound beneath the forest."
Seraphina paled.
"Bound? As in sealed?"
Ariana nodded again, trembling.
"And Rebirth wants to unseal it on the full moon."
Kai tightened his grip around her.
"So the final battle won't just be creatures. Or the corrupted students. Or Myrra."
Ariana whispered:
"They want to release something ancient."
Kai's eyes darkened.
"And they'll use these runes to do it."
Seraphina breathed shakily.
"Then we have to report this to the Headmaster right now."
Ariana opened her mouth—
But her wolf screamed inside her.
"RUN. NOW."
Ariana's eyes snapped wide.
"KAI—MOVE!"
He didn't question it.
Kai grabbed Ariana and sprinted.
Seraphina flicked her wrist, summoning a charm shield and running after them.
A split second later—
The ground beneath the clearing erupted.
Red tendrils burst upward like spears—
aimed exactly where Ariana had been standing.
Kai held her tight as they dove behind a fallen tree.
Seraphina slid beside them, breathing hard.
Ariana shook violently.
"They're watching," she whispered.
"They knew we were here."
Kai held her even tighter.
"I won't let anything touch you."
Ariana felt her breath shudder.
Her wolf whispered softly:
"Bond. Protect. Mate."
Ariana's heart jumped into her throat.
Kai didn't notice—
but her wolf did.
And she wasn't wrong.
Back at the Academy
Headmaster Solarin listened with a grave expression as Ariana, Kai, and Seraphina explained everything.
The runes.
The ritual.
The sealed monster beneath the forest.
The attack attempt.
Solarin's eyes darkened.
"This confirms our worst fears. The final battle will involve more than a barrier breach."
"What is the sealed creature?" Ariana asked.
Solarin hesitated.
"There is an ancient record… of a guardian beast corrupted long ago. A creature tied to lunar magic."
Ariana's blood ran cold.
Kai's grip tightened around her hand.
"You don't mean—"
Solarin nodded.
"Yes, Kai. The corrupted Moonbeast."
Ariana felt her wolf recoil inside her.
"Moonbeast. Kin. Twisted."
Seraphina whispered:
"If they release that… the academy will fall."
Solarin looked directly at Ariana.
"You saw the warning before anyone else. Your senses will guide us."
Ariana swallowed hard.
"Then tell me what to do."
Solarin exhaled slowly.
"Prepare every division.
Train harder.
Strengthen your wolf.
And when the full moon rises…"
He met her eyes.
"…you must be ready to shine brighter than ever before."
Ariana nodded.
Her bracelet pulsed.
Her wolf howled.
Kai squeezed her hand gently.
"I'm right here," he whispered.
And Ariana believed him.