Blood and Bone

Chapter 3 – Blood and Bone

She gave a humorless laugh. “Where do I go? I have no place."

“Then make somewhere,” he said, and turned away.

The cave fell into silence again, except for the crackling fire. Aria drew her knees close, her body aching but her heart worse.

Days passed.

Kael spoke little. He left at dawn, returning at noon with food, herbs, and always silent. He didn’t smile, didn’t try to comfort her, but he never hurt her either, and that was enough. The cave became a refuge, and for the first time in her life, Aria could sleep without fear.

Her ribs healed slowly. Her wolf stirred, restless but stronger. Each night, she stared into the fire, and thought of Lucien, his cold eyes, the moment he turned away. She had made the mistake of thinking, being away from Lucien would dull the pain, but the ache followed her into her dreams.

His rejection played over and over in her mind until she could almost hear the echo of his laugh in the dark. Sometimes, when she cried quietly into her blanket, she hated herself for still missing him.

One morning, she found Kael watching her from the mouth of the cave. “You’re recovering well.. and quickly too.”

“I have to,” she replied, standing to stretch her stiff limbs.

He nodded once. “It may not feel like it now, but the Goddess doesn’t make mistakes.”

She frowned. “Meaning?”

“You may think yourself weak,” he said, not unkindly. “But the Moon doesn’t waste her mark. If she chose you, it’s because there’s something inside you, even if Lucien’s too blind to see it.”

She turned away sharply. “I don’t want him.”

Kael’s mouth curved faintly, at her lie. “Then learn who you are without him.”

That night, Aria dreamed.

She stood in a forest of silver, the air shimmering like water. From the mist, a woman stepped forward, tall and radiant, her eyes glowing like the moon itself.

“Aria.” She called.

Her throat tightened. “Who are you?”

“I am what you will become,” she said, her words carrying like wind through the trees. “When you stop hiding.”

Aria’s breath hitched. “I don’t understand.”

The woman turned, revealing a glowing mark on her back, shaped like a crescent burning with white fire. “Your power isn’t broken,” she said softly. “It’s buried. In your blood. In your grief.”

“And when the time comes,” the woman said, “you will burn brighter than him.”

Then she was gone.

Aria woke with a gasp. The fire had burned low, the cave cast in shadows. Her heart pounded, her skin damp with sweat. She tried to shake the dream, but the woman’s words continued to echo in her mind.

Then. Movement. Outside.

A growl. Low. Angry.

She froze.

That scent: sharp, sweet, poisonous.

Her stomach dropped. Talia.

Her voice drifted through the night, smooth and venomous. “Did you really think you could run, mutt?”

Aria’s blood ran cold.

Then came another sound, deeper, wilder. Kael’s growl echoed through the forest like thunder.

And more voices followed. Men. Warriors. Lucien’s.

Aria’s heart pounded. “They’re here because of me.” She whispered.

Kael stepped out from the shadows, his eyes burning with anger. “No,” he said. “They’re here for blood.”

Then howls broke out at night.

Kael growled, baring his teeth and coming between Aria and the mouth of the cave.

"Stay behind me."

“I can fight,” she whispered, though her body trembled. “I have to.”

“You can hardly stand,” he retorted, pulling his cloak from his shoulders and tossing it aside. His voice deepened, feral. “They do not intend to be merciful. So neither will I.”

Outside, boots crushed frost-bitten leaves. The air filled with the metallic stench of weapons. Shadows flickered between trees, Lucien’s soldiers. She knew their scent. She’d polished their armor, scrubbed blood off of it.

Now they’d come for hers.

A howl split the silence, followed by the crack of shifting bones.

"Kael," she whispered again. "I will assist you."

He turned, only a little. His countenance was as a stone, yet his voice grew mild. "And when you die, it is all a waste of choice on the part of the Moon."

“Kael!” she shrieked, panic rising. “There are too many.”

He didn’t look back. “Then you’ll see what I do when I’m outnumbered.”

The clearing exploded.

Talia lunged first, a flash of silver fur and bared fangs. Kael met her midair, his body twisting, fur bursting from skin as he shifted in one fluid motion. The collision resounded through the air, the sound of claws raking against stone. They hit the ground hard, rolling, teeth snapping, eyes burning gold and silver.

Aria’s wolf screamed within her, clawing to get free. But pain tore through her ribs when she tried to move. She reached for a rock, her fingers brushing cold stone.

A shadow burst through the mouth of the cave, a soldier in wolf form, massive and snarling. He lunged for her throat.

Aria swung.

The rock connected with his jaw. He stumbled, stunned. Instinct roared through her. She kicked, hard, catching him in the chest. He fell back, crashing into the wall.

She didn’t wait. She ran.

Cold air slammed into her as she burst into the open forest. Snow crunched under her feet. Her breath came in fast, sharp pants. Behind her, Kael was a blur of fur and fury, slashing, tearing, his claws glinting in the light of the moon.

Talia snarled, catching sight of her. "You will be sorry you cannot die in that cave, Omega."

Aria wasn’t listening. Something within her had burst loose  or had been jolted to its senses.

One of the soldiers extended his hand to her arm. She bit him. He shrieked and shrank. She used against him his moment of weakness by kicking him. She kicked him in the knee, and he went sprawling onto a tree.

She never had fought before. Not like this. Not with fire in her veins.

Now Kael was keeping three of them off, but he was bleeding at the arm. Talia was circling him like a vulture, her growls echoing through the trees, but her eyes kept shifting to Aria.

“Do you think he’ll always protect you, omega?” she hissed, her eyes blazing. “You’re a curse, Aria. A mistake.”

Something snapped inside her.

Lucien’s voice, Talia’s laughter, it all crashed together in her chest until it burned.

“I am not a mistake,” she said, her voice trembling with fury. "The Goddess selected me."

Talia laughed. "You? The poor little crumb-suck of a mutt with mud under her nails? The Moon does not err  but Lucien sets it right."

She sneered. “Iy you're so special, then prove it.”

Aria flinched. Doubt once more creeping back.

Then the voice of Kael came in. "You don’t want her to win, Aria."

He did not speak her name with scorn, with mockery? It was… belief.

A spark burned in her.

The world narrowing to a standstill, as pain tore through her back, white-hot, searing. Aria screamed, falling to her knees as light exploded from her spine. The forest trembled. The wind howled. Her wolf howled with it.

Kael froze mid-strike. The soldiers did too.

The light spread, forming burning lines across her shoulder blades, twisting, curling, the shape of a rune, ancient and alive, glowing white and silver. The air around her shimmered.

“What… what is that?” one of the soldiers stammered.

Talia’s eyes widened, her snarl faltering. “No… it can’t be.”

Her eyes narrowed at Kael, “You!”