I pulled out every piece of jewelry he'd ever given me. One by one, I checked them all.
Each one had the same mark.
My hands were shaking as I grabbed the sapphire necklace again. The stone was set in an ornate platinum casing. I used my fingernail to pry at the edge.
The casing popped open.
Inside, embedded in the hollow space beneath the sapphire, was a small black stone covered in strange symbols.
No.
No, no, no.
I knew what this was. I'd learned about it years ago during my Luna training.
A Moonbane Rune Stone.
An ancient, forbidden object used to drain a wolf's power. Slowly. Gradually. Until there was nothing left.
It was like a parasite that fed on life force and magic.
And Leighton had hidden them in every gift he'd ever given me.
I dropped the necklace like it had burned me. My whole body was shaking now. Not from fear. From rage.
He'd been poisoning me. For months. Maybe years.
Making me weak. Making me sick. So he'd have an excuse to get rid of me.
All those times I'd worn his "gifts of love," I'd been wearing my destruction.
"That bastard," I whispered.
Then I heard it.
A scream. High-pitched and filled with pain.
"Mommy! Help me!"
Erica.
I ran out of my room and down the hall. Erica's bedroom door was closed. I slammed it open.
My daughter was on the floor, convulsing. Her entire body shook and twisted. Silver light flickered across her skin—her wolf trying to emerge but failing. Her arms were covered with scratches from her nails.
"Erica!" I dropped to my knees beside her.
Her eyes rolled back, showing only white. Foam bubbled at her lips. Her skin was ice cold.
"Mommy..." she gasped. "It hurts... everything hurts..."
This was a power backlash. It happened when a young wolf's awakening was blocked or corrupted somehow. If it weren't stopped, she could die.
"Hold on, baby. Hold on!" I pulled her into my arms.
That's when I smelled it.
That same cold, metallic smell from my jewelry.
Moonbane stones.
I looked around frantically. Where? Where were they?
I laid Erica on the bed and started tearing through her room. Dresser drawers. Under the bed. Inside her bookshelf.
My fingers touched something cold.
I pulled a black stone from behind her picture frame. Then another from inside her lamp. Another in her jewelry box—hidden in the locket Leighton gave her for her birthday.
By the time I finished searching, I'd found twelve stones. Twelve.
He'd been poisoning our daughter too.
Not just trying to replace her. Trying to kill her.
"You monster," I whispered, clutching the stones. "You absolute monster."
Erica's convulsions were slowing down now that the stones were removed from her immediate area. But she was still unconscious. Still in danger.
I had to do something. Something drastic.
There was a knock on the door.
"Luna?" A voice called softly. "I heard screaming. Is everything all right?"
Mara. My personal maid and the only person in this pack I still trusted.
"Come in," I said. "Quickly."
The door opened, and a small, elderly woman slipped inside. Mara had been with me since I was ten years old—a gift from my mother. She was more than a maid. She was family.
"Dear Moon-goddess," Mara breathed when she saw Erica. "What happened?"
"Moonbane stones," I said, showing her the pile. "Leighton hid them all over. In my jewelry. In Erica's room. He's been draining our power for months."
Mara's wrinkled face went pale. "That's... that's dark magic. Forbidden magic."
"I know." I grabbed her hand. "Mara, I need your help. You studied shamanic healing, right? You know about runestones?"
She nodded slowly. "A little. But Luna, removing the stones isn't enough. The damage is already done. The energy drain is already in your bodies."
"Then what do I do?"
Mara bit her lip. She looked scared. "There is one way. But it's dangerous. Possibly fatal."
"Tell me."
"You can... tame the stones. Absorb their power back into yourself. However, the backlash is intense. Most wolves die trying."
"And if I succeed?"
"You'd be stronger than before. All the power they stole would return. Plus the rune magic itself."
I looked at Erica's unconscious form. Then at the stones in my hand.
"Teach me how."
"Luna, you could die—"
"I'm dead anyway if I do nothing!" I grabbed her shoulders. "Leighton's planning to announce my removal tomorrow. He'll take Erica for 're-education'—which is just torture. If I don't fight back now, we're both finished."
Mara stared at me for a long moment. Then she nodded.
"All right. But we need to move fast. The shaman who created these stones will sense when they're tampered with."
She pulled a silver dagger from her sleeve. "This will hurt, Luna. A lot."
"I don't care. Do it."
Mara took the smallest stone and pressed it into my palm. Then she cut my hand with the dagger.
Pain exploded through my arm.
The stone seemed to come alive, drinking my blood greedily. But this time, instead of draining my power, I pushed back. I imagined my wolf—strong, fierce, and angry—grabbing that stolen energy and dragging it home.
The stone grew hot. Burning.
I screamed.
It felt like my blood was boiling. Like my bones were shattering and reforming. Like every nerve in my body was on fire.
"Hold on!" Mara gripped my shoulders. "Don't let go! Channel your rage! Use it!"
I thought of Leighton's betrayal. His lies. His plan to destroy me and Erica.
And I got angry.
Not sad. Not hurt. Just pure, burning rage.
The pain reached a peak and then suddenly shifted. Changed. The burning became... something else. Power. Raw, wild power flooding back into me.
The stone cracked in my hand.
Then it crumbled to dust.
I gasped, falling forward. Mara caught me.
"Did it work?" I panted.
"Look at your hand."
I opened my palm. The cut was already healing. Impossibly fast. And my skin... it was glowing faintly. Silver light pulsing under the surface.
"It worked," Mara breathed. "Dear Goddess, you actually did it."
"How many more?" I asked.
"Twelve total. But Luna—"
"No time. Do the next one."
We worked fast. All stone was agony. Each one felt like dying and being reborn. But each one also made me stronger.
By the time we finished the fifth stone, I could feel my wolf again. Really feel her. Strong and whole for the first time in months.
That's when we heard footsteps.
Heavy boots. Running. Multiple people.
"They know," Mara whispered. "The shaman sensed the disruption."
The bedroom door exploded inward.
Leighton stood there, his face twisted with rage. Behind him were six guards in black uniforms.
His eyes locked onto the pile of broken stones. Then onto my glowing hands.
"You," he snarled. "What did you do?"
I stood up slowly. My legs were steady now. Strong.
"I took back what you stole," I mumbled.
"Seize her!" Leighton roared. "And kill that old witch!"
The guards rushed forward.
"Go!" Mara shoved me toward the window. "Take Erica and run!"
"I won't leave you—"
"GO!" She threw something on the ground—a smoke bomb that exploded in thick grey clouds.
I didn't have time to argue. I grabbed Erica's unconscious body, threw her over my shoulder, and ran for the window.
The glass shattered as I jumped through it.
We fell two stories and hit the ground hard. But I rolled, protecting Erica with my body, and came up running.
Behind me, I heard Leighton's roar. Mara's scream.
I couldn't look back. Couldn't stop.
I ran into the forest. For the dark trees that marked the edge of pack territory.
The night air was cold against my face. My bare feet pounded the earth. Erica was heavy, but I didn't slow down.
And then, as I crossed into the shadow of the first trees, something hit me.
A scent.
Strong. Wild. Unfamiliar.
Pine and thunderstorms. Mountain air and something deeper. Something ancient.
My wolf—who'd been focused on running—suddenly surged forward with shocking intensity.
MATE! She howled in my mind.
What? No, that was impossible.
I already had a mate. Leighton. Our bond was sealed three years ago.
But my wolf didn't care. She was straining toward that scent with desperate hunger.
Then, it was gone. Lost in the wind and the chaos of pursuit behind me.
I shook my head, forcing myself to focus. I didn't have time for my wolf's confusion.
I had to save Erica.
But deep in my chest, something had changed. Some invisible thread had pulled taut.
And I knew—somehow I knew—that my life had just become a lot more complicated.
I pushed the feeling away and kept running.
Into the darkness.
Into the unknown.
Into whatever came next.
The forest was dark and cold.
My bare feet pounded against the dirt path. Branches whipped at my face and arms. Erica's weight on my shoulder made every step harder, but I didn't slow down.
Behind me, I heard them coming.
Howls. Dozens of them. The sound of the pack hunting.
Hunting me.
My heart hammered in my chest. My newly returned power gave me speed and strength, but I wasn't at full capacity yet. I'd only absorbed five of the stones. Seven more were still sitting in that bedroom, and now Leighton had them.
"Mommy?" Erica's weak voice made me stumble.
"Shh, baby. I've got you."
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere safe."
That was a lie. I had no idea where we were going. The forest ahead was forbidden territory—home to rogues, exiles, and dark creatures. No pack wolf went there willingly.
But what choice did I have?
That strange scent from before hit me again. Stronger now.
Pine and thunderstorms.
My wolf perked up instantly, her exhaustion forgotten.
Mate! Go to, mate! She urged.
I told her firmly. Just focus!
But she wouldn't listen. She kept pulling me toward the scent, making it harder to think straight.
A massive grey wolf burst from the trees to my right.
I barely dodged his lunge, spinning away. He crashed into a tree trunk, and I kept running.
More wolves appeared. Surrounding us. Cutting off escape routes.
I was running out of options fast.
"Stop running, Sophia!" Leighton's voice echoed through the trees. He hadn't shifted yet—he was toying with me. "You can't escape. Surrender now, and I'll make this quick."
Quick. He meant death.
I pushed harder, my lungs burning. The trees were getting thicker now. Older. We were almost to the border.
That scent grew even stronger. It was coming from dead ahead.
My wolf surged with hope. Mate is close! He'll help!
We don't know that, I argued.
Something slammed into me from the side.
I went flying, Erica tumbling from my grip. We hit the ground hard and rolled. I came up in a crouch, putting myself between my daughter and the wolf that had tackled us.
It was Stone—Leighton's head guard. A massive brown wolf with cold amber eyes.
He shifted back to human form. A tall, muscular man with a scarred face.
"End of the line, Luna," he said coldly.
More wolves appeared, forming a circle around us. One by one, they shifted back to human. Ten guards in total. All loyal to Leighton.
I pulled Erica close. She was barely conscious, her body still weak from the stone poisoning.
"Stay behind me," I whispered.
Leighton walked through the circle of guards. He was still in human form, wearing black pants and nothing else. Blood stained his hands—Mara's blood.
I felt something break inside me.
"Did you kill her?" My voice came out flat.
"The old witch?" Leighton shrugged. "She attacked my guards. They defended themselves."
Mara, sweet, loyal Mara, who'd been with me for years. Who'd just sacrificed herself so we could escape.
Dead.
"You'll pay for that," I said coldly.
Leighton laughed. "Will I? Look around, Sophia. You're surrounded. Powerless. And you're dragging a half-dead child. How do you plan to make me pay?"
I didn't answer. Instead, I closed my eyes and reached for the power I'd just reclaimed.
It was there.