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Chapter 8
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2024-10-23 19:29:40Related chapters
Echoes of the moon Chapter 9
Chapter 9 — Aria's POV: The First GuardianI was floating.That's the clearest way I can describe it. One second, I was falling right in front of Kane and Zane (which was super embarrassing), and the next, I was floating through something that looked like space, but… even more beautiful? Stars swirled around me in patterns that definitely weren't normal astronomy, and time felt like it had just… stopped existing.“Great. I'm either dead or having the world's weirdest dream.”“Neither, actually,” a voice said, smooth as silk and ancient as the stars themselves.I turned around (can you spin while floating?) and found myself looking directly at the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Her hair was a pure silver color, moving around her as if it were underwater. Her eyes… goddess, her eyes looked like they'd seen the birth of the universe itself. She wore robes that seemed to be made from actual moonlight if that was even possible.“Um, hi?” I managed. Real smooth, Aria.The woman's lip
Last Updated : 2024-10-24Echoes of the moon Chapter 10
Chapter 10 — Zane's POVEverything happened in slow motion.One second I was watching Aria thrash in her sleep, muttering something about guardians, and the next thing I knew, her hands burst into brilliant blue flames. Not normal flames, either – these had an otherworldly quality that made my wolf bristle with a mixture of awe and instinctive wariness.“Aria!” Kane's shout snapped me into action as the flames began spreading to the curtains. The acrid smell of smoke filled the air as medical supplies and papers caught fire. Dr. Cassia stood frozen, her usually calm demeanor shattered by the supernatural display before us.I lunged forward just as Aria's eyes rolled back, catching her before she could hit the floor. Even unconscious, her skin hummed with energy, though the burning heat from before had faded to a subtle warmth. My wolf was going crazy, desperate to protect our mate while simultaneously fascinated by this new development.“Move her to the other section!” Dr. Cassia orde
Last Updated : 2024-10-24Echoes of the moon Chapter 11
Chapter 11 — Aria's POVI woke up surrounded by unfamiliar comfort. The bed beneath me was definitely not my tiny twin mattress – this was like sleeping on a cloud made of Egyptian cotton. And the scents… Kane and Zane's combined essence wrapped around me like a protective blanket.“Their bedroom”, my foggy brain supplied. Right. Because apparently setting the infirmary on fire meant I needed an upgrade in accommodations.Opening my eyes, I saw Kane and Zane sitting beside me.“Look who's finally awake,” Kane's voice drew my attention to where he and Zane sat in nearby chairs. They looked exhausted but relieved.“How long was I out?” I asked, pushing myself up against the ridiculous mountain of pillows.“Just overnight this time,” Zane answered. “Though we need to talk about your habit of dramatic fainting.”Something in his tone made me pause. Both of them had their serious faces on – the ones that usually meant pack business was about to get complicated.“So…” I picked at the plush
Last Updated : 2024-10-25Echoes of the moon Chapter 12
Chapter 12 — Aria's POVI couldn't take another second of those judgmental stares from the council members. My feet carried me out of the stuffy chamber before my brain could catch up with the decision. The cool night air hit my face as I ran to the pack's garden, moonlight casting everything in a silvery glow that somehow made the whole situation feel a little less awful.Vivian's words kept echoing in my head: “Sometimes love isn't enough to overcome centuries of tradition.”I sat down on a stone bench, trying to understand what I was feeling. The mate bond hummed with Kane and Zane's concern, but they were still trapped in the council meeting. At least out here, I could have my mini-breakdown in peace.Or not.My supernatural senses picked up footsteps approaching – two people, their movements in perfect sync. Great. More judgment incoming? I braced myself, expecting another…, but when I looked up, I saw the friendliest smile I'd seen since all this drama started.“You look like y
Last Updated : 2024-10-26Echoes of the moon Chapter 13
Chapter 13 — Kane's POVMy heart nearly stopped when I felt Aria's consciousness slip through our bond. I moved faster than I ever had, catching her just before she hit the ground. The familiar weight of her in my arms sent a wave of protective instincts surging through me.“What did you do?” Zane's growl at Vivian echoed my own fury. My twin was already advancing on our former intended, his eyes flickering dangerous gold.Vivian just smiled, those damning papers clutched to her chest. “I didn't do anything. Your little hybrid seems to have a flair for the dramatic, doesn't she?”I wanted to snarl at her, but Aria's pulse was fluttering erratically under my fingers. Getting her somewhere safe took priority over dealing with Vivian's games.“We're not done here,” Zane warned Vivian, before helping me carry Aria back to our quarters. The sense of déjà vu wasn't lost on me – how many times had we carried our mate's unconscious form now? But this time felt different. Heavier.“She knows s
Last Updated : 2024-10-26Echoes of the moon Chapter 14
Chapter 14 — Aria's POV“Well, well, well,” a silky voice drifted through the window. “Little Aria. All grown up and playing with wolves.” He muttered.That voice sounded familiar, like I've heard it before.Before I could say anything, the pack courtyard erupted into chaos. The wolves formed a protective circle around me, their muscles flexed and ready for battle. Kane and Zane moved in perfect sync, positioning themselves at my sides like the world's hottest bodyguards. Which, technically they were.Through the gaps between bristling wolves, I caught my first glimpse of the vampire. He was… not what I expected. No black cape or slicked-back hair like some cheesy movie villain. Instead, he looked as if he'd just stepped out of some fancy painting – all perfectly tailored dark clothes with subtle gold embroidery and an actual pocket watch chain glinting at his waist. His face was ageless in that creepy vampire way, but something about his slight smile seemed almost… kind?“Now, now,”
Last Updated : 2024-10-29Echoes of the moon Chapter 15
Chapter 15 — Kane's POVSomething was wrong.My wolf woke me with a sharp mental nudge, every instinct screaming danger. The bed felt wrong. Too cold. Too empty. My hand reached for Aria before my eyes even opened, finding nothing but cold sheets and—My fingers closed around something metal. The pendant. That damn vampire's pendant.“Zane!” I was already moving, my panic hitting our twin bond hard enough to jolt my brother awake. “She's gone.”The note crinkled in my grip. Four lines that felt like silver bullets to the chest:“I have to know the truth. Please trust me. Also decide if you want me as your mate or not, I will be back soon.”“What the hell?” Zane snatched the note from my hands, reading it once, twice, three times like the words might change. “Want her as our mate? How could she even—?” He broke off, running a hand through his hair in frustration.I couldn't stop pacing. My wolf was going crazy, wanting to chase, to track, to find our mate right now. But underneath the
Last Updated : 2024-11-01Echoes of the moon Chapter 16
Chapter 16 — Zane's POVThe moon hung low and heavy in the sky as Kane and I tracked Aria's scent through the forest. My wolf was going crazy, picking up traces of her vanilla-and-sunshine smell mixed with something… darker, like midnight and magic.“Something's wrong,” Kane's thoughts pushed through our twin bond. “The scent's changing.”He was right. With each step closer, Aria's familiar scent grew more complex, more dangerous. Like lightning before a storm.Then we saw it – an ancient clearing where massive standing stones formed a perfect circle. Moonlight caught the carved symbols covering their surfaces, making them glow with an eerie blue light. And there, standing at the edge like some creepy supernatural doorman, was Victor.My wolf wanted to tear his throat out. I held back, barely.“Don't interfere,” Victor said softly, not even looking at us. “She needs to do this.”That's when I saw her. Aria – our beautiful, gentle mate – floating several inches off the ground in the ce
Last Updated : 2024-11-01
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Echoes of the moon Chapter 75
Chapter 75 — Zane's POVI watched Aria's face carefully as the young warrior delivered his message about Jaxon. Through our mate bond, I could feel her heart rate spike, a mix of anxiety and old hurt coloring her emotions. The morning light streaming through the infirmary windows cast shadows across her face, highlighting the faint traces of exhaustion still lingering there.“Bring him here,” I ordered the warrior, keeping my voice steady despite my tension. “We'll meet him in the infirmary.” My wolf stirred restlessly beneath my skin, protective instincts warring with the need to maintain control.The young warrior nodded quickly, his anxiety evident in the way his fur rippled briefly across his skin before he got himself under control. “Yes, Alpha.” He disappeared down the hallway, footsteps echoing against the tile floors.Kane moved closer to Aria's bed, his protective instincts evident in the way he positioned himself. Our shared bond thrummed with his readiness to defend if need
Echoes of the moon Chapter 74
Chapter 74 — Aria's POV “Aria.” Zane's voice pulled me from sleep, gentle but urgent. “Wake up.”I blinked, taking in the early morning light filtering through the infirmary windows. Zane stood beside my bed, his expression a mix of excitement and concern that instantly had me alert. His dark hair was mussed like he'd been running his hands through it — something he only did when big things were happening.Through our mate bond, I felt his emotions before he could speak — joy, worry, hope all tangled together. “What is it?” My heart picked up speed. “Is everything okay?”Zane's lips curved into a soft smile, his eyes bright. “Your mother's awake.”Five seconds. That's how long it took for those words to sink in. Then I was pushing myself up, ignoring the weakness in my limbs and the way the room spun slightly.“Careful.” Zane steadied me as I swayed, his hands warm and strong. “You're still recovering.”“I don't care.” I gripped his arm, probably too tight. “Take me to her. Now.”He
Echoes of the moon Chapter 73
Chapter 73 —Aria's POV Sunlight tickled my face. My eyes fluttered open to the peaceful infirmary, taking in the morning glow through the windows. For a moment, I just lay there, letting the warmth seep into my skin. After that cold cell, even simple sunlight felt like a miracle.Kane's head rested on my bed, his dark hair messy from sleep. A few strands fell across his face, moving slightly with each breath. His hand still held mine, just like he hadn't let go once in the past two weeks. The thought made my heart squeeze.Across the room, Zane was arranging what looked like hundreds of get-well cards on the windowsill, his movements careful and quiet. He'd changed clothes since yesterday — or was it still the same day? Time felt fuzzy around the edges.“You're staring,” Zane said without turning around, a smile in his voice.“Can you blame me?” My voice came out stronger today. “The view's not bad.”Kane stirred at the sound, probably sensing I was awake through our mate bond. His e
Echoes of the moon Chapter 72
Chapter 72 —Aria's POV Consciousness came back weird. Like swimming up through layers of thick fog.The first thing I noticed was the softness underneath me instead of that cold cell floor. Then scents hit — antiseptic, healing herbs, and something that sparked a memory. Victor's special healing paste. I was in the pack infirmary.Someone was holding my hands. Both of them. The warmth felt familiar.My eyes felt like they were glued shut, but I managed to crack them open after a few tries. The dim lighting was a blessing after that harsh white cell.Kane was on my right, Zane on my left. Both passed out in chairs but still gripping my hands like they were afraid I'd disappear. They looked awful — dark circles under their eyes, clothes rumpled like they'd been wearing them for days.My opalescent scars pulsed gently, reflecting off the monitoring equipment surrounding the bed. Victor had set up his full healing array — IV drips, magical monitors, the works.I tried to say something,
Echoes of the moon Chapter 71
Chapter 71 — Kane's POV The moment I felt Zane's pain explode through our bonds, I knew something had gone terribly wrong. His anguish hit me like a physical blow, nearly bringing me to my knees. Only Victor's quick reflexes kept both of us standing as the vampire hauled us to our feet.The pack bonds were screaming. Every wolf connected to me felt it – that sudden, devastating emptiness where Aria's presence should be. It was as if someone had ripped out a piece of our collective soul.“She's not dead,” Victor said firmly, his pale features set with determination. Being the oldest vampire in our alliance sometimes gave him insights we missed. “Think about it. Azrael wanted her powers. Her potential. He wouldn't just kill her.”I watched my twin struggle to form words, his face twisted in agony. “The bond…” That was all Zane could manage before his voice broke. The mating bond between us and Aria was new, still strengthening. To have it suddenly severed like this… I feel the pain he
Echoes of the moon Chapter 70
Chapter 70 — Zane's POV The maps were starting to blur together. I'd been staring at them for so long, the marked locations had stopped making sense. My fingers traced the same paths over and over, like somehow I'd find something new this time.“Zane.” Kane's voice broke through my focus. I hadn't even heard him enter the war room. “Victor found something.”I stood up from the chair so fast my vision swam. Lack of sleep was really starting to mess with me. “What?”Kane spread out a new set of documents — blueprints, security protocols, guard rotations. “Three facilities matching the energy signatures from where we lost her trail.”Hope flared in my chest for the first time in days. It hurt. Everything hurts since Aria disappeared.“Show me.”Liora was already there, analyzing the blueprints with that laser focus that made her our best strategist. “The security patterns are similar to other Azrael operations we've tracked. Look at these power grid connections.”Victor pointed to speci
Echoes of the moon Chapter 69
Chapter 69 — Aria's POV “Come on,” I muttered, staring at my reflection in the white wall. “Someone answer me.”Nothing. No wolf growling at the edges of my mind, no vampire strength humming under my skin, no witch power tingling in my fingertips, no demon fire burning in my core. Just silence where my aspects used to be.The emptiness hurt worse than any physical pain, like losing a limb or five.Mom's head rested in my lap, her breathing shallow and irregular. The corruption marks had spread further in the past few hours, turning more of her silver scars that sickly black color. Dark veins spread from each corrupted mark like poison through her system. Time was running out.“Please,” I tried again, reaching for that place inside where my aspects lived. The hollow space where they should be. “I need you. She needs you.”Silence answered. Again.I'd been trying for hours. Days, maybe. Hard to tell in this stupid white box with its endless artificial light and sterile walls. Every tim
Echoes of the moon Chapter 68
Chapter 68 — Aria's POV My whole world narrowed to her face. Now that I knew, I couldn't understand how I hadn't seen it before. The same sharp cheekbones. The same raven hair. Even bruised and battered, even unconscious, she was inhumanly beautiful in the same ways I sometimes saw in my own reflection.“No,” I breathed, voice shaking. “They're dead. Both died. There was a fire.”Azrael's laugh cut through my shock like a knife. He moved closer, studying us like we were specimens in a lab. Which, I guess, we were. “The truth is far more interesting.”My scars flared to life with my rising anger, but I was too weak to do anything about it. “What did you do?”“I removed a threat,” he said matter-of-factly, as if he were discussing the weather and not murder. “Your father was becoming problematic. Too many questions about my research. Too many moral objections.” His lip curled in disgust. “As if advancing supernatural science should be constrained by human ethics.”Every word was anothe
Echoes of the moon Chapter 67
Chapter 67 — Aria's POV Everything hurts.Not the normal kind of hurt, either – the kind that comes after training too hard or taking a beating in a fight. This was different. Deeper. Like every cell in my body had been ripped apart and stitched back together wrong.I woke up to the cold floor. Harsh lighting watered my eyes, trying to focus them on the room. My whole body felt like it had gone through a meat grinder, getting run over by a truck, and thrown off a cliff-just to make sure.The opalescent scars covering my skin flickered weakly, like dying Christmas lights. Every pulse sent little waves of exhaustion through me. Whatever that transformation in the extraction chamber had done to me, it had definitely taken its toll. I could barely lift my head without the room spinning.“Way to go, Aria,” I muttered to myself. “Really nailed that whole 'transcendent power' thing.”I tried to push myself up, and that went worse. My arms shook all over the place, as if I'd done a thousand
