Lyanna's POV
Pain exploded through my skull.
I screamed, clutching my head as the Moon Goddess's touch sent lightning through every nerve. But this pain was different from the rejection. This pain felt like something breaking open inside me—something that had been locked away my entire life.
"Stop!" I gasped. "Please, it hurts!"
"Pain is transformation," the Goddess said, her voice echoing like thunder and whispers combined. "What was hidden must now be revealed."
The light from her hand grew brighter, spreading down my face to my neck, my chest, my whole body. I felt something massive stirring inside me—something ancient and powerful that didn't feel like me at all.
My wolf suddenly roared to life.
But it wasn't the small, weak omega wolf I'd always had. This wolf was huge, strong, and absolutely furious. She surged through me like a tidal wave, drowning out the rejection pain until it vanished completely.
The burning in my chest—gone.
The emptiness where Dante's bond had been—filled with something else. Something better.
"What's happening to me?" I cried.
The Goddess smiled, and it was beautiful and terrifying. "You're becoming what you were always meant to be."
She removed her hand from my forehead, and I collapsed forward, gasping. My whole body shook. When I looked down at my hands, they were glowing with silver light.
"I don't understand," I whispered.
The Goddess sat beside me at the lake's edge, still made of moonlight but somehow more real now. "Tell me, child. What do you know of the Moon Judge?"
I searched my memory. "Grandmother's books mentioned it once. A wolf chosen by you to... to judge Alphas who do wrong? But that's just a legend. It hasn't happened in—"
"A thousand years," the Goddess finished. "Until now. Until you."
My heart stopped. "Me? No. No, that's impossible. I'm nobody. I'm just an omega who—"
"Who maintained kindness despite cruelty," she interrupted. "Who helped others even when they hurt you. Who never let the pack's treatment turn you cruel." Her eyes pinned me in place. "Do you know how rare that is, Lyanna? Do you know how many wolves would have become bitter and mean after years of being treated as less?"
I thought about Mrs. Chen, who'd spat at me. Tommy, who'd thrown rocks. All the wolves who'd laughed while I was rejected.
"They didn't deserve my kindness," I said quietly.
"No," the Goddess agreed. "They didn't. But you gave it anyway. That's why you were chosen." She touched the lake, and the water rippled with images. "The wolf world has forgotten balance. Alphas have become corrupt, using their power to hurt instead of protect. They need someone to hold them accountable."
"But why me?" My voice cracked. "I'm weak. Dante said—"
"Dante is a fool." The Goddess's voice turned cold. "He rejected his fated mate because she made him feel inadequate. He chose image over substance, cruelty over kindness. And now he will face judgment for his crimes."
"Crimes?"
The images in the water shifted, showing Dante standing over a fallen wolf. Then another wolf. And another. Bodies hidden in the forest. "Accidents" that weren't accidents at all.
I felt sick. "He killed them?"
"Five pack members who questioned his leadership. He silenced them permanently." The Goddess turned to me. "You must judge him, Lyanna. You must judge all the corrupt Alphas who abuse their power."
"I can't." I shook my head frantically. "I don't know how. I'm not strong enough—"
"You are the Moon Judge." Her voice boomed, making the ground shake. "Your power supersedes even the Alpha King. When you pass judgment, it is absolute. You can strip Alphas of their power, bind their wolves, transfer their authority to someone worthy. No one can refuse you. No one can harm you. You are my voice in this world."
She stood, towering over me. "Your omega status was a disguise, hiding your true nature until the right moment. The rejection was necessary—you could not become the Judge while bound to someone who saw you as less. Dante freed you, though he doesn't know it yet."
"But I don't want this!" I scrambled to my feet. "I just want to be normal. I want—"
"What you want doesn't matter." The Goddess's eyes flashed. "The wolf world is broken, and you are my answer. You will judge. You will restore balance. Or you will watch as corruption destroys everything."
"And if I refuse?"
"You cannot refuse destiny, child. You can only choose whether to embrace it with grace or fight it until it breaks you." She softened slightly. "But know this—every wolf you save, every victim you help, every corrupt Alpha you stop... that is your choice. You may not have chosen this power, but you can choose what you do with it."
She raised her hand again, and I braced for more pain. But this time, her touch was gentle.
"I give you Judgment Sight to see truth through lies. Alpha Sentencing to enforce your verdicts. Moon's Blessing to heal the innocent. Divine Combat to protect yourself. And Soul Binding to make your judgments unbreakable." With each gift she named, I felt new power flood into me. It was overwhelming and amazing and terrifying all at once.
"Your first case waits at the Alpha Council Headquarters," she said. "Alpha King Caelan Stormweaver has requested the Moon Judge's intervention. Three Alphas stand accused of murder, and only you can see the truth."
"Wait!" I grabbed her arm as she started to fade. "I don't know how to use these powers! I don't know where to go! I'm not ready!"
The Goddess smiled one last time. "You were born ready, Lyanna Frost. You just didn't know it yet."
She dissolved into moonlight and sank back into the lake, leaving me alone.
I stood there, shaking, my whole body still glowing silver. My wolf paced inside me, no longer small and weak but powerful and confident. I felt... different. Strong. Like I could breathe properly for the first time in my life.
Then I heard voices.
"The light came from this direction!"
"Check the lake!"
Footsteps crashed through the forest toward me. Multiple wolves, moving fast.
My new instincts screamed danger. I spun around, and my eyes—now glowing pure silver—locked onto six rogues emerging from the trees.
But these weren't the rogues who'd hunted me before.
These wore clothes. Carried weapons. And the one in front smiled at me with sharp teeth.
"Well, well," he growled. "What do we have here? A little omega glowing like a nightlight?" He sniffed the air. "And packless too. Perfect."
The rogues spread out, surrounding me.
My wolf snarled, ready to fight. But I had no idea how to use my new powers.
The leader lunged—
And my body moved on instinct, power exploding from my hands in a blast of silver light.