✨ Chapter 49 – Blood in the Moonlight
The western battlefield burned.
Ash drifted like snow.
Shadows twisted through the smoke.
Screams and roars ricocheted across the academy grounds.
Ariana's moon-fire shield—
cracked by the traitor's attack and weakened by the relentless assault—
shuddered as the next wave hit.
Ariana braced, sweat dripping down her forehead.
Her wolf panted inside her chest.
"Too much.
Rest.
Danger."
Ariana ignored her.
"Hold—just hold—"
Kai was beside her again, wolf aura blazing, fangs bared.
"Ariana, you're fading," he warned.
Ariana shook her head, strengthening the shield with what power she had left.
"I'm fine."
"You're NOT fine. You're shaking."
The ground trembled again—
But this time, something new emerged from the shadows.
Humanoid.
Tall.
Elegant.
With glowing black veins and crimson eyes.
Rylan cursed.
"What the fresh hell is that?"
Calen froze solid where he stood.
Zane whispered:
"Dark hybrid vampires."
Ariana felt ice crawl down her spine.
These were no normal vampires.
No undead beasts.
These were genetic hybrids—modified deliberately.
Skin pale as polished bone.
Fangs elongated.
Dark magic rippling off them like smoke.
Seraphina gasped.
"These are the creatures from the ancient extinction scrolls—this shouldn't be possible—"
But they were here.
And they were smiling.
The lead vampire hissed:
"Moonborn."
Ariana stiffened.
Kai growled, stepping in front of her.
"Get away from her."
The vampire tilted his head, amused.
"We only need a taste, wolf. Just a drop of her power will do."
Ariana snarled back:
"You'll get nothing from me."
The vampire lunged.
Ariana threw moon-fire instinctively—
But her body gave out.
Her knees buckled.
"Ariana!" Kai caught her before she hit the ground.
Her vision blurred.
Her wolf whined.
"Stop! Too much!"
Ariana gasped.
"I—I can't—my body—"
Kai scooped her into his arms before she fell.
"Enough," he snarled. "You're done."
A vampire slashed at him.
Kai spun, kicking off the ground, leaping backward with Ariana in his arms.
"Stay with me," he whispered urgently.
"Please stay awake—Ariana—"
She struggled to focus.
"I'm fine—"
"No, you're collapsing," Kai snapped.
"You're burning yourself out."
A monstrous shriek ripped across the battlefield.
Rylan's fire burst upward.
Calen cast ice walls.
Zane split into three psychic projections, each attacking a different vampire.
Seraphina's charm ribbons glowed gold as she shielded Ariana.
Kai held Ariana closer, breath shaking with fear.
"Ariana, look at me."
Her eyes fluttered.
"Kai… don't worry… I can still—"
"No." His voice broke.
"You've done enough."
She tried to reach for her moon-fire again.
Kai grabbed her wrist gently but firmly.
"Stop. Please. Let me carry you."
She froze at the raw emotion in his voice.
"Kai…"
His jaw clenched.
"If you push any more, you'll kill yourself."
Ariana slumped against him, too weak to argue.
Her wolf whispered weakly:
"Rest… rest… for moon."
Ariana's eyes closed.
Kai's breath caught.
"ARIANA—!"
She wasn't unconscious.
Not fully.
But she couldn't move.
Couldn't speak.
Could barely breathe.
Kai lifted her bridal-style and sprinted toward the fallback line.
Seraphina, covered in ash, blocked a vampire from pursuing them.
"GO!" she screamed.
"I'll cover you!"
Kai roared in reply and leapt away.
Lira's Pattern Saves Them
At the temporary healing tent, Lira—still pale and trembling—sat upright, eyes glowing faintly with red and silver.
She looked up sharply as Kai skidded inside, Ariana limp in his arms.
"Kai—put her here!" Lira cried, pointing to a cot.
Kai lowered Ariana gently, brushing hair from her face.
"Ari… Ariana, stay with me."
Ariana's fingers twitched.
"Kai…"
Lira grabbed Kai's arm.
"Kai—you need to listen. They're following the pattern again."
Kai blinked.
"What pattern?"
Lira's pupils dilated.
"The one from before—hum—flash—shadow shift—"
Her voice sped up.
"The next strike will be from ABOVE."
Kai stiffened.
"Above?"
"Yes!" Lira pointed toward the sky. "They're climbing the west wall! They're going to drop down on the healers!"
Kai cursed violently.
He tore off his gloves, claws emerging.
"ZANE! RYLAN! CALEN! ON ME!"
The three Pillars burst into the tent.
Kai barked:
"AMBUSH FROM ABOVE! PROTECT THE HEALERS!"
Rylan swore.
Zane's eyes glowed purple.
Calen's frost spread across his arms.
They bolted outside.
Lira turned back to Ariana, eyes softening.
"Moonborn… please wake up…"
Ariana whispered:
"I'm trying…"
Her wolf pushed weakly against her ribs.
"Rest… then rise."
Ariana's breath steadied.
Just barely.
Outside – The Falling Death
Kai reached the western wall just as the vampires leapt from the roof—
silent, deadly, dozens of them.
Zane shouted:
"Look out!"
Calen slammed an ice barrier upward.
Rylan blasted fire into the sky.
Kai transformed further—
fur ripping through his arms, fangs lengthening, golden aura blazing.
He roared—
a full wolf roar—
and leapt into the air.
He met three vampires mid-air, slamming them back.
Rylan caught falling hybrids.
Zane broke psychic shields.
Calen froze creatures mid-pounce.
The fight turned brutal fast.
One vampire nearly slipped through toward the healing tent.
Kai saw it.
His eyes blazed.
He tore through the battlefield with ferocity that belonged only to someone protecting the most precious thing he had.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!"
He tackled the vampire so hard the ground cratered beneath them.
The creature hissed.
"You protect the Moonborn like she's yours…"
Kai growled:
"She IS."
But before the vampire could respond—
The ground shook.
Hard.
Violently.
Like the world itself was cracking.
Students screamed.
Rylan shouted, "WHAT NOW?!"
Calen yelled, "THE FOREST—LOOK!"
The Moonbeast Opens Its Eye
The forest beyond the barrier pulsed.
Literally pulsed—
like a beating heart underground.
Trees bent backward.
Roots ripped upward.
A crater formed.
Then—
Something moved beneath the earth.
Something massive.
Something ancient.
A low, thunderous groan shook the air.
Ariana, still weak, felt it from the healing tent.
She gasped.
Her wolf howled:
"It wakes.
It SEES."
Ariana whispered:
"No… no, please— not yet—"
The battlefield fell silent.
Every student, every creature, every corrupted hybrid—
Stopped.
And looked toward the forest.
A massive slit opened beneath the soil—
Not fully—
just barely—
But enough.
Enough for Ariana to see it.
A glowing, colossal EYE.
Silver.
Ribbed with cracks of lunar light.
Staring upward.
Staring at the academy.
Staring at her.
Ariana trembled violently.
Kai froze mid-attack.
"What… is that…"
Rylan choked:
"That's not possible…"
Zane whispered:
"It's the Moonbeast.
It's looking for her."
Ariana clutched her chest.
The eye pulsed again.
Her moon-fire flickered in response.
She realized—
It wasn't the corruption calling the Moonbeast.
It wasn't Rebirth.
It wasn't the forest.
It was her.
Her magic.
Her presence.
Her lineage.
The Moonbeast opened its eye—
because it sensed her.
Ariana whispered:
"What have I done…"
Kai sprinted back to her—
bloodied, panting, shaking.
"Ariana—"
He cupped her face.
"You didn't do anything wrong."
Ariana stared at him with tear-filled eyes.
"Kai…
I think I'm the key to the seal."
Kai swallowed hard.
"And I think Rebirth already figured that out."
A roar echoed from the forest.
The Moonbeast began to rise.