Chapter 6: The Truth Beneath the Moon
Aria followed the silver-haired woman through the quiet village, her pulse steady but alert. The houses were small and weathered, their wooden frames worn by time. A few rogues lingered in the shadows, watching her with wary eyes.
She had spent years surviving alone, always an outsider. Yet, something about this place—the way the villagers whispered, the way the woman had looked at her—made her feel as though she belonged.
Or at least, that they knew something she didn't.
Finally, they stopped in front of a round hut, the air thick with the scent of herbs and old parchment.
"In here," the woman said, pushing open the wooden door.
Aria hesitated for only a moment before stepping inside.
The Keeper of Secrets
A fire crackled in the center of the room, casting flickering shadows along the stone walls. Shelves lined with ancient scrolls and vials of unknown substances stretched toward the ceiling. At the far end of the hut, an elderly woman sat in a worn wooden chair, her eyes clouded with age but sharp with wisdom.
The silver-haired woman bowed her head slightly. "Elder Miriam, we have a visitor."
The old woman's gaze lifted, landing on Aria with an intensity that made her shiver.
"You've come at last," Miriam murmured.
Aria stiffened. "What do you mean?"
Miriam studied her, then gestured to the seat across from her. "Sit, child. There is much you do not know."
Aria didn't like the word child—she had survived too much to be considered one. But she bit back her irritation and took the seat.
Miriam's fingers traced the edge of a worn book on the table. "You seek the truth about your power."
Aria's breath caught. "You know what I am?"
Miriam gave her a knowing smile. "Not entirely. But I know your bloodline."
A Bloodline of Legends
Miriam slowly opened the book, its pages yellowed and fragile. The symbols were old, written in a language Aria didn't recognize.
"There is a story," Miriam began, "of a rare lineage of wolves. Wolves who were born not only with strength but with something greater—a connection to the very essence of the Moon Goddess herself."
Aria's hands clenched into fists. "My mother told me a story like that when I was young."
Miriam nodded. "Because it was never just a story."
She turned the book toward Aria, pointing at a faded illustration of a glowing white wolf, its eyes burning like twin stars.
"These wolves were called the Lunaris Bloodline. They were not just Alphas or warriors. They were rulers—true-born Luna Queens, destined to lead."
A shiver ran through Aria.
"But they were feared," Miriam continued. "Because their power was unlike anything else. Some claimed they were blessed. Others believed they were a threat to the natural order. And so… they were hunted."
The weight of those words settled in Aria's chest like a stone.
Her family had been destroyed. Cast out. Betrayed.
And now, she was the last one left.
A Dangerous Destiny
Aria swallowed hard. "If this bloodline was wiped out, then why am I still alive?"
Miriam's expression turned grim. "Because fate is not so easily rewritten."
She reached forward, lightly touching Aria's wrist. "Your power is awakening. It is why Kieran's warriors are hunting you. It is why you were cast aside. Those who fear you will always seek to control or destroy you."
Aria's chest tightened.
She had spent years believing she was just a rogue. That she was powerless, unwanted.
Now, she knew the truth.
She wasn't weak.
She wasn't forgotten.
She was the heir to a power that could change everything.
And the world wasn't ready for her.
End of Chapter 6