The scream echoed off cold stone walls, sharp and ragged—too wild to be human, too broken to be wolf.
It came from deep within the fortress of Thornspire, a place where the sun never quite touched and the walls reeked of blood, sweat, and secrets. Inside, caged in iron and rune-marked chains, a girl writhed on the floor of her cell.
Her name was Lyra.
She was seventeen. And she was Moonborn.
Silver-white hair clung to her damp face. Her wrists bled where the shackles rubbed raw. Her breath came in harsh gasps, her lips cracked. But her eyes—those moonlit eyes—still burned with defiance.
Someone was coming for her.
She could feel it.
---
From behind the bars, a man in a crimson cloak watched her.
"Still fighting," he said calmly. "That's good. It means your blood hasn't turned cold yet."
Lyra spat at his feet.
The man smiled. "Soon you'll break. And when you do, you'll tell me where the others are."
"I don't know," she growled.
"You will."
He leaned closer. "The others are awakening. The fated girl walks toward the gate. She has the mark. The bond. The bloodline. And when she arrives… you will call to her."
"I'll bite off my tongue first."
He chuckled. "Then you'll scream it with your soul."
---
Two Days Earlier
Kade, Aria, and Reid reached the outskirts of Ashvale at sunset.
It was a ruined town—once a haven for outcasts, now nothing but crumbled buildings and wind. They moved quietly through the streets, eyes on the shadows.
"Anything?" Reid whispered.
Aria paused. Her mark pulsed.
"There," she said, pointing toward an old chapel near the center of town.
Inside, the building was hollow and cold. The stained glass had long since shattered. But at the altar, beneath a collapsed beam, they found a trail of blood.
Kade crouched beside it, fingers tracing claw marks on the stone. "Something was dragged."
Reid sniffed. "They tried to hide it, but the trail's fresh."
They followed the blood trail down a stone staircase hidden behind the altar.
At the bottom: a cavern.
Dark. Silent.
And in the center of it, etched into the ground, a massive crescent moon. Moonborn sigils lined the walls, glowing faintly as Aria stepped in.
"What is this place?" she whispered.
Kade's voice was low. "A sanctuary. One of the old ones. Used for hiding Moonborn during the Purge."
A stone pedestal sat at the far end. On it—a map, partially burned. But one mark remained clear:
Thornspire Keep.
"That's where she is," Aria said. "I don't know how I know, but… I feel her. She's in pain."
Kade looked at her. "Then we get her out."
---
Now
Lyra lay in silence, body trembling. The guards had stopped beating her hours ago, but the ache lingered in every bone.
She closed her eyes, reached inward.
Please, she whispered into the void.
If you can hear me…
---
Aria gasped, clutching her chest.
They were camped near the Thornspire border now, beneath a sky heavy with clouds. Kade rushed to her side.
"What is it?"
"She's calling," Aria breathed. "I heard her. I felt her pain."
Reid stood, sword in hand. "Then what are we waiting for?"
"War," Kade said grimly. "Thornspire won't just let us walk in."
"We're not walking in," Aria said, eyes burning. "We're breaking in."
---
They scouted Thornspire the next day.
The fortress sat atop jagged cliffs, carved from obsidian and stone. It was surrounded by iron-barred towers and watchful guards in black-and-red armor. Wards shimmered across the main gate—old magic meant to suppress shifting and weaken Moonborn.
"We can't go through the front," Reid said.
"We won't," Kade replied. "There's a tunnel beneath the cliffs. Forgotten, if we're lucky."
"Do we even know where she's being held?" Aria asked.
Kade pulled out the map from the sanctuary. "There's only one room warded from every side—the Inner Hollow."
"That's where she is," Aria whispered.
"I'm going in alone," Kade said. "You two stay outside—"
"No," Aria interrupted. "We go together."
Kade hesitated.
"I feel her," Aria said. "She won't last another night."
He nodded. "Then we go at moonrise."
---
That Night
The cliffs were slick with mist as they scaled the tunnel entrance, a narrow crack hidden by overgrowth. Inside, the air reeked of damp stone and mold, but the path was clear.
They moved like shadows—silent, swift, focused.
Reid disabled traps.
Kade sniffed out patrols.
Aria led them by instinct, her mark glowing faintly in the dark.
When they reached the Hollow, Kade motioned for silence. Three guards stood outside the cell door, bored, unaware.
In a flash, Kade shifted—black fur, snarling jaws—and pounced.
Aria followed, her speed shocking even her.
By the time the third guard screamed, it was already too late.
---
Inside the cell, Lyra lifted her head, blinking weakly.
Aria rushed to her side. "Hey—hey, it's okay. We've got you."
Lyra's cracked lips moved. "You… came."
"I promised," Aria said, brushing the girl's hair back. "You're safe now."
Kade broke the chains with his claws. Reid grabbed her gently.
"Can you walk?" he asked.
Lyra shook her head. "Just… go."
"No one's being left behind," Aria said firmly.
They moved fast.
But not fast enough.
The alarm sounded—a low, howling bell that shook the walls.
Voices shouted.
Boots thundered.
And from the far end of the hall came him—the man in the crimson cloak.
He stepped into view, eyes burning gold.
"Well," he said calmly. "Looks like the Moonborn are still full of surprises."
Aria stepped forward, shielding Lyra.
"I don't know who you are," she said, "but you'll never hurt her again."
The man smiled.
"I'm not here to hurt her," he said. "I'm here for you."
And then he moved—faster than any wolf Aria had seen.
Kade lunged.
Steel clashed.
And the fortress roared to life.