The forest was silent as they rode.
Not quiet—silent.
No rustling leaves, no birdsong, not even the hum of insects. Just the steady thud of hooves on soil and the occasional rustle of armor as warriors shifted in their saddles.
Alex rode at the front, his golden eyes sharp as a blade. Beside him, Olivia kept pace, her posture straight, her expression calm. But inside, she was a storm.
This was her first mission as Luna.
And it wasn't a ceremony.
It was war.
Behind them, two dozen pack warriors moved in formation—scouts, trackers, shield-bearers, archers. Olivia had never seen so many of them together before. She realized how small she'd once felt among them. And how different she was now.
She was not just riding beside the Alpha.
She was his equal.
And the pack was watching her every move.
---
They reached the southern ridge just after sunset. Smoke drifted in the air—faint but distinct. Alex raised a fist, halting the patrol. The scouts fanned out silently.
A few minutes later, a younger warrior returned, his face pale.
"They hit the Stonebrook outpost. Two guards dead. One missing. They left a mark."
"A mark?" Alex growled.
The scout nodded. "On the gate. Blood sigil. Old magic."
A heavy silence fell over the group. Olivia leaned forward in her saddle.
"Show me."
---
The outpost was a ruin. Burned walls. Crushed barrels. Blood on the stones. Olivia dismounted slowly, every step cautious.
And then she saw it.
On the scorched wooden gate, smeared in deep crimson, was a symbol—three overlapping crescents inside a jagged spiral. It pulsed faintly, as if alive. Olivia's vision blurred when she looked at it for too long, and her wolf stirred uneasily.
Alex cursed under his breath. "It's them. Shadowfangs. And worse… it's a calling rune."
Olivia turned sharply. "Calling what?"
He didn't answer at first.
Then: "Something that shouldn't wake."
She stepped closer to the rune, ignoring the warriors murmuring behind her.
"I've seen this before," she whispered.
Alex stared at her. "Where?"
"In my dreams. Since the bond. I didn't understand it then… I thought it was just fear."
Alex approached slowly, his voice low. "You're connected to something now, Olivia. The moon's chosen aren't just figureheads. You're tied to the balance between light and dark. If they're summoning something, they're targeting you. They always go for the Luna first."
---
That night, the pack camped in a tight perimeter around the ruined outpost. Fires were small, guarded. Warriors slept in shifts. Olivia sat near the edge of the camp, sharpening her blade and thinking.
She couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching them.
Eunice's warning echoed in her mind.
"She's not ready."
Maybe she wasn't.
But she was willing.
And that mattered more.
Alex sat beside her, handing her a canteen. "You didn't have to come, you know."
She sipped. "Yes, I did."
He gave her a sidelong glance. "Why?"
"Because if the Luna only sits on a throne and watches others bleed, she's not Luna at all."
He smiled faintly. "You sound like my mother."
That caught her off guard. "You never talk about her."
"She was fierce. Calm as stone, until someone threatened her pack. Then she became fire." He paused, then looked at Olivia. "You remind me of her more every day."
She looked down, unsure how to respond.
Before she could find words, a loud howl tore through the night.
It wasn't one of theirs.
It was distant—low, drawn out, and wrong.
Every wolf in the camp froze. Heads turned. Weapons drawn.
"Positions!" Alex barked. Warriors sprang up, forming ranks. Archers moved to the trees. Olivia rose and stepped toward the front with him.
Another howl. Closer.
Then a figure emerged from the trees.
A boy—barefoot, bloodied, maybe fifteen. Olivia ran to him.
"Wait!" Alex warned—but Olivia was already beside the boy, catching him as he collapsed.
"Help," the boy gasped. "They took them… the others…"
"Who?" Olivia asked, cradling his head.
"The Shadowfangs… they're using them… blood magic… they said the Luna has awakened the seal…"
"What seal?" Alex asked, kneeling beside her.
But the boy was already gone—his breath faded, eyes wide with terror even in death.
Olivia looked at Alex.
"What does he mean… awakened a seal?"
Alex stood slowly, jaw tight. "I don't know. But someone does. And we need answers before the Shadowfangs strike again."
Olivia rose beside him, eyes burning with resolve.
"Then we ride to the Sanctum of Ancients."
Alex blinked. "That place is forbidden. Even elders don't go there."
"But I'm not just anyone anymore," Olivia said. "And if my bond awakened something buried… I need to know what it is. Before it destroys everything."
---
Far beyond the border, in a clearing soaked in moonlight, a cloaked figure dipped a clawed hand into a pool of blood. The sigil burned in their palm.
"The Luna approaches the truth," the figure whispered.
"And when she finds it...
she will break."
---