Beneath the Crimson Moon's Kiss

Previously

…Valerius reached out, his cool fingers cupping my cheek. "I will not let them touch you, Elara. I swear it on my eternity." The sincerity in his gaze, the raw vulnerability beneath his vampiric strength, was a balm to my frayed nerves. But the crimson moon, hanging heavy and watchful in the sky, seemed to mock our fragile peace. The whispers of the pack were growing louder, carried on the wind, a chilling promise of the darkness that was about to descend upon Oakhaven. The battle for our home, for our very lives, was about to begin. And I, the quiet village herbalist, would stand on the front lines, armed with ancient knowledge and a love that defied the shadows.