Chapter 3: Shadows in the Forest
Chapter 3: Shadows in the Forest
The third explosion shook the mountainside.
Dust drifted from the stone walls of Blackridge Hall.
The celebration was over.
Warriors instinctively reached for their weapons.
Kael's eyes flashed gold.
"Defensive positions!"
The Blackridge guards sprinted toward the front gate.
No one cared about the rejected mating ceremony anymore.
Every gaze turned toward the burning forest.
Selene remained perfectly still.
She listened.
Not to the explosions.
To the silence that followed them.
"They're testing us," she said.
"They want to know how we'll respond."
A young Blackridge captain frowned.
"Who are they?"
Selene answered without hesitation.
"The Ashen Fang."
Several older wolves turned pale.
One elder whispered the name as though saying it aloud might summon death.
"I thought they were destroyed."
"So did we," Selene replied.
Aria stepped beside her.
"What do they want with me?"
Selene looked into her daughter's eyes.
"They believe your blood can unlock something that has been hidden for centuries."
"What?"
"I'll explain."
"But only if we survive tonight."
Another deafening howl echoed across the valley.
This one came closer.
Far too close.
A scout burst through the gate.
"They're inside the outer woods!"
"How many?"
"I couldn't count."
"They're everywhere."
Kael drew the massive sword from his back.
"No one enters my territory."
He looked toward Aria.
"For your own safety, stay inside."
Aria met his eyes.
"You don't get to command me anymore."
Kael's expression hardened.
"This isn't personal."
"It stopped being personal the moment you rejected me in front of the entire pack."
Without another word, she walked toward Selene.
A guard opened another armored vehicle.
Inside rested racks of polished weapons unlike anything Blackridge possessed.
Slim silver blades.
Lightweight crossbows.
Armor engraved with the ancient Vale crest.
Selene picked up a short sword.
Then she handed it to Aria.
"It belonged to your grandmother."
Aria accepted it carefully.
The weapon felt strangely familiar.
Almost...
Alive.
The blade shimmered beneath the moonlight.
A faint silver glow traveled along its edge.
One of Selene's captains smiled.
"It remembers your blood."
Before Aria could respond, movement exploded from the tree line.
Dark figures rushed between the burning pines.
Their eyes glowed crimson.
Their armor was black as ash.
None wore a pack crest.
Only a claw-shaped mark carved into their chest plates.
"The Ashen Fang!" someone shouted.
The first attackers crashed into Blackridge's front line.
Steel clashed against steel.
Growls filled the night.
The peaceful ceremony became a battlefield.
Kael fought like the Alpha everyone feared.
One swing of his blade sent two enemies sprawling.
Another attacker lunged toward Lydia.
She screamed.
Instead of fighting, she stumbled backward in panic.
Kael moved to protect her.
That single moment created an opening.
An enemy warrior slipped past him.
The assassin wasn't aiming for Kael.
He was charging straight toward Aria.
"Move!" Selene shouted.
The attacker raised twin daggers.
Aria reacted on instinct.
She drew the silver sword.
The moment the blades collided, a burst of brilliant white light erupted between them.
The assassin flew backward as if struck by invisible force.
He slammed into a stone pillar.
The courtyard fell silent.
Even the battle paused for a heartbeat.
The glowing sword hummed in Aria's hand.
She stared at it in disbelief.
"I didn't..."
"You awakened it," Selene whispered.
"No one has awakened a Moonblade in over two hundred years."
The Ashen Fang warriors exchanged uneasy glances.
One of them removed his helmet.
A jagged scar stretched across his face.
His smile was cold.
"So..."
"The rumors were true."
"The last Moon Heir lives."
He slowly dropped to one knee.
Not in surrender.
In respect.
Then every Ashen Fang warrior did the same.
The battlefield became eerily quiet.
Kael lowered his sword.
No one understood what was happening.
The scarred warrior looked directly at Aria.
"We were never sent to kill you."
"We came to stop the ones who are."
A piercing whistle suddenly cut through the air.
Selene's face lost all color.
"No..."
She looked toward the dark ridge above the valley.
"They're here."
A hundred black arrows rained down from the cliffs.
Unlike ordinary arrows, each one burned with eerie blue fire.
May you like
The scarred warrior shouted only one word.
"Run!"
