Chapter 5 Fire In The Blood

• The scroll trembled in my hands, its wax seal cracked open like a broken promise.
• Return the girl with fire in her veins… or burn with her.
• I read it again. And again.
• Each time, the words hit harder.
• Someone knew what I was. Or what I was becoming.
• “Who sent this?” I asked, my voice thin.
• Ronan’s jaw clenched. “The rogues wore no crest. But this isn’t just a threat. It’s a claim.”
• I looked up at him. “A claim on me?”
• “Or what’s inside you,” he said grimly. “Moonborn blood hasn’t surfaced in over a century. Not since the Burning War.”
• I’d heard the stories. Half-whispers. The Moonborn were supposed to be extinct—wolves born under a blood eclipse, gifted with celestial fire. But power like that always drew enemies.
• I just never thought I’d be one.
• The war room was chaos.
• Maps sprawled across the long oak table. Pack leaders muttered beneath their breath. Blood smeared armor and faces. And in the center stood Ronan—silent, still, unreadable.
• I stood beside him, feeling like an echo of something they didn’t want to name.
• “She’s a danger,” growled one of the scouts. “They didn’t come for us. They came for her. You want to protect Nightfang? Send her away.”
• Another nodded. “She’s not even marked. She could be lying.”
• Eira’s voice cut sharp. “Enough. You question her, you question the Alpha. Is that what you want?”
• The room fell quiet.
• Ronan didn’t speak. He simply pointed to the message.
• “This wasn’t a warning,” he said. “It was bait. They want her rattled. Alone. We don’t give them what they want.”
• “She’s a Crescent exile,” the scout snapped. “Her old pack didn’t want her. Why should we?”
• That one hit deeper than I expected.
• But I didn’t let it show.
• I stepped forward, meeting the scout’s eyes.
• “I didn’t ask to be born like this. I didn’t ask to be chased or hunted or used as leverage. But I’m not running again. If you think I’m weak, try me.”
• The room went still.
• Ronan glanced at me, then back at the others. “She stays.”
• And just like that, the meeting was over.
• Later that night, I found Ronan alone in the lower tunnels, where the hot springs hissed through cracks in the mountain floor. He stood with his hands braced on the stone wall, steam curling around his shoulders, the heat catching the edge of his voice.
• “They won’t trust you.”
• “I noticed.”
• “You scared them. You spoke like a leader.”
• I leaned against the wall beside him, watching his profile in the low light. “I’m not trying to lead. I’m just trying to survive.”
• He turned to face me, his eyes dark. “Surviving takes strength. But keeping your soul intact—that takes something else entirely.”
• I swallowed hard. “I never wanted to be special.”
• “Most of the powerful never do.”
• Silence stretched between us, thick as the steam.
• Then he stepped closer.
• “You asked me before what you are to me,” he said quietly. “I still don’t have the right words. But I know what I feel when I look at you.”
• I didn’t breathe.
• His hand brushed against mine. Slow, deliberate. Not possessive. Not demanding.
• An invitation.
• Something in my chest cracked open.
• But before I could speak, a sound broke the silence: quick footsteps and urgent voices echoing from the upper halls.
• A messenger burst into the chamber, breathless. “Alpha. She’s here.”
• “Who?” Ronan asked sharply.
• The scout hesitated. “The Crescent Witch.”
• I froze. “What?”
• “Her name is Maren. She claims to have information about the girl.”
• About me.
• Maren stood at the gates like she owned them, cloaked in midnight blue, silver runes trailing down her sleeves. Her hair was white as frost, eyes glowing faintly violet.
• “Still dramatic,” Ronan muttered under his breath as we approached.
• She smirked. “Still growling instead of greeting, I see.”
• “I should’ve had you banned.”
• “Good thing you didn’t.”
• Then her eyes landed on me.
• “So,” she breathed, stepping closer. “The girl with fire in her veins.”
• I tensed. “Who are you?”
• “Maren Elowyn. Seer of the old Crescent coven. You and I have much to discuss, child.”
• “I’m not a child.”
• She smiled like she knew something I didn’t. “Not anymore.”
• Ronan stepped between us. “Say what you came to say.”
• Maren’s gaze flicked to him. “She’s not just Moonborn. She’s tethered.”
• “To what?”
• “To a prophecy.”
• My blood chilled.
• “She was born under a split moon,” Maren continued. “It happens once every thousand years. Wolves born in that hour are neither fate-bound nor free. They carry a key.”
• “To what?” I asked.
• She looked directly at me.
• “To the end of the packs.”
• The world tilted beneath my feet.
• “What are you saying?” Ronan asked slowly.
• “That Lupita wasn’t just rejected by her mate.” Maren turned back to him. “She was hidden. Moved. Concealed by those who knew what she’d become.”
• I shook my head. “My parents were warriors. I was born in the Crescent Pack. I remember.”
• “No,” she interrupted gently. “You remember what they let you. Your blood remembers more.”
• Then she reached into her cloak and handed me a small, rune-marked mirror.
• I stared into it.
• For a second, nothing.
• Then…
• Fire.
• Not burning. Not wild.
• Contained.
• A flame behind my eyes, glowing where my mark should’ve been.
• My knees nearly gave out.
• “She’s awakening,” Maren said. “And when the second eclipse comes, they’ll come for her in force.”
• “Who?” Ronan asked.
• “The ones who started the first war. The ones who swore no Moonborn would ever rise again.”
• Silence fell like a blade.
• Then Ronan’s hand found mine.
• Warm. Steady.
• His voice was soft but firm. “Let them come.”
• That night, sleep never came.
• I lay beneath my furs, heart racing, eyes fixed on the flickering shadows across the ceiling. Mira stirred uneasily in the back of my mind.
• Is it true? I whispered.
• I don’t know. But the fire… it’s always been there. Waiting.
• Outside, the wind howled like a warning.
• I wasn’t safe here.
• Not really.
• And neither were they because of me.
• I should’ve run. Vanished again. Given them a chance.
• But something stronger than fear kept me rooted.
• Ronan’s hand in mine.
• His voice in my ear.
• Let them come.
• And I realized….
• For the first time since Kai rejected me…
• I wasn’t alone anymore.
• But by dawn, the mirror would reveal something even Maren hadn’t seen.
• A second flame, flickering in the shadows, watching me from the dark.