The Blood Moon Awakens

Chapter 1: The Blood Moon Awakens (Part 1)

The villagers of Black Pine had one rule that no one dared to break.

Never enter the forest on the night of the Blood Moon.

The elders claimed the moon awakened ancient wolves, spirits, and curses that had slept for centuries. Children grew up listening to stories of travelers who disappeared without a trace after wandering beneath its crimson light.

Most people believed the tales.

Lyra Hart did not.

She adjusted the worn basket on her shoulder and hurried along the narrow dirt path that cut through the edge of the forest. The evening breeze carried the scent of pine needles and damp earth, and somewhere in the distance an owl called into the fading light.

The sky was changing.

Golden sunset melted into deep shades of purple, while the full moon slowly climbed above the trees. Tonight it looked different—larger than usual, with a faint red glow that seemed to pulse like a heartbeat.

Lyra pulled her gray cloak tighter around herself.

"I should have left earlier," she whispered.

She had spent the afternoon gathering healing herbs for Mrs. Elora, the elderly healer who had raised her after her parents disappeared eighteen years ago.

No one knew what had happened to them.

Some said they had been killed by rogues.

Others believed they had abandoned their daughter.

Lyra had stopped asking years ago. The answers only changed depending on who was telling the story.

A sharp snap echoed from the trees.

She froze.

"Probably a rabbit," she muttered, trying to calm herself.

Still, she couldn't shake the strange feeling that someone was watching her.

She walked faster.

As the first crimson light from the Blood Moon touched the forest floor, every sound suddenly disappeared.

No birds.

No insects.

Not even the wind.

Silence.

A cold shiver ran down Lyra's spine.

Then she heard it.

A howl.

Long.

Deep.

Powerful.

Another answered it from somewhere farther away.

Then another.

Within seconds the forest seemed alive with wolves calling to one another.

Her heart pounded.

She broke into a run.

Branches brushed against her cloak as she hurried toward the village gate, but after several minutes she realized something was wrong.

The path had changed.

She was certain there had never been an enormous twisted oak standing in front of her.

She turned around.

The path behind her had vanished.

Only trees remained.

"No..."

Her breathing became uneven.

"I've walked this road hundreds of times."

Another twig snapped behind her.

Slowly she turned.

Three enormous wolves stepped out of the darkness.

Their fur was stained with mud, their yellow eyes glowed with hunger, and scars covered their bodies.

Rogues.

Every werewolf child learned to fear rogues.

Without a pack or an Alpha to guide them, they lived only for power, revenge, and blood.

The largest wolf transformed first.

Bones shifted beneath his skin as he stood upright, becoming a broad-shouldered man with rough dark hair and a cruel smile.

The other two followed.

"Well," the leader said with a grin. "What do we have here?"

Lyra took a cautious step backward.

"I don't want any trouble."

He laughed.

"That's funny."

His companions circled around her.

"The famous Moonless girl," one of them sneered.

"I've heard stories."

"The girl with no wolf."

"The one abandoned by fate."

Heat rose to Lyra's cheeks.

She hated that name.

Moonless.

The word had followed her her entire life.

Every werewolf in Black Pine discovered their wolf before adulthood.

Everyone except her.

She had trained.

She had waited.

She had prayed beneath every full moon.

Nothing had happened.

Eventually the pack stopped expecting anything from her.

Some pitied her.

Others mocked her.

Lyra lifted her chin.

"I'm leaving."

The leader stepped into her path.

"I don't think so."

He leaned closer, studying her face.

"Our Alpha has been searching for something very interesting."

His smile widened.

"And I think we've just found it."

Lyra's pulse quickened.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, you will."

The rogue reached toward her wrist.

Instinct took over.

She shoved him backward and turned to run.

She barely made it three steps before another rogue blocked her path.

The leader chuckled behind her.

"You're surrounded."

Lyra looked from one rogue to another, searching desperately for an escape.

There wasn't one.

Above the treetops, the Blood Moon glowed brighter.

For a brief moment, an icy breeze swept through the forest.

Every rogue suddenly stopped smiling.

They lifted their heads toward the darkness beyond the trees.

One of them whispered, his voice trembling.

"Alpha..."

The air itself seemed to grow heavier.

Footsteps echoed through the forest.

Slow.

Steady.

Powerful.

Someone was coming.

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