A Luna's Vengeance

The sound of my heels echoed softly down the stone corridor as I made my way toward the great hall. The banners that lined the walls fluttered faintly from the night breeze seeping through narrow windows, but the weight inside my chest was heavier than silk and stone combined. My hands were clasped tightly in front of me, nails pressing into my palms until the crescent moons shape they left stung.Maris walked beside me, radiant as always in a gown of emerald that clung to her figure, her dark hair braided with silver threads. She looked more like a queen than I ever felt like a Luna. She slowed her steps, noticing the stiffness in mine.“You’re grinding your teeth again,” she murmured, amusement coating her words.I exhaled, I didn't even realize I had been grinding my teeth. “I can’t help it. Kael hasn’t spoken more than ten words to me this week, Maris. Ten.” My voice cracked despite my attempt to keep it level. “And those words were… instructions. Orders, like I’m just another sol

I was surrounded. The flames licked higher, searing my skin, yet I could not run. The wolves circled tighter, eyes gleaming with malice under the blood-red moon. “Traitor!” they howled, their voices crashing against me like waves against stone.“I’m not ” I tried to scream, but my throat betrayed me. No sound left my lips.The fire rose, swallowing the forest in a single breath. Heat scorched me, blistering my skin and bone, and still I could not escape. My eyes darted desperately, searching for Kael, for anyone Maris, even. But no one came. Only laughter cut through the inferno, sharp and cruel, a voice I knew but could not name.It echoed as the flames devoured me.I bolted upright, gasping, gripping the sheets as they clinged to me like damp chains. Sweat drenched my skin, and for a moment I swore I could still feel the burn of fire crawling across my body. My chest heaved, lungs clawing for air, but it wasn’t the remnants of smoke I felt it was dread.Then I saw the bond mark.A f

The morning of the Bloodfang feast dawned gray and cold, as though the sky itself mourned what was to come. I stood before my mirror, fastening the clasp of a deep crimson gown one of the few that hadn't been mysteriously damaged. The irony wasn't lost on me. Red, the color of blood. How fitting for what I now suspected would be my execution.Three days had passed since I overheard Kael and Maris plotting in his study. Three days of watching them perform their roles with sickening perfection Kael maintaining his cold indifference, Maris playing the devoted friend who worried for my wellbeing. Three days of pretending I knew nothing while fury burned in my veins like poison.The bond mark had fallen silent since that night, as still as death against my wrist. Sometimes I wondered if it had given up trying to warn me, or if whatever was coming was already set in stone."You look beautiful," Maris said as she entered my chambers without knocking. She moved with the confidence of someone

The storm raged with a fury that matched my own. Rain lashed down in sheets, turning the ground to treacherous mud that sucked at my bare feet with each step. Lightning split the sky in jagged veins of silver, illuminating my path through the wilderness beyond Bloodfang borders.Behind me, I could hear the sounds of pursuit howls echoing through the night as Kael's trackers followed my scent. Their voices carried on the wind, harsh and determined. They would not let their escaped prisoner simply vanish into the darkness.But the storm was my ally now. Each crash of thunder masked the sound of my footsteps, each flash of lightning revealed paths through the dense forest that my enemies could not see. The rain washed away my scent trail, leaving the pursuing wolves confused and directionless in the chaos.I ran deeper into the wild lands, my feet finding purchase on slick stones and fallen logs with impossible grace. The power that had freed me from my cell still coursed through my vein

Dawn came with deceptive gentleness. Pale sunlight filtered through the cabin's small windows, painting everything in soft gold despite the violence that had brought me here. I woke to the sound of voices outside several of them, all unfamiliar, all carrying the unmistakable edge of barely controlled hostility.Through the thin walls, I could make out fragments of heated conversation:" complete madness, Alpha "" enemy in our territory "" should have killed her while she slept "My stomach clenched. Word had spread about my presence, and the Nightshade wolves had come to collect their pound of flesh.I rose quietly, my bare feet silent on the wooden floor as I moved to peer through a gap in the curtain. The main room was empty, but I could see shapes moving outside through the windows. At least six wolves, possibly more, all in human form but radiating the controlled aggression of predators barely held in check.The front door opened, and Darius entered with Mira close behind. His w