Eclipsed Destiny
Fury of the Moon

The sky was an ocean of blood.

Celia stood at the center of the Crescent Moon camp, her pulse pounding as she gazed upon the ominous red moon hanging heavy in the sky. The blessing burned against her skin, the mark on her arm alive with a searing energy she could barely contain. It felt like it was trying to speak to her, to tell her something she couldn't quite understand.

Around her, the pack was a whirlwind of activity-wolves dashing between tents, weapons being sharpened, orders being bellowed. The battle was coming, and everyone knew it. Even the air seemed to hum with anticipation, a thick, electric charge that made the hairs on her arms stand on end.

Aziel's voice cut through the chaos, smooth and insistent. "Marcus, take the scouts along the west perimeter. Kael, your wolves head out the east. The rogues are going to hit us hard, but we aren't giving them a fraction of ground. Kael stood a short distance away, lips creasing into a smug smile, and Celia couldn't help but distrust them. "And what of you, Blackwood?" he questioned mockingly. "Where would you be?"

Aziel turned, his blue eyes sharp as ice. "Wherever I am most in need. And once lieutenant appears, I will be able to ensure that this lad never leaves alive".

Kael laughed, but his merriment didn't reach his eyes. "I'll hold you to that.

Celia clenched her fists, a flicker of unease coiling in her stomach. The alliance between the Crescent Moon pack and Kael's Black River wolves was still tenuous at best, a fragile truce built out of necessity rather than trust. She knew Aziel didn't like it-none of them did but they had no choice. The rogues were too many, and their forces too strong.

A hand touched her shoulder, jolting her from her thoughts. She turned to replace Luna standing beside her, her face lined with worry. "The moon's blood tonight," Luna said softly. "It's a bad omen."

Celia swallowed hard, her gaze returning to the sky. "It's more than that," she murmured. "I can feel it. The blessing. it's responding to something."

Luna's eyes narrowed, her hand tightening on Celia's arm. "You need to be careful, Celia. The blessing's power is tied to you, but it's also tied to them. If they replace a way to twist it—"

"I won't let them," Celia said, though her voice was shaking with uncertainty. "I can't."

Luna studied her for a long moment before nodding. "Then you need to be ready for what's coming. Because tonight. everything changes."

7---

As the first howl echoed through the trees, time seemed to stop.

The sound was deep and guttural, a cry that sent chills racing down Celia's spine. She looked to Aziel, who stood at the edge of the clearing, his posture rigid as he scanned the forest. Around him, the pack shifted into their wolf forms, their growls low and menacing as they prepared to meet the enemy.

"They're here," Aziel said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Celia's mark burned hot, the blessings' energy surging through her as if by fire. Clenching her fists hard, her breath came only in shallow gasps as the wave of rogues began stepping out from the shadows.

They were monstrous-wolves larger than any she had ever seen, their red eyes glowing with unnatural malice. They charged forward in a black wave, their snarls tearing through the night as they crashed into the pack's lines.

The battle broke out into cacophony and fury, and wolves clashed with crushing power, their claws sliced across flesh and their teeth were tearing apart in brutal precision. The air was reeking of blood and smoke and the cries of the injured got lost in the din of fighting.

Celia stood there, frozen for a moment, her heart hammering in her chest as she took it all in. Then Aziel's voice cut through the chaos, sharp and clear. "Celia, now!"

The blessing flared to life inside her, its energy blazing like a sun. She raised her hand, the mark on her arm glowing white-hot as she released a burst of power that sent a group of rogues flying backward. The light illuminated the clearing, blinding in its intensity, but it wasn't enough to turn the tide. There were too many.

Aziel went forth, his movements slick, slick like a knife being ripped from the sheath through those rogues in rippers, claws, and gnashers. Though his opponent was strong even, so was the tidal wave crashing through the pack against all those riddled defenses.

Celia went to his side, her power bursting forth in jagged spurts as she sought to keep the rogues at bay. The blessing flared with every strike, wild and untamed energy as if it had its own mind.

"Stay with me!" Aziel screamed as he swung at yet another rogue. His voice was hoarse. "Don't let them split us up!

But even as he spoke, the earth seemed to lurch up at Celia's feet. A darkness had stepped up onto the rim of the clearing, and its very aura was thick enough to make her skin crawl. She turned toward it, heart stopped in her chest as the rogue lieutenant stepped into view.

He was taller now, his body wreathed in shadow that seemed to bleed from his skin. His red eyes locked onto Celia, and he smiled, a cruel, predatory grin that sent ice racing through her veins.

"Did you think you could stop me?" he asked, his voice echoing unnaturally in the clearing. "Did you think this little light of yours would be enough?"

Celia's mark flared in pain as the blessing responded to the lieutenant's presence. "You won't win," she said, though her voice quivered. "I won't let you."

The lieutenant laughed, the sound like shattered glass. "Too late, Celia. The blood moon has risen, and its power is mine.

He lifted his hand, and the darkness swirling about him coalesced, rushing forward like a great wave. Celia thrust her arms up into the air as the blessing's light sprang out in a despairing flash that hit the shadows. The two impacts struck each other in a dazzling explosion, and she felt herself tumbled from her feet by the shock wave.

"Celia!" Aziel shouted, fighting through his way to her, panicking with fear.

The lieutenant moved forward, his gait slow but purposeful as Celia fought to get to her feet. Her mark burned hotter than ever, the energy inside her threatening to spin out of control.

"Let it go," the lieutenant said softly, his voice almost hypnotic. "Give in to the blessing. Let it consume you."

Celia shook her head, tears running down her face as she fought to keep herself together. "No. I won't."

"Celia!" Aziel just made it to her when the lieutenant hit, shadows coiling around them like manacles. Celia let out a cry as the blessing burst within her, a blinding light that tore through the darkness.

Everything was silent for a moment.

Then the shadows broke, and the lieutenant recoiled with his face twisted in hatred. "You can't stop what's coming," he sneered. "This is only the beginning."

Celia fell against Aziel with her body shaking as if the light inside her went out. The battle could rage on around them, but she couldn't move now, couldn't fight back.

Aziel held her close, his voice rough with worry. "Stay with me, Celia. We're not done yet."

Celia's mark flickered faintly, its glow weak but steady. She looked up at Aziel, her voice barely audible. "It's not over. He's right. it's not over."

The rogue lieutenant laughed through the clearing, low and haunting. Then he turned into the darkness, his parting, chilling words sinking behind him as he left Celia standing alone. "The rage of the moon has hardly started."

Aziel's grasp on Celia did not loosen one inch as his eyes remained upon the forest from where the rogue had gone to disappear into the shadows. He had won the battle, but the war was very much alive.