Raised By The Moon

She hadn't fully transformed, but something had crack

hether to be terr

ot calm. It was a silence laced with tensi

. Knox stayed closer, his presence grounding her, like a s

han I expected,"

a look. "Yo

survi

ng hard. "You're a real pi

gged at his mouth, bu

brushing a leaf from h

hink so." She paused. "No. I don't kno

p," Elias said.

ime you stop talking in riddle

Knox, then back to her

han any

g for her to follow. "Then come with

ers. Ava's mind buzzed with a hundred questions, but she held them bac

loaked in mist. Nestled at the base of it was a ruined stone st

. "What is

to the edge. "Your

ked. "My

ce to protect his

ather. Just flashes. A deep laugh. The scent of c

knew

ew him. He was the last true Alpha

ed. "Betray

nstead, he pointed tow

r felt thicker. Colder. Like

of moonlight. At the center stood a large stone slab. Car

t. "This is the sigil of the

mbol hummed beneath her sk

a child born under a blood moon. A child who would c

ulse qu

urvived... she'd rise to lead the fracture

nt dry. "You t

flinch. "I

. "Then why has no one told

hind her, "everyone who knew...

d to him,

was grim. "Your

illed the

b, the weight of it all settling

dline. A destiny s

arely a whisper

. "Now, you decide. You can run from

O

And take back

orne sigil, something d

n't fee

at didn't ma

hunt was onl

as done b

ber felt alive every breath echoing, every

rved deep and ancient, a mark left behind

fa

was dead," she

did, his voice was low. "So did we. But

ow leaning against a cracked

the secret," she said to h

you, if this prophecy's real... there's a chance he's

ath caugh

e lef

as t

Every answer opened

stone wall. He brushed aside dust and vines u

red it

ated, the

n. Faint lettering was burned

ther's

aps. Symbols. Some of the handwriting was smudged, like it had been

in ink darker than the

the Moon has chosen. Pr

ed. Her father knew.

ching fragments: Bloodline sealed.

ol repeated

cting crescent moons

ouche

bur

nd. Like a spar

ed her h

ol?" she asked, sh

the Moonborne heir. It's said to only respon

htened. "Co

e roared i

e war I didn't ask for? Claim a l

to understand what you are b

n?" she asked. "Wh

ox answered darkly. "Or kill you before

und, Ava. Your existence was hidden to protect you. But something

own at the j

ets. Of warni

r rage, her instincts, her i

t

h

st some lost

as a

eap

acy r

e finality of the sound ec

," she said. "Becau