Chapter 3 The Blood Pact

"Mariya!" I continued screaming as I ran after her, my feet making a heavy sound. But she ran so fast, like a wild animal, that I couldn't catch up with her.

"Wait! "What do you mean by the same mark?" I shouted as I ran after her.

But she was gone.

I stopped, panting so heavily and unable to catch my breath. The air was thick with pine, and instantly I smelled something different. I looked beside an old tree, and there lay a man, wounded and lying in his own pool of blood.

He was massive, almost unnaturally so, with dark hair matted to his head. He was bleeding heavily, and his leg was twisted at an odd angle. But what struck me most was the armor around his waist-it's something I had never seen since childhood.

I should've run. Instead, I rushed to where he lay.

"Hey! Hey, can you hear me?"

He groaned so weakly. I touched his neck with my hands and I could still feel some pulse. I knew he was still alive.

With all of my strength, I carried him home and nursed him back to life.

When we got home, Mariya was not yet back.

After I cleaned his wounds and dressed him, I sat down patiently waiting for Mariya.

Leo stirred in his crib, and I went to feed him. When I returned, the man was awake.

His eyes locked on mine. Immediately, our gazes matched-those pale, weak eyes had transformed into golden, scary ones.

And then, suddenly, he sat up.

"Don't move," I said quickly. "You're still healing."

His eyes scanned me, then the room, and then Leo.

He looked at me again and saw the mark-the same mark Mariya talked about.

He jolted.

"Your Majesty," he breathed, his voice cracking.

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

Then he dropped to his knees, wincing at the pain.

"Forgive me. I didn't realize I was in the presence of the Bloodline."

I stared at him, confused, trying to figure out what was wrong with him. "What are you talking about? Who are you?"

He didn't answer. Instead, his eyes searched my face, then fell to Leo.

"The child... he bears the Moon Crest. Only the royal heirs carry that birthmark."

My throat dried. "Moon Crest?"

He pointed to the spot beneath Leo's ear.

"That mark is sacred. It's the seal of the true Luna lineage, you must be the omega heiress.

"That's impossible," I said.

"It is not. I have seen that mark only once before, on the late Queen's child, before the massacre."

Before I could speak, the door burst open, and Mariya came in.

Her face looked pale, and immediately she saw him-the wounded warrior. Her facial expression changed.

"What is he doing here?"

"He was dying," I said. "I brought him here so I could help him."

Mariya rushed forward, shoved the man against the wall. "Who sent you? Speak now!"

He winced but held her gaze. "I serve no one. I was part of the Crescent Guard, but we were betrayed. I was the only one that escaped. "I have been on a search to find the remnants of the royal bloodline, and I think I have found her," he said, nodding his head towards me.

"Her."

Mariya looked at me and then at Leo.

Then she stepped back, slowly.

"You need to go," she told him quietly. "You've done enough, leave before the others find you."

The man nodded and left almost immediately.

Days had passed.

But Mariya was still quiet, always watching Leo with a look of contemplation. She avoided my questions.

And then, the signs began.

It started small. Leo stopped crying during the full moon. Instead, he would stare up at the sky with his eyes wide open.

Next, he began humming-soft, melodic sounds that didn't belong to any lullaby I ever taught him.

One night, as I bathed him, the water began to glow around his body. I blinked, thinking I was imagining things, but it was real. The glow pulsed like a heartbeat.

Then came the dream.

I saw a throne. It was golden and surrounded by light of different colors.

Leo stood before it, but in the dream, he appeared much older, dressed in silver fur, and his eyes glowed like those of the moon. On his head rested a crown of leaves.

And when he turned to me, he said, "The time has come."

I woke up, sweating and panting heavily.

Later, while feeding him, the cottage began to tremble-little by little, until it became bigger.

I carried him to where Mariya was.

"What happened?" I asked.

"He did," she said, pointing to Leo. "The earth answered him."

I held him tighter.

"What is he becoming, Mariya?"

She stared at him, her voice trembling.

"Not becoming, Lila. He already is."

Before I could ask another question, a knock came in.

We both turned but didn't move to open the door.

The knock came again, this time faster and louder.

We still didn't open. There was silence for some time but we saw a paper slip beneath the door.

Mariya picked it up, read it and handed it over to me .

It was a letter, which had only one line; Lila of lycan, you must return to moonveil to fulfill the blood pact.