Chapter 59
ARIA
I wake up feeling as if I’m floating. Looking around, I realize I’m in face’s arms as he carries me through the forest. I’m dressed in his buttoned shirt, and 1 can see he has my dress draped over his shoulder.
Then it happens again–that strange whisper I’ve heard occasionally since arriving at Moon Shadow Pack. But this time, it’s stronger, clearer.
Hello, Aria. Finally, we can truly speak.
I stiffen in Jace’s arms. “There it is again. That voice.”
Jace stops walking, his eyes scanning the forest. “What voice?”
He can’t hear me now. Only you can. I have always been with you, but the Blood Moon and your soul binding have awakened me fully. I am a gift from the Moon Goddess herself.
My heartbeat accelerates. The voice is feminine, gentle but wild, like wind through ancient trees–and somehow familiar, as if I’ve always known it.
“The voice in my head,” I stammer, clutching Jace’s shirt. “I’ve heard whispers before, but never this clearly. She says she’s always been with me.”
Jace’s expression shifts from confusion to alertness. “What else is she saying?”
I am Sage. I am your wolf spirit, dormant until now, awakened by the Blood Moon and your bond with your true mate. I am a Primal Wolf.
‘Her name is Sage, a Primal Wolf,” I say. She says she’s my wolf. The Blood Moon ceremony woke her up.”
Jace sets me down but keeps his hands on my shoulders. His eyes suddenly flash gold.
“Phantom is going crazy,” he says. “He wants to reach her.”
Tell him Phantom has always sensed me, Sage says/inside my mind. We’re destined companions, just like you and Jace are true mates.
“Sage says Phantom always knew she was there, I tell him. “They’re destined companions, like us being true mates.
Jace nods, eyes glowing. “Phantom’s been sensing something in you since we met. Now he’s desperate to connect with her.”
Your devotion to the pack and love for Jace called to the Moon Goddess, Sage explains. She thought you worthy of awakening what was always inside you.
I tell Jace this, and his face fills with wonder.
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Not until the next full moon, Sage explains. The Blood Moon broke the barrier between us, but I need the power of another full cycle to manifest completely that then, I’ll grow stranger within you each day.
I share this with Jace, who pulls me against his chest, his heartbeat strong and rapid against my ear.
The Moon Goddess has honored our union beyond all expectation, he murmurs into my hair.
Suddenly, Jace’s entire body tenses, his breathing becoming shallow.
“What is it?” I ask, alarmed.
“Phantom is… demanding to communicate with Sage,” Jace says, his voice strained. “In all my years, I’ve never felt him this insistent. It’s like he’s been waiting for this moment his entire existence.”
Yes, Sage whispers within me, a warmth coloring her voice. Our spirits have known each other since the beginning. Let me speak to him through you–open the mate bond.
“How do I do that?” I ask aloud.
Close your eyes. Use the connection formed during your binding. It’s already there, a bridge between souls.
I close my eyes, leaning my forehead against Jace’s chest, and try to recreate that feeling of openness from our ceremony. A strange tingling spreads through me, and suddenly I can feel another presence–ancient, powerful, distinctly male, vibrating with barely contained excitement.
At last, my mate’s spirit–sister awakens, comes a deep, rumbling voice that must be Phantom. We have waited countless moons for you.
I am here now, Sage responds through me, her voice carrying equal parts strength and tenderness. The time of waiting is over. I will protect her as you protect him. Together we will be stronger than either alone.
The exchange feels intimate, primal–two ancient spirits reuniting after an eternity apart.
When I open my eyes, Jace is staring at me with wonder and something deeper–recognition.
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‘I don’t know how to be a wolf,” I admit, fear creeping into my voice. “What if I can’t control it when the shift comes?
We will learn together, Sage assures me. I am not separate from you–I am the wild heart that has always beaten within your chest. The part of you that has always known the call of the moon, even when you couldn’t name it.
“She says we’ll learn together,” I tell Jace, finding comfort in Sage’s confidence. That she’s always been part of me, just… dormant.”
Jace’s thumb traces my cheekbone. “The warrior spirit I fell in love with makes sense now. You’ve always had the soul of a wolf, Aria. The Moon Goddess simply recognized what was already there.*
I close my eyes, focusing inward, trying to sense this other presence that shares my body. There’s a warmth there, like embers waiting to ignite into flame.
“Can you feel her?” Jace asks softly.
“Yes,” I whisper. “She feels… ancient. Powerful, but distant, like she’s viewing everything through a fog.”
The fog will clear with each passing day, Sage promises. By the full moon, we will be one in truth.
As Jace gazes into the distance, seemingly lost in communication with Phantom, Sage’s voice drops to a whisper in my mind.
I have a secret to share with you alone, Aria. I am immune to silver. Tell no one, not even your mate. This gift may save us both someday, but such knowledge could be dangerous in the wrong hands.
I manage to keep my expression neutral despite my shock. Silver immunity? That’s unheard of among werewolves. I give a subtle nod, acknowledging her secret while Jace remains distracted by his own wolf.
I take a deep breath, trying to process everything, “So I’m going to be a werewolf. Your Luna.”
A slow smile spreads across Jace’s face, his eyes still gleaming with Phantom’s excitement. “My Luna with the Moon Goddess’s blessing. The pack will be in
awe.”
‘Or they’ll think I’ve lost my mind,” I mutter.
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“One step at a time,” I say. ‘First, we go back to the pack. Then… we figure out what this means.
Jace kisses my forehead. Together.”
