Raina's POV

Today was another blood-red moon night.

That meant more wolves would get hurt tonight.

And the whispers about me would grow louder again just as always.

"She brings misfortune."

"She carries the curse of the Star Goddess."

"No wonder she can't shift."

They would always say.

Although, they never said it to my face, but I heard them. Every time the blood-red moon rose, something bad happened.

And even though I had nothing to do with it, they always looked at me.

They claimed I was the reincarnation of the Star Goddess.

Me?

A girl who could barely climb a tree, let alone shift into a wolf. A weak Alpha, leading a broken pack of shifters who couldn’t shift.

They also believed I was the reason we were cursed.

That the blood-red moon, now a permanent wound in the sky, raged because I hadn't "awakened." They said the moon used to be silver and beautiful but now it was crimson, always full, and filled the world with sickness and rage. Wolves lost control.

Packs turned on one another. The land grew cold and brittle. And no prophecy or priest had yet figured out how to stop it.

Except for one.

They said the Star Goddess would return. That she'd be born into the lowest of wolves. Into a Mundane. Into me

I never asked for this.

And I didn't even believe it.

Not until today.

Thunder cracked overhead. Lightning peeled the sky apart, slicing through the clouds like an open wound. I stood near the edge of the cliff, drenched to the skin. My heart hammered hard against my chest, the thunder erupting from the clouds in sync with the storm in my mind as I stared below.

Someone was down there.

Hurt again.

Just like every full moon. Just like every time the blood-red moon hung sadistically in the sky.

But this time, the person was close. So close that I couldn't concentrate.

Fiona, my wolf, growled in my mind, restless.

We must save him.

We? I wanted to argue. I had a pack to protect—what was left of it anyway. They’d be worried by how I’d dashed out without a word.

But I knew better.

When the blood-red moon rises, someone always breaks.

It’s not just superstition. The blood moon—tainted by an ancient curse—weakens wolves. Makes our shifts harder. Drives some feral. Some go mad. Others lose control and hurt their own.

The blood moon infects the spirit.

And only one thing can cure it.

At least, that’s what the old prophecy says.

It says the Star Goddess, once the guardian of balance, would return through the Mundane Pack—our pack, the weakest of all. Her power would purify the blood moon and restore harmony between wolves and moonlight.

But instead of hope, that prophecy brought hate.

Because the Star Goddess vanished in the war a thousand years ago. Some believed she abandoned the wolves. Others blamed her for the curse. And now, no one wants her back—not when they fear her power more than the curse itself.

They think we—I—might be her reborn.

So they hunt us.

So we run.

And we die.

How in the world would I be able to climb down the cliff?

I couldn't shift, I had never been able to.

I was a weak Alpha like the rest of the pack.

I was what other packs called "Mundane"—wolves who couldn’t shift and barely connected to their spirits.

But it was Fiona’s restlessness that alarmed me. She’d been weak and gloomy for weeks now.

So, I braced myself and began climbing down. My arms trembled but Fiona stirred more than she had in weeks.

The rocks scraped my palms. The growing darkness did nothing to help me. I couldn’t afford to be scared now.

I focused my bearing on the rocky cliff and totally forgot about breathing. Totally forgot that the Forgotten Realm was just some meters away.

I couldn't risk it.

My fingers gripped the jagged rocks as I slowly began my descent. Rainwater made the stone slippery. One wrong step and I'd fall. But something stronger than fear kept me moving.

I had almost made it halfway when I felt a sharp pain gnaw at my chest.

“Urghh!” I yelled. My sight suddenly became blurry, and my body lost its weight, becoming as light as the clouds—the last thing I saw before I felt myself plummeting deep into the bosom of darkness.

I didn’t know how long I had lain there, but I was certain it was the low growl of pain that brought me back.

I groaned as I tried sitting up and rubbed my eyes.

"He's here. He's shot," Fiona growled.

"I'm hurt too," I sighed but pushed myself upward anyway, taking small steps at a time.

My breath caught in my throat when I saw him—a wolf, lying on the bare ground, eyes closed, features marred in pain.

"Oh…" I whispered and moved to him immediately. My eyes stung as I walked closer.

He seemed to have sensed me there, and he recoiled.

"I'm not here to hurt you," I whispered slowly as the tears stung my eyes. I didn't know why, but I couldn't think straight—I could only think of how much pain he must have been in.

It was strange, as though I could feel his hurt.

He had been struck by an arrow on the left side of his chest. I knelt beside him, hands trembling.

"This… this is going to hurt a little," I said, wrapping my fingers around the edge and yanking it out.

He let out another heart-wrenching growl before the sound of cracking bones filled the air as he shifted back into his human form.

I gasped at the man who lay naked close to my lap.

I had never seen a naked man in my life.

I was beginning to freak out.

But I couldn’t think about that now.

I leaned in to peer at his dirt-covered face, squinting my eyes. I noticed the blue tint that stained his lips.

I raised a brow in confusion.

It took only a split second for realization to dawn on me.

"A poisoned arrow," I gasped.

I turned hurriedly, my eyes darting around for a sharp object, but the darkness made it impossible to see. Then I remembered my own knife and pulled it out at once.

I made a cut just below the wound, and black blood oozed out.

This was from the Star Root tree.

A rare toxin made from the cursed roots of trees once blessed by the Star Goddess herself. It was only found in ancient lands and used only by assassins.

But how did anyone even find it?

Why was it used here?

I had only heard of it, never seen or dealt with it.

It began to dawn on me that my patient here might have just escaped an assassination attempt.

"Urghhh," I heard him moan, and my eyes shot back to him.

His eyes fluttered open, and he looked around as though in confusion.

And just then, his eyes locked onto mine.

I took in a deep breath and forgot how to exhale.

"You…" he started but stopped. I blinked and moved back, his hand shot out and grabbed mine, keeping me in place.

A million ripples seemed to course through my body as a desire I had never known came alive in me.

I could see the confusion in his eyes.

"We are…"

"Mates," I completed his statement, even more shocked than he was.

My lips suddenly felt dry. I couldn't believe this was happening.

And in a place like this, with no hope of survival?

I could feel Fiona. She was surging with a different kind of energy that I couldn't explain.

Just then, he pulled himself up, but I reached out and touched him immediately.

"You can't stand. You've been poisoned. You need proper treatment," I said, but the warmth in my cheeks gave me away.

I couldn't bear seeing a naked man. It was one thing the darkness wouldn't shield.

"Huh…" he said, obviously unbothered by my reaction.

"You were shot by a poisoned arrow," I explained.

"I know." His voice was cracked, but his eyes never left me.

He kept looking at me, studying me, scrutinizing me.

"Where are you from?" he asked finally. I could hear his voice becoming weaker, and I worried that he might actually die if we didn't get help. The poison had already gotten into his system before I came.

"You shouldn't be talking," I said, a lot sharper than I had intended.

"I know I'm going to die. You found me too late," he said, and I could feel the pain surge through me. Fiona growled in pain.

I shook my head vehemently.

"I should get to know my mate before I do…" He didn't seem to care that I had tears in my eyes or that I had started sobbing loudly.

"You won't. You can't die. We've not…" I was saying, but his head had gone back to the resting position.

I paused, a round of panic beginning to set in.

"Hey," I said as I shook him gently, but his eyes were closed now.

His head was lolled back, but he felt warm. He felt so warm, except that…

"Hey!" My voice was several octaves higher.

He lay still, unmoving.

He had stopped breathing.

Had I lost my mate just like that?