LUNA EMERGES

The moon was full.

It hung over the forest like an unblinking eye, pale and watchful. Mist rose from the damp earth, swirling between tree trunks like restless spirits.

Somewhere in that gloom, something moved.

Something that should have stayed chained forever.

---

Luna stalked through the sacred forest on silent paws.

Black fur rippled with every flex of lean muscle. Her golden eyes cut through the mist. She inhaled deeply, the cold air filling her lungs, and released it in a slow, shuddering growl.

Freedom.

For the first time in centuries, she was unbound. No cold iron around her limbs. No ancient runes burning her into obedience.

And yet the old magic still clung to her like cobwebs—its residue itching at her thoughts.

She shook herself violently, scattering dew and dust.

Gone. Broken. Nothing holds me now.

Her claws dug into the earth as she prowled forward.

---

She stopped at the ruin—the old altar cracked and overgrown.

Chains lay where they’d fallen, rusted and snapped.

She bared her teeth at them.

The seal was undone.

Her mate had done it.

She could smell Selene everywhere here. Sweet. Human. Frightened. It made her mouth water, but not with hunger for flesh.

With hunger for claiming.

She closed her eyes and let the scent fill her, threading through her chest like fire.

MINE.

She would find her.

---

Wind rattled the trees, shaking loose showers of wet leaves. Luna moved like a shadow, ears flicking to every sound.

A rabbit darted past, but she ignored it.

She wasn’t here to hunt prey.

She was here for her.

She paused at the edge of the pack’s boundary. The scent markers stung her nose Rowan’s doing, no doubt.

She snorted, Pathetic.

Did they think they could keep her out?

She laid a heavy paw on the boundary line, claws scoring the earth. The old magic in her veins tingled. She felt the wards woven there—thin, weak, straining to hold.

She pressed harder.

A soft crackle of energy sputtered under her paw, like dying embers.

She smiled, Soon.

---

Inside Crescent Vale, the village lay quiet.

Wolves in human form walked the borders with torches, their eyes flashing with unease.

Luna watched them from the trees, unseen, a black shadow in blacker dark.

She tilted her head, studying them.

Not her pack anymore.

They had betrayed her.

Feared her.

Chained her.

Her lip curled.

But she didn’t want them.

She wanted only one.

She turned and slunk away, back into the trees.

She needed time.

Patrols would be thicker tonight.

Rowan would have warned them all.

But he didn’t know her anymore.

He didn’t know how patient she could be.

---

She found a quiet hollow beneath an ancient oak and circled once before lying down.

The forest sounds settled around her—rustles of wind, distant owl calls.

But she kept one ear angled toward the village.

She could hear them if she focused.

Voices. Footsteps.

And beneath it all—Selene’s breath.

Faint. Fragile.

Her heart beat in rhythm with it.

MATE.

The word was a vow in her mind.

You freed me. You chose me. You are mine.

---

But another voice, deeper and older, whispered from the dark corner of her mind:

You’ll scare her.

She huffed, eyes narrowing.

She remembered the fear in Selene’s scent.

It didn’t anger her.

It hurt.

It twisted something long-buried in her chest.

For a moment, Luna’s claws retracted into soft black paws. She rested her head on them, golden eyes flickering.

She didn’t want to terrify her.

She wanted to hold her.

But she couldn’t change what she was.

A beast.

A cursed Luna.

Bound to instincts that burned in her blood.

---

A low growl rumbled in her throat, but she swallowed it.

She would have to be careful.

Gentle.

She could wait.

The bond would see to that.

She closed her eyes and let Selene’s scent wash over her thoughts, steadying her.

The rage ebbed.

The bloodlust quieted.

Replaced by a promise.

I’m coming for you.

But not tonight.

Not like this.

---

Dawn came pale and uncertain.

Mist drifted low over the clearing.

Luna rose slowly, stretching, black fur sleek with dew.

She shook herself.

With a last glance toward Crescent Vale, she turned and loped deeper into the forest.

For now, she would wait.

She would watch.

She would plan.

---

In the village, Selene jolted awake in Mira’s spare bed.

Her heart was pounding.

She’d dreamed of eyes in the dark.

But they hadn’t glowed with rage.

They’d watched her with something closer to longing.

She pressed her hand to her chest, breathing hard.

And whispered the truth she was terrified to admit:

“She’s awake.”

---

Mira was already up, stirring the fire. She turned sharply at Selene’s voice.

“What did you see?”

Selene licked her dry lips. “She’s…out there. Watching.”

Mira’s face went grim.

“Then we don’t have much time.”

---

Outside, in the forest, Luna sat watching the sun break through the mist.

The warmth fell across her black fur. She closed her eyes and sighed.

Her thoughts were quiet.

Focused.

Tonight, she promised herself.

Or the next time. I will have you.

But when she would meet her

She would try not to frighten her.

She would try.