Chapter 8

• Alyssa steps back, her voice stuck in her throat. "Werewolves?
• Lane nods, eyes mixed. "Yeah, I'm a werewolf."
• 'You... That was..." Alyssa pointed at the shadowy body on the ground and at Ryan himself, her fingers shaking violently. "You killed him?
• "He wants to hurt you." Lane sounded sure, without a hint of hesitation. "I had to stop him."
• Alyssa bit her lip, trying to digest the information before her. Werewolves, creatures that exist only in legend, actually appear in front of her, and Lane at that?
• "Why? "Alyssa asked, quietly, as if she were afraid to disturb something. "Why you?"
• Ryan was silent for a moment and walked over to Alyssa, his figure still tall, but less wild, more tired and helpless. "A lot of things, you don't know. The world, Alyssa, is not as simple as it seems."
• "What do you mean?" Alyssa frowned. She didn't like the mystification.
• "Werewolves, they're real." Ryan looks Alyssa straight in the eye and his tone is serious. "And, it's not just werewolves. There are a lot of them... Things you can't imagine."
• Alyssa froze, she looked at Lane, trying to find a trace of joke in his eyes, but there was none, just seriousness, and a hint of hidden pain.
• "You mean, like in the movies? "Alyssa asked uncertainly, feeling her perception being subverted.
• Lane shakes her head and gives a wry smile. "Movies? Movies are just stories. The real world, it's a lot more complicated and a lot more brutal than movies."
• "So you..." "Alyssa pointed to Lane and then to the body on the ground. "Did you turn into a Wolf to protect me?"
• "Yes." Ryan affirmed again. "I can't let you get hurt."
• "Why not? "Alyssa pressed, wondering why Ryan would do this, how long had they only known each other? Even if he had feelings for himself, he wouldn't turn into a Wolf and even kill for himself, would he?
• Ryan takes a deep breath and his eyes go deep. "Because of who I am, not just a werewolf."
• "What identity? "Alyssa's heart starts racing, and she has an inkling that what Lane has to say, is the real point.
• "I am the king of the Silver Moon Wolf clan." Lane's voice is low, but with an unmistakable majesty. "And the king of all werewolves."
• Alyssa froze completely, her mind going blank, the amount of information was so overwhelming she needed time to process it. The Wolf King? Ryan is the Wolf King? How is that possible?
• "The Wolf King? "Alyssa repeated, her voice slightly dazed. "You mean, you're... The leader of the werewolves? '
• 'Yes.' Lane nods. "The Silver Moon Wolves, the oldest and most powerful pack of wolves. I inherit the throne and bear the responsibility of guarding the pack."
• 'Guardian of the pack? "Alyssa felt like she was listening to Arabian Nights. "Guard what? What do you werewolves guard?"
• "A lot of things." Lane's eyes grow solemn. "Werewolf survival, the balance of the world, and... Prophecy."
• "Prophecy? "Alyssa felt like she was running out of brains and the prophecies were coming out? What exactly was this unfolding?
• "The Prophecy of the Daughter of the Blood Moon." Lane spoke the words slowly, his eyes locked on Alyssa. "You know the blood moon?"
• Alissa nodded. Of course she knew about the astronomical phenomenon, the occasional red moon, called a blood moon. "Yeah, what about the blood moon?"
• "When the blood moon appears, a woman with special powers is born." Lane's voice grew deep and mysterious. "She is known as the daughter of the Blood Moon and has the power to change the world."
• Alyssa scowled, sensing that Lane was getting farther and farther off the mark. "This is... Is it just a legend?"
• "No, it's not a legend." Ryan shakes his head in affirmation. "It's a prophecy, a werewolf prophecy from generation to generation. And I..." Ryan paused, looking at Alyssa with mixed eyes. "I've been looking for the Daughter of the Blood Moon."
• Alyssa's heart gave a sudden jump, and she felt a sudden sense of foreboding. "You... What do you want with the daughter of the Blood moon?"
• "For the future of the pack." Lane's tone turns serious. "The Silvermoon Wolves are facing a crisis, and the Bloodclaw Wolves are on the move, hungry for power, hungry for domination of the entire werewolf world, even... The human world."
• 'Bloodclaw? The first time Alyssa heard the name, she felt as if she had opened up a whole new world, one full of danger and mystery.
• "Bloodclaw werewolves are the extreme wing of werewolves who are violent and ambitious." Lane explained. "They've always coveted the Silver Moon throne and wanted to replace us as the rulers of the Wolves."
• "So, you've been fighting them?" Alissa thought of the dark figure. Could that figure have been one of the Bloodclaws?
• "Yes," said Alyssa. Lane nods. "Bloodclaw Wolves, everywhere. They do whatever it takes to get what they want."
• "That... What does the Daughter of the Blood moon have to do with all this?" Alyssa pressed, feeling as if she had caught a clue, but still couldn't quite figure it out.
• "The prophecy says that the Daughter of the Blood Moon has great powers that can help the Silvermoon clan defeat the Bloodclaw Clan, or... To destroy the entire werewolf world." Lane's tone is heavy. "The appearance of the Blood Moon daughter will determine the fate of the werewolf."
• Alyssa is silent as she looks at Lane with her mind in turmoil. The werewolf, the Wolf King, the Daughter of the Blood Moon, the prophecy, the words were a jumble, tangled together, that she couldn't make sense of.
• "It's... It's all pretty amazing." Alyssa muttered, still a little incredulous, that all of this was real.
• "I know, it's hard to accept." Lane understood Alyssa's reaction. "But, it's the truth. I'm not lying to you, Alyssa."
• Alyssa looked up at Ryan, whose eyes were sincere and open, without a hint of evasive action. She suddenly remembered the strange dreams she'd had, in which there was always a blood-red moon and some inexplicable power calling to her. There was also the strange mark on the back of her hand, the blood-red crescent, which would faint hot every full moon night.
• Do you... All of this has to do with Ryan's daughter of the Blood moon?
• "I..." Alyssa opened her mouth. She wanted to ask something, but she didn't know where to start.
• "Alissa, I know you have a lot of questions," she said. Ryan interrupted Alyssa with a softer tone. "I'll tell you everything slowly, if you're willing to believe me."
• "Trust you?" "Alyssa smiled ruefully. "How am I supposed to believe you? You tell me whether you are a werewolf, or the Wolf King, or the prophecy of the Daughter of the Blood Moon, these are beyond my knowledge. How am I supposed to believe them?"
• 'I know this is hard for you,' I said. Lane took a step forward, closing the gap with Alyssa. "But, Alyssa, everything I did, I did to protect you."
• "To protect me? "Alyssa pointed to herself, wondering. "Why? I'm just a normal person, why should I be protected?"
• "Because you're not a normal person." Lane's voice grows firm. "Alyssa, you are the daughter of the Blood Moon."
• Alyssa froze again, feeling as if her heart had been hit hard by something that knocked her out of breath. "Me? Daughter of the Blood moon? This... Can't be right?"
• "The marks on the back of your hand, the dreams you have, the special smell you give off." Lane lists them all. "These are proof that you are the daughter of the prophesied Blood moon."
• Alyssa unconsciously raised her hand to look at the mark of the blood moon that had become clear on the back of her hand, and she felt her fingertips tremble slightly. Could it be true? Was she really the daughter of some blood moon?
• "I don't get it." Alyssa shook her head, her mind a mushy mess. "I don't understand anything. Werewolves, daughters of the Blood moon, prophecies, what does it all have to do with me?"
• "A lot of it." Ryan says earnestly. "The power of the Daughter of the Blood Moon, it can change the fate of a werewolf, or it can change the shape of the world. The Bloodclaw clan, too, has been searching for the Blood Moon Daughter."
• "What are they looking for the Daughter of the Blood Moon for?" "Alyssa asked nervously, feeling vaguely that she was involved in some great conspiracy.
• "To harness the power of the Daughter of the Blood Moon, to rule the werewolf world, even... To enslave humanity." Lane's tone turns icy. "The Bloodclaw clan has far more ambition than you might think."
• Alyssa gasped. She felt herself go cold and a wave of fear came over her. If what Ryan was saying was true, wasn't she in danger? The Bloodclaws are going to use her, and Ryan...
• "And you? "Alyssa looked at Lane with mixed eyes. "Are you approaching me for the power of the Blood Moon daughters, too?"
• Lane's expression stiffened, a flash of hurt in his eyes. "Alyssa, what makes you think that?
• "I..." Alyssa was at a loss for words. She didn't know why she was asking. Maybe it was fear, maybe it was distrust, maybe it was... She didn't know.
• "Alyssa, I confess, I did approach you at first because I felt in you the breath of the daughter of the blood moon." Ryan confesses, his eyes sincere and expansive. "But then, when I really got to know you, my mind changed."
• 'Changed? "Alyssa looked at Lane quizzically.
• "Yeah, changed." Lane's voice is low and gentle. "Alyssa, you're special, you're nothing like the daughter of the Blood moon I thought you'd be. You're kind and brave and strong, and there's something about you that... Something that attracted me to you."
• Alyssa's heart racing slightly as she looks at Lane, his eyes focused and soulful, as if he's saying something.
• "Alyssa, I don't want to use you, I just want to protect you." There's a hint of pleading in Lane's voice. "Trust me, just give me a chance and let me watch over you, okay?
• The light of the blood moon shines on Lane's face, reflecting his sincere eyes. Alyssa looked at him, and her heart began to shake. The mark of the blood moon on the back of her hand, flickering again, was slightly hot.