Bella staggered back a step, not from disbelief. But from recognition. The pieces of her life—the shadows that followed her, the whispers she’d never been able to explain, all of it finally aligned. She pressed a hand to her chest. "That’s why... why everything’s been happening to . Why people—why Maren—wants gone."
"Because they fear you," Cassian finished for her.
Her throat tightened. Fear. Yes. That explained Mira’s betrayal. Liam’s cruelty. Elara’s backstabbing. People didn’t just hate her, they sensed sothing she didn’t. They sensed that there was sothing more about her. Even these boys, she looked at her faces. They must have also seen her for what she truly was, that must be why they were always around...
She was like them.
"Does this an I’m... also a Werewolf?"
"That’s all we’ve been trying to say since, Bella." Luca nodded. "And you’re not just the regular werewolf. You are Moonblood, a very rare one and you wield so much power which is still dormant now, but your spirit is actively protective of you. That’s why a lot has happened to you but none has had any real effect."
Bella suddenly felt dizzy and placed a palm on her forehead while she took a step back.
"Bella?"
She swayed a little.
Luca caught her imdiately. "Bella! Are you okay?"
He set her down to sit on a slab of stone.
"Yea, I—I think I’m fine."
"You sure?"
"Yeahhh. Forgive for being a bit... dramatic. But it’s not everyday I hear such a thing. Being told I’m a werewolf... is a lot of information to assimilate at once."
Cassian chuckled a bit. "Cheer up Bella," he punched her shoulders playfully. "You’ll get the hang of it soon."
Bella dragged in a shaky breath. "But I’ve been exiled to the forest. You must have heard about it. The whole school knows."
"Yes, that’s the main reason why we’re here. And we don’t have much ti anymore." Luca glanced at his wristwatch. "You won’t survive it alone, but we can help."
She lifted her eyes to his. "How?"
Rafe stepped forward, his voice steady. "There’s an old rite we have to perform. The Old Seventh Wolves Pact. We’ll use Rule 3046. If we perform it, we can bind our strength to yours. Fortify you before the exile. Enough to keep you alive for the three days."
"The old seventh wolves pact..." she murmured, her head spinning again. It felt like she’d heard about it before, but a million years ago.
Killian tilted his head, studying her. "You’ve heard it before."
Bella didn’t answer.
Rafe continued. "If we do this, Bella, you won’t just be you anymore. It would most likely trigger the process of your rewakening. You’ll be one of us. Maren’s rules won’t matter. Her punishnt won’t either. You’ll be untouchable. But it’ll be the start of sothing entirely new."
Her heart raced, the weight of the night pressing down on her. Moonblood. A wolf. Not cursed. Not broken. For the first ti, she felt the threads of her life weaving into sothing whole.
But Luca’s next words ca, "It won’t be easy, Bella. But we’ll do it. There’s no going back. Forever."
Forever.
The word rooted in her chest, heavy and terrifying. And yet, beneath the fear, there was sothing else, sothing wild and alive that whispered... ’yes’.
"I’m down for it. Do what you must," she said firmly to Luca.
"Stand here," Luca instructed, guiding her toward the center of the clearing. His hand brushed hers briefly, grounding her. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes, sharp and steady, spoke of a thousand things he couldn’t say.
Killian was already drawing symbols into the dirt with a small silver dagger, in sharp and deliberate movents. The curved lines going deep into the soil.
Cassian muttered under his breath as he lit a stub of black wax candle, shielding the fla with his palm. The scent of smoke curled upward, bitter and ancient, and Bella’s skin prickled with a strange recognition.
Rafe, quiet as always, had begun to hum again, the sa low tune that had pulled her from her dorm. It wasn’t just a song. She knew that now. It was a prayer. A summon.
Bella’s breath hitched. "What are you doing?"
"Calling the old wolf," Luca answered softly, his voice carrying the weight of reverence. "The first of our kind. Without his blessing, the pact ans nothing."
She shivered.
Killian glanced up from his work, the silver dagger gleaming. "This ritual isn’t taught anymore. It’s banned. Too dangerous. Too binding. That’s why we’re moving fast before anyone notices."
Cassian added. "Wouldn’t exactly look good on our record if the prefects caught us performing ancient wolf magic while we’re supposed to be confined to our rooms."
Bella’s pulse hamred. "And you’re sure this will... work? That it’ll help survive out there?"
Luca stepped closer, his gaze locking with hers. "We wouldn’t risk this if we weren’t sure." After a beat, he spoke softer, "we won’t let them take you unprepared."
Her chest tightened. She wanted to believe him, wanted to believe them all.
Rafe’s voice lowered into a chant, each word foreign yet familiar, like she had once known this language in her bones. Killian handed her the dagger, its hilt cool against her palm.
Bella stiffened. "What—what am I supposed to do?"
"Blood seals the pact," Killian said. His tone was steady, but his eyes were watching her closely. "Yours first. Then ours. The old wolf only recognizes sacrifice."
Her fingers trembled around the blade. Blood. Sacrifice.
Cassian’s voice cut through the heavy silence, low and rough. "You have to do this, Bella. If you don’t—" His gaze flicked toward the dark line of trees in the distance. The forest is waiting and hungry. "You can’t go in there powerless. Alone."
Bella’s breath ca shallow. She thought of Maren’s wicked smile while exiling her to the forest. Of Mira’s betrayal, of Elara’s betrayal, of Liam’s. She thought of how every hand she had trusted had let go.
But the four before her now were still here. Risking everything for her.
Her throat tightened. She raised the dagger.
Rafe’s chant grew louder. Killian finished the last symbol in the dirt. Cassian placed the candle at her feet, its smoke curling around her feet. Luca reached for her free hand and gave it the faintest squeeze.
Bella pressed the blade to her palm.
The sting was sharp, bright, and imdiate, and she hissed through her teeth as the cut broke open. A bead of red blood welled up, then another, sliding down her hand before it dripped into the dirt. The mont it touched the carved symbols, the lines glowed faintly, like the earth had been waiting for it.
Her heart pounded so loudly she almost didn’t hear when Killian took the dagger back without hesitation. He dragged it across his palm in a clean, practiced stroke. His blood joined hers, sizzling faintly where it hit the glowing symbols.
Cassian went next, muttering sothing under his breath before he pressed the blade into his skin. His jaw clenched, but he tipped his hand and let his blood fall.
Luca accepted the dagger silently. He cut deep and clean, his gaze locked on hers the entire ti, like he was silently telling her he’d carry the pain if he could. His blood fell thick onto the earth.
Finally, Rafe. His movents were quiet, deliberate. He nicked his palm and lifted his hand without a sound, letting the crimson drops fall, still humming the sa haunting tune that had drawn her out here into the night air, making the symbols pulse brighter.
Five sacrifices. One circle.
The clearing went eerily still.
Killian’s voice rose first, deep and steady, carrying the weight of mory.
"The Seventh Pact: one wolf divided becos five bound. Her strength, our strength. Our strength, her shield."
The others joined, their voices overlapping until it felt less like words and more like a spiritual chant.
The carved lines flared bright white, then red. Heat surged up from the ground. Bella gasped as it raced through her bare feet, searing up her legs, into her chest, her throat, until she felt like her blood had caught fire.
She fell to her knees, clutching at her chest. Luca dropped beside her instantly, catching her before she hit the ground. "Bella—stay with ."
And then she heard it.
Not the boys. Not Rafe’s chant. An ancient voice like thunder that split her bones apart.
"Moonblood. Awaken."
Her vision fractured.
She saw wolves sprinting beneath a blood-red moon, paws striking earth that shook like drums. She saw claws raking through shadows, fangs tearing into smoke. At the center, one wolf towered above the rest—massive, silver as lightning, with eyes that burned like white fire. It turned. It looked directly at her.
Bella gasped, her breath catching in her throat. Her pulse beat in sync with the boys’. She could feel them: Killian’s hot anger, Cassian’s sharp focus, Rafe’s eerie calm, Luca’s stubborn, anchoring presence.
The bond was real.
The bond was alive.
The symbols flared one last ti before the light collapsed inward, sinking back into the earth like it had never been there. The candle guttered out. The night rushed back, loud and heavy.
Bella’s breaths ca shallow, ragged. "I... I think it worked."
The boys exchanged quick, sharp looks. Killian wiped the blade clean on his shirt. Cassian exhaled roughly. Rafe’s humming died into silence. Luca never let go of her hand.
And then—
Crack.
A branch snapped from the darkness beyond the tree line.
Every muscle tensed at once.
Luca shoved himself in front of Bella, protective. Killian’s grip on the dagger tightened.
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