Page 108 of Moonlit Fate

I hadn’t trusted enough to move forward with Atticus. Still. “Trust is earned,” I countered defensively.

“Sometimes,” Ilaric said in that calm and measured tone of his, “trust is also given freely, as a leap of faith.”

I looked at the two of them, a mouse caught in a trap. They were telling me the same thing in different ways. While I couldn’t see the full picture yet, I sensed the outline of it emerging from the fog of my uncertainty.

I yanked at my shirt, frustration boiling over as I exposed the crescent moon birthmark on my collarbone. Markings appeared around it after the ritual and had slowly evolved into a network of intricate lines that seemed to pulse with a life of their own.

“Well, what of this? Can you at least help me figure out what the fuck this means?” My tone was harsher than I intended, the words cutting through the oppressive silence of the seer’s cave.

The eccentric seer leaned in closer, his voice hitching as he whispered, “Oh, dear.” His fingers hovered above the strange symbols. “May I?”

Nodding in agreement, I kept my eyes fixed on his face as he traced the intricate markings. An unexpected surge of static electricity raced through my veins when he touched me, amplifying the incessant hum beneath my skin that had been building since the ritual.

He jerked his hand back as if scorched. “Too much power. The balance is off. Too much power.” He began pacing in the cramped space. “There’s no way to fix it, but...” His words trailed off into a string of incomprehensible mutterings.

Too much power. The balance.What the fuck did it all mean? It all sounded like the nonsensical ramblings of a madman. Coming here had been a waste of time. But a sense of undeniable truth stirred the ball of nerves in my stomach. I glanced at Ilaric, hoping for some reassurance, but I found none. Instead, his face reflected the gravity of my situation.

“Let’s get out of here,” I muttered, eager to put as much distance between myself and the seer. His reaction unsettled me. Ilaric nodded, and we turned our backs on the disarray of the cave.

As we stepped onto the path leading toward Silver Claw territory, the forest seemed to come alive around us. Whispers danced on the wind, carrying with them a sense of urgency that matched my inner turmoil. Sudden gusts appeared to hasten my steps in the direction of home. Dark clouds loomed above, heavy with foreboding.

“Everything feels wrong,” I admitted to Ilaric, the rustling leaves nearly drowning out my words.

Ilaric kept looking forward, but I felt his attention. “The world is reacting. We must tread carefully.”

My instincts screamed for action, not caution. The storm on the horizon mirrored the one brewing within me. Both promised a reckoning neither the Silver Claw territory nor I was prepared for.

The wind howled through the forest, louder now, as if it was responding to my unrest. I stopped mid-step as the birds hidden in the trees erupted in a cacophony of caws, their voices fading into the thick foliage of the ancient canopy. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

“Something’s not right.” I peered into the dense trees and vegetation surrounding us as if it held the answers I sought.

“The ritual has awakened forces long dormant, Aria,” Ilaric said. “Nature’s response to imbalance is to correct itself, often in ways we cannot foresee. We need to make sure we are open and flexible to the change needed for the rebalancing process.”

I ran a hand over my face. His wise words felt like yet another riddle, further fueling the frustration the seer had already kindled.

“How am I supposed to do that? Just wait and see?” I snapped.

“The world is a tapestry of light and dark. Your leadership will be the thread that weaves through it, stitching the pieces together to form a whole again. Trust in the bonds that unite, for they will be your greatest strength.”

“Great, more metaphors,” I muttered.

Ilaric placed a hand on my shoulder, offering me comfort. “I know you think we speak in riddles to frustrate you, Aria, but it’s so much more than that. No one can tell you how to fix this. You performed the ritual, and now you must preserve the threads of your own destiny. While I am here to support you, I cannot interfere with fate. Doing so directly may create a further imbalance and result in more unintended outcomes.”

I was tired of all these cryptic suggestions. What I really needed was something solid I could grasp on to. “I need to clear my head. Let’s shift and run back.”

Without waiting for his response, I let my human form fall away, welcoming the rush of my wolf emerging. The forest transformed into a whirlwind of sights, sounds, and smells as I took off running, the undergrowth a muddle of brown and green as we raced through it. The thud of my paws against the ground reverberated through the forest until the steady rhythm of our footfalls and the heavy panting were all I could hear.

The familiar terrain changed unexpectedly, and I realized we were no longer on the route home. My fur bristled in response to the mystical energy guiding us away from Silver Claw territory until we came to a lush, vibrant clearing where the magic was alive and potent.

“Is this...?”I started but couldn’t finish the thought.

Once again, the forest had directed me to the spot where I had first found myself trapped in a human’s snare. The spot where Atticus and I had first met. Where we had revealed our birthmarks to one another. This clearing didn’t just have a special significance for me. It was also a nexus of power within the ancient woods. Here, the magic was powerful, the plants flourished with a vitality that was noticeably absent in the areas closer to the territories where things had been declining, even before the ritual.

Ilaric shifted. “We’re not the only ones the forest called out to,” he said, gesturing across the clearing where Atticus and Mia stood.

I shifted back to my human form and immediately became aware of the intense discomfort beneath my skin, amplified by the rush of nervous energy. Finding it impossible to remain still, I opened and closed my fists, then shook my hands to release the pressure that accumulated. I focused on a daisy at my feet,slowed my breathing, and counted its petals to distract from the painful sensation in my body that had become my constant unwanted companion.

“We have some things to figure out, I suppose now is as good a time as any,” I said to Ilaric when I’d composed myself.

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