Moon Marked

Blood. There was so much blood. Everywhere I looked, all I saw was crimson. It coated the floors, the walls, and even my hands. My entire body trembled as I took a step between the couch and sofa, both of them completely soaked.

Iron and copper filled my nostrils, making my stomach churn with nausea. I turned, searching for my family, only to find their bodies lying on the ground, completely lifeless.

My eyes fluttered as I fought back tears. “What?”

Voice cracking, I barely recognized myself. What happened to my family? Were they truly dead?

I took a few shaky steps in their direction, only to find my mother and father both dead on the ground with their throats ripped out. Their eyes were focused on something on the ceiling that I couldn’t see. For a moment, I thought they might have been alive, but I watched their chests.

Neither breathed.

“No, no, no. This can’t be happening,” I said, my voice barely audible. Then it hit me. Where was my sister? “Sabine?”

I looked to my right, begging the Moon Goddess that she wasn’t gone too, yet I found her sitting in her favorite chair with her head tilted back. She stared blankly at the ceiling, her eyes hollow and lifeless. Her mouth was open as if she had screamed, but died before it ended.

“Not her,” I said, my knees buckling beneath me.

Panic surged through my veins. This couldn’t be my reality. My breath became shuddered gasps as I searched the room for their killer.

Before I could find them, heavy footsteps filled the air. They made the floor shake with each step. I turned around, wildly looking behind me to see who was there, only to find no one.

The feeling of being watched made me jerk. Lights in the kitchen and dining room turned off on their own.

“Is someone there? Please, I need help. My family is dead,” I said, my voice cracking with each word.

Tears flooded down my face. I couldn’t stop them any longer. The pain was just too great.

When a thump echoed from the darkness, I didn’t turn away or even run. I went straight into it, my bare feet touching the sticky residue behind. I tried not to shudder or cry out. Not that I could. Fear choked those emotions out of me when I stepped into the darkest part of the house.

My heartbeat pounded in my ears. When the wall creaked, my eyes darted to the front door, which was just on the other side of the dining room in the light. Fear took hold of me as I realized I shouldn’t be searching the darkness. I should be running for the light.

If I could just make it to the door, then I could get out of the house and find help. The patrols had to be out.

Suddenly, something moved behind me, the breeze from it moving the bottom of my nightgown. I stopped cold in my tracks, my heart becoming erratic. I turned to glance over my shoulder, a huge lump forming in my throat.

There, a few feet behind me, stood a dark gray wolf. He was more massive than my father, the Alpha of the pack. Blood dripped from his jaws onto the floor.

“Callista,” a voice said.

I blinked a few times before the wolf said my name again.

“How do you know my name?” I asked, turning to fully face the wolf. “Why did you kill my family? And how are you using our pack link?”

“Callista,” the voice said again, a low chuckle filling the air. “You are mine.”

That voice. Low and smooth, with an edge that made my wolf restless when I had met him at the border a week ago.

“Riven? But why would you do this?” I asked, though my words were barely audible.

His voice filled my mind. “They’re all dead now. Every single one of them. What will you do now without your pack?”

Tears fell down my cheeks again. “You killed…all of them?”

“Seer,” he said, his voice low. “You’ve been hidden away like a fragile secret, pampered even. Now, you’re mine.”

“Me?” I asked, my voice high-pitched. “I don’t understand. Why did you wipe out my entire pack?”

He took one imposing step forward, his jaws opening wide as he growled. That one rumbled, vibrating my bones. “I need to finish this. What’s one more kill?”

Bones snap as the wolf slowly becomes a man. He groaned just as his shift finished. His glowing red eyes met mine.

“You, Callista Monroe, are going to die. Do you have any last words?”

I tripped over something as I scrambled for the door and fell onto my hands and knees. My face was mere inches from another dead body. A startled scream pierced the air as I got off the body and headed for the door again.

Something warm snaked around my ankle, jerking me back. It was then I realized that I’d never make it out alive.

“This is the end for you, Seer. Now stay still for me,” he whispered, dragging me back.

My entire body froze as I felt his Alpha command wash over me. No. This was impossible. As an Alpha’s daughter, only my father could—

But I couldn’t even finish the thought. My limbs locked as my wolf whimpered and submitted.

“You’re already an Alpha?” The words came out strangled. “But how? How can you do this?’

He laughed under his breath. “The Alpha King. Not that it matters to you anymore.”

His hand tightened on my ankle as he finished dragging me across the bloody floor until I was underneath him. His breath brushed my ear before I felt warm, wet liquid drip onto my skin.

Blood. It was blood.

“You can’t escape our future.”

A ragged scream tore through my throat just as I felt his teeth digging into my shoulder, and then I blinked

My bedroom ceiling stared back at me. Everything was quiet and normal. There was no blood, no bodies, and no Riven in sight.

I pressed my palms against my eyes, trying to slow my pounding heart. “Just a dream.”

But my shoulder throbbed. I froze, then slowly pulled my hand away from my face. That pain was exactly where he bit me.

“No,” I whispered, yanking down the collar of my nightgown.

In the mirror across my room, I could see them clearly. Two crescent-shaped marks. They were fresh and deep enough that they should be bleeding. My wolf, usually so quiet I sometimes forgot she existed, suddenly surged to the surface with a snarl. The marks on my shoulder burned hotter.

I stumbled to the window, threw it open and gulped the cool night air. That’s when I smelled it.

Blood. And something else. Something wild and ancient that made my wolf curl in on itself, whimpering in the back of my mind. Heat rushed to my face, then drained away so fast my fingers went numb on the windowsill.

It was the exact same scent from my dream.

A howl ripped through the night, too close. Closer than it should’ve been. My stomach knotted, breath stuttering as I counted the seconds, waiting for another sound, another scream. The patrol. It had to be the patrol. Or maybe—

My phone buzzed on the nightstand, the sudden noise slicing through the silence. I flinched so hard my elbow hit the frame. For a second, I just stared at the glowing screen, throat tight, every instinct yelling not to move.

Unknown number.

My palms were damp when I picked it up. I swallowed, forced myself to look.

There were only three words.

“Soon, little Seer.”

My wolf froze. Whoever it was, they didn’t just know what I was. They were coming.