Ayana didn't sleep that night.
After following the alpha through the winding forest, they arrived at a clearing with an old, ruined chapel swallowed by moss and time. Broken stained-glass windows caught moonlight and cast fractured colors on the crumbling stone floor.
The wolf stopped at the threshold, then—before her eyes—began to change.
Bones cracked, fur retreated, and in place of the beast stood a man. Broad-shouldered. Tall. Drenched in moonlight. Naked, but entirely unashamed. His skin was ashen, but his eyes still burned with the same wild gold.
Ayana turned her face, heat rushing to her cheeks.
He reached for a tattered cloak on the altar and wrapped it around himself. His voice, when he finally spoke, was low and ancient. "You have questions."
She crossed her arms, forcing herself to meet his gaze. "Who are you?"
He gave a tired half-smile. "The better question is: *who are you?*"
"I'm Ayana Delacroix. Just a girl who's been running from nightmares since childhood."
He stepped closer. "Not just a girl. A descendant of the bloodline. The last daughter of the MoonBound."
She blinked. "The what?"
"The MoonBound," he said. "An ancient line—once guardians of the balance between man and beast, magic and mortality." He touched the silver scar running down his left forearm. "Your blood carries more than fear. It carries power. Legacy."
Ayana wanted to laugh—but nothing about this felt like a joke.
"All I know," she said tightly, "is that I grew up in foster homes. My mother died when I was five. My father? I've never known him."
His face softened. "Your mother was one of us. She sealed the curse to protect you. But now…" He glanced toward the woods. "Something has broken. A rift. And it's drawing the dead back."
Ayana paced the edge of the chapel, rain dripping through the cracks above. "I don't understand any of this. Why me? Why now?"
"Because your blood has awakened," he said, stepping forward. "And the curse tied to our line—it's coming undone. You felt it, didn't you? That surge in the forest. The light."
She shivered. "I didn't do that on purpose."
"But you did it," he said. "You *survived*."
Ayana leaned on a cracked pew. Her fingers trembled. "What do I do now?"
The man studied her. "Learn. Or die. There is no in-between."
His voice wasn't cruel—just honest. And that scared her more.
"Start by telling me your name," she said.
He looked at her, as if debating whether to give it. Then: "Kael."
The name echoed in her chest, familiar and foreign at once.
Kael turned and motioned for her to follow. "Come. There's someone you need to meet."
***
They trekked to a hidden glade deep in the forest. There, in the moon's center, sat a woman in silver robes beside a fire that didn't smoke. Her hair was white, though her face was barely lined. Her eyes, cloudy but seeing everything, locked on Ayana immediately.
"She walks with the mark," the woman murmured. "I felt you coming."
"Who are you?" Ayana asked, voice barely above a whisper.
"I am Elira. Seer of the old pack." Her eyes flicked to Kael. "And you brought her. The last flame."
Kael bowed slightly.
Ayana, meanwhile, stood rigid. "You people keep talking like I'm some… prophecy. I'm not. I'm just trying to stay alive."
Elira rose slowly. "You are more than that, child. You are the breaking point."
"What does that mean?"
"The Alpha's Curse was sealed with blood. Yours. Now it awakens with you."
Ayana's throat tightened. "So I'm cursed?"
"No," Elira said gently. "You're the key."
The fire sparked. Images danced in the flames—wolves in battle, shadows devouring light, a woman holding a child under a blood moon.
"That's my mother," Ayana breathed.
Elira nodded. "She gave everything to hide you. But she knew this day would come."
Kael stepped forward. "The ones you fought in the woods—the Hollowed—are the first wave. Revenants, bound to the curse. More will come. Stronger. Smarter. And when they do, they'll be after *you*."
Ayana's chest rose and fell with quick breaths. "So train me. Show me how to fight."
Elira and Kael exchanged a look.
"She's not ready," Elira said.
"She doesn't have time to be ready," Kael replied.
Elira sighed, then held out a pendant strung on a thin leather cord. A crescent moon carved into obsidian.
"Wear this," she said. "It will protect your mind. For now."
Ayana took it, her hands shaking. The moment it touched her skin, warmth bloomed in her chest. A heartbeat not her own pulsed with hers.
Kael watched her carefully. "We start at dawn."
***
The night passed slowly. Kael brought her to a small hut beyond the chapel ruins. Inside, she sat on a straw mattress, staring at the pendant, replaying every word she'd heard.
She thought of her mother—of the lullabies she used to sing. Of the dreams Ayana had as a child—wolves in moonlight, voices calling from the trees.
Were they dreams… or memories?
She curled up, clutching the pendant, and whispered into the darkness, "What did you get me into, Mom?"
The forest answered with silence.
But deep down, Ayana knew.
This wasn't just survival anymore.
This was destiny.