Chapter 15 - Whispers Beneath the Silver Sky

                High above the sheer peaks of the northern range, gliding effortlessly beneath the round, gleaming face of the moon, I finally felt entirely at home.

                The frantic adrenaline of the escape had faded into something smoother, something more ancient.

                The night air clung to me like silk—heavy, yet strangely liberating. Every breath I took seemed infused with raw, primordial power. My witch side rose to its fullest wisdom here, in this silver-lit expanse that felt like a cathedral of stars.

                Magic hummed through my veins like a restless electric current, making my head grow light as the wind teased the dark strands of my hair. For a moment, I was nothing but spirit and motion.

                The sensation was intoxicating, almost unbearable in its beauty. As I banked the broom to the left, watching the shadows of the pines dance below, I felt a surge of genuine annoyance at the celestial calendar.

                ‘Honestly, why do we only get one of these a month?’ I wondered.

                I have half a mind to petition the Moon Goddess herself, begging her to rearrange the lunar cycles so this miracle might appear at least twice every four weeks. Surely, she would grant such a request. After all, we witches were her most cherished creations, the daughters of her light, the keepers of her deepest mysteries. We deserved a little more overtime with the big orb.

                ‘Ah, but the Blue Moon!’ Era sighed within me with a longing so thick it felt like syrup. ‘That is the true pinnacle. Especially now that we’ve found our mate... or at least, if what he claims is true. We should have stayed a bit longer tonight, Ana. Just a little longer.’

                I felt her pacing in the back of my mind, her paws heavy against my consciousness.

                ‘Under this moon’s glow,’ she continued, ‘I could have confirmed whether Romani truly is ours. And if he is, then at the very least, we deserved one night with him. That is our right as a fated pair.’

                I rolled my eyes, though she felt the gesture as keenly as if I had spoken aloud.

                Of course, it was all about sex for her. Wolves are predictable that way, once they’ve scented their mate, their thoughts circle endlessly around desire, around the primal urge to claim and be claimed until the world stands still. She just needed the confirmation.

                But I knew the danger hidden in that temptation.

                 I felt the heat simmering in my womb, a slow-burning fire that was only getting hotter. This was my most fertile time, and the thought of bearing a pup now was unthinkable. My life was already tangled enough, I didn't need to add the literal weight of motherhood to the mix. A pup would complicate everything, chaining me to a destiny and a Palace I had no wish to embrace.

                ‘What is it you have against having a mate?’ Era snapped, irritation finally sharpening her tone. ‘It’s not the curse you make it out to be! Every werewolf craves their mate. They attend those absurd mating parties, desperate to find the one person destined for them. “And even with Romani in our lives, your thoughts remain fixed on yourself. Your career in Human Town, your ambition to live among mortals... it’s small, Ana. We are supernatural. We belong in a pack, in a coven. We belong with him.’

                Then, suddenly, her tone softened.

                Her voice began to tremble with a sweetness that carried both a desperate longing and a subtle command. A hazy, ethereal shine came over her face in my mind’s eye, as though the moonlight itself had settled in her pupils.

                ‘Romani is a Prince!’ she whispered, her words curving into a smile that was half-dream, half-dare. ‘Do you not see the life that awaits us? Endless nights of passion, where the stars themselves will envy our embrace. Days filled with shopping until our hearts are content. Imagine it, Ana, silk and jewels spilling from our hands like treasures meant only for us. Vacations wherever desire takes us, the sea and sky bending to our whims. Privileges and status beyond imagining, doors opening at the mere mention of his name. Why cling to hardship when luxury is within reach? Why deny the destiny that promises not only comfort, but a love so radiant it will eclipse every sorrow?’

                Her words hung heavy in the air, a golden lure meant to snag my heart.

I only sighed, a long and weary sound that was lost to the wind. I was fully aware of her scheme, luring me into temptation with every carefully chosen phrase like a siren on the rocks.

                Explaining myself to her again felt pointless. Once, we had been aligned, united in the belief that Human Town was our only safe refuge, the only place where ambitious predators who lusted after our hybrid blood could never reach us.

                But since Romani had walked into our life with his stormy eyes and his mate claims, her certainty had wavered.

                I refuse to waste my breath repeating the same arguments.

                Her hormones were clouding her judgment, the pull of fertility and the lure of Romani’s princely aura were twisting her instincts into knots. Better to distract her than to fight her.

                And just there and then, fate provided the perfect distraction.

From my vantage point hundreds of feet up, my werewolf eyes caught a flicker of movement among the low, twisted shrubs on the forest floor. Even before I could decipher what was prowling down there, Era noticed it too.

                She went still, her internal growl vibrating in my chest.

                ‘The bear!’ she growled.

                ‘The jackal!’ I countered.

Together, we watched the shifting silhouette. It was a creature caught between forms, its body rippling with an unstable, erratic energy that made my skin crawl. It was a clumsy transformation, lacking the grace of the power of a true wolf.

                It hadn't seen us.

                The beast slinked through the undergrowth, convinced of its own invisibility in the deep shadows. We followed silently from above, curiosity pricking at us.

                What was this thing doing out here on a Solstice night?

                It reached a crude shelter fashioned from tattered tarpaulin and broad leaves, a makeshift den hidden in the gloom of an overhanging cliff.