✨ Chapter 47 – The Day Before the Moon
The sky the next morning was wrong.
Not cloudy.
Not stormy.
Just… heavy, swollen with red mist that hovered unnaturally near the treetops.
Ariana stepped into the courtyard and felt a pressure in her chest—
like someone had placed a glowing hand against her ribs.
Her wolf whispered sharply:
"Moonbeast breathes.
Forest shifts."
Ariana swallowed hard.
Kai appeared beside her instantly—
he'd been waiting again.
"You feel it too?" he asked quietly.
Ariana nodded.
"Yes."
Kai gently brushed a stray curl behind her ear, eyes soft and full of worry.
"Ariana… there's something important we need to talk about. Before tonight."
Ariana blinked.
"What is it?"
Kai hesitated—something he rarely did.
"Promise me," he whispered, "that you won't go near the Moonbeast's seal alone."
Ariana opened her mouth.
"Kai—"
"No." His voice cracked. "Promise me."
Ariana looked into his eyes—
the fear, the desperation, the fierce protectiveness.
"I won't go alone," she whispered.
"I promise."
Kai exhaled shakily in relief.
"Good." He touched her cheek. "Because you're the reason I'm still breathing."
Her heart stuttered.
Her wolf thumped warmly.
But before Ariana could reply—
Professor Vayne's voice rang through the courtyard:
"All divisions—assemble for final day preparations!"
Ariana and Kai exchanged a grim look.
"It begins," Ariana whispered.
Kai nodded.
"It begins."
The Academy Prepares for War
The academy had transformed.
Wards wrapped the buildings in silver and gold shields.
Students with minor abilities carried crates of healing potions, mana stones, and protective charms.
The strongest fighters gathered for strategy briefings.
Ariana inhaled deeply.
She wasn't just a first-year anymore.
She wasn't just a hybrid.
She wasn't even just Moonborn.
She would be fighting at the heart of the battlefield.
Kai, Zane, Rylan, Calen, Seraphina, Loren—they all stood beside her.
Headmaster Solarin raised a map.
"Tonight at sundown, they will strike the western line," he said.
"Not a test—full force."
Murmurs spread through the gathered students.
Ariana's chest tightened.
Solarin continued:
"From there, they will push toward the central courtyard. Their goal is clear: reach the Moonbeast's seal and unbind it."
Every student stiffened.
"And our goal," Solarin said, voice hard, "is to stop them."
Ariana nodded firmly.
Her wolf hummed with determination.
Seraphina stepped close.
"I'm leading the charms barrier at the western front," she said.
"Will you be there too?"
Ariana nodded.
"Yes. I'm anchoring the hybrid division."
Seraphina gave a small, brave smile.
"Good. I feel better knowing you're in the center."
Ariana squeezed her hand.
"Me too."
Kai glared quietly at how close they stood.
Ariana elbowed him behind her back without even turning.
He grunted.
"Don't glare at my friends."
"I wasn't glaring," he muttered.
"You absolutely were."
Seraphina giggled.
Ariana Learns the Truth About Her Mother
Later that day, Ariana was summoned to the Headmaster's office.
Her heart raced as she entered.
Solarin sat behind a stone desk scattered with ancient scrolls and glowing lunar diagrams.
"Ariana," he said gently, "you asked about your mother."
Ariana nodded slowly.
"Yes… I barely remember her. But Seraphina said she was Moonborn."
Solarin opened a scroll and rotated it for Ariana to see.
A symbol glowed:
a crescent moon wrapped in flowing light.
Solarin spoke quietly.
"Your mother, Arisella Moonfall Sterling, was the last known Moonborn. She possessed the rarest lunar magic—not just light, but moon-fire."
Ariana's eyes widened.
"So… my moon-fire came from her."
Solarin nodded.
"She was powerful enough to calm corrupted creatures—before the Moonbeast existed."
Ariana shivered.
"And when she died… something shifted in the lunar magic. The seal around the Moonbeast grew unstable."
Ariana froze.
"My mother's death… affected the seal?"
Solarin nodded again.
"Yes. And your birth re-stabilized it—for a time."
Ariana covered her mouth.
She whispered:
"I was born the night she died."
Solarin closed his eyes.
"She passed her lunar core to you, Ariana. That is why your magic is so strong.
And why the corruption wants you."
Ariana trembled.
"Did my father know?"
Solarin nodded.
"Yes. And he feared losing you the same way he lost her."
Ariana leaned heavily against the chair.
"My mom… saved me."
Solarin placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Now you have a chance to save everyone."
Ariana's wolf whispered:
"Bloodline. Duty. Light."
Ariana swallowed.
And nodded.
Aster's Vision Returns
Back in the infirmary, Aster clung to her blanket, eyes shaking.
"Ariana…" she whispered.
"I saw something else."
Ariana knelt quickly.
"What did you see?"
Aster clutched Ariana's wrist.
"Tonight… there will be a traitor on the battlefield."
Ariana stiffened.
"Lira?"
Aster shook her head.
"No. Lira is safe now. Someone else."
Ariana's stomach twisted.
"Who?"
Aster whispered:
"A student who doesn't know they're being controlled."
Kai cursed softly.
"So another sleeper agent…"
Aster nodded.
"Ariana… you have to be careful. They might try to get close to you."
Ariana squeezed her hand.
"I will."
But inside—
the fear grew sharper.
The Moonbeast Wakes Deeper
At sunset, Ariana stood on the highest balcony overlooking the forest.
The sky throbbed red.
The trees shuddered.
And deep beneath the roots—
A rumble.
Ariana clutched the railing.
Kai appeared beside her instantly.
"Ariana?"
She pointed toward the forest.
"It's the Moonbeast. I can feel it…"
Kai frowned.
"What does it feel like?"
Ariana closed her eyes.
"A heartbeat."
Her voice trembled.
"It's beating faster."
Kai swallowed.
"Then tonight will be worse than we thought."
Ariana nodded.
Her wolf whispered:
"Seal thinning.
Creature rising.
War near."
Ariana exhaled shakily.
"This is it, Kai."
Kai's fingers touched hers.
"Ariana…"
She looked up.
And for a moment, the world paused.
Their fingers intertwined.
Kai whispered:
"No matter what happens—
I'll find you.
I'll protect you.
I'll stay with you."
Ariana whispered back:
"And I'll stay with you."
Kai's voice cracked.
"Good."
They stood together as the last sliver of sun disappeared behind the forest.
And far below—
The Moonbeast took its first conscious breath.
A deep, echoing roar vibrated through the earth.
Ariana gasped.
Kai pulled her against him protectively.
"It's awake," she whispered.
Kai held her tighter.
"Then we don't have time."
Ariana nodded.
"Tonight… we fight the first real war."
Her wolf howled:
"Moonrise.
Bloodrise.
Lightrise."
The forest answered with another rumble.
It was beginning.