Chapter 0003

Lois's POV:

One minute everything was dark, the next minute I found myself standing barefoot in the middle of a forest bathed in moonlight.

The trees were taller than anything I’d ever seen, their trunks glowing faintly like they held moonlight in their veins.

Before me stood a pale woman cloaked in a white long gown that shimmered with starlight. Her hair flowed in waves, silver-white and weightless like it had never known gravity.

I didn’t need her to speak to know who she was. “Moon Goddess?” I whispered.

She smiled gently. “Lois.”

My knees buckled, but before I hit the ground, she was in front of me, lifting me to my feet with a touch that felt like warm mist.

I trembled under her gaze. “What… What is this? Am I dead?”

“No,” She said. “But you came close.”

I blinked. “Why am I here?”

“Because it’s time,” She said softly. “Time for you to remember where you came from.”

My heart pounded in my chest. “I don’t understand.”

She stepped closer. “You, Lois, are the last living descendant of the Moonland Pack.”

I froze. “That pack doesn’t exist. It’s just—old stories.”

“No,” she said. “It was real. And it was powerful. A pack of blessed blood, a lineage directly touched by the Moon. Until Alpha Erika destroyed it… Eighteen years ago.”

“You were barely a day old when he ordered the massacre. I couldn't save everyone but I managed to shield you. Then I placed you at the doorstep of a childless couple who were kind enough to raise you as their own.”

I wanted to scream. I wanted to believe her, and at the same time reject every word. But she just smiled again and whispered, “You are safe, for now. I ensured the scouts from Coater Pack found you. They walk on the land that once belonged to their ancestors. The same land Erika took with blood.”

"Why now? Why reveal this to me now?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"Because the time has come for you to embrace your destiny. The Coater Pack, once your ancestral home, has unknowingly sheltered you. Now you can avenge the death of your ancestors, for it is written in your destiny."

I opened my mouth to protest, but everything faded.

<><>

Suddenly, I jolted awake to the smell of antiseptic and old wood. My head throbbed, and my body ached, but I was alive. My eyes adjusted to the dim light of a small clinic room, to see that bandages were wrapped around my limbs.

Turning, I saw that Michelle was seated by my side, holding my hand tightly as she dozed off. Her arm was bandaged, and she had bruises all over her face.

“Mom…” My voice cracked.

Her eyes shot open, and the relief that flooded her face nearly broke me. “Oh, Lois—baby, you’re awake. Thank the goddess.” She said, squeezing my hands lightly.

I tried to sit up but winced. “Where are we?” I asked.

“Coater Pack.” She replied and my eyes widened.

She didn't notice my stunned look as she continued. “The Coater Pack scouts found us lying around and brought us here. You had a deep cut across your stomach—if they had come any later…”

Tears welled up as the weight of our loss pressed upon me. “And Rochelle?”

Michelle's gaze dropped. "He saved us, Lois.” That was all she said.

She had just lost her mate because I got distracted and slowed us down—yet there she was, sitting patiently, waiting for me to wake up.

Guilt slammed into me, as I turned my face away and let the tears soak into the pillow.

Over the next few days, Michelle and I were moved into a shared room in the clinic. The medics were kind enough to tell us that the rogue attack had “wiped out” all of Hellbound Village and that we were lucky to be alive.

Lucky?

But I kept seeing Rochelle’s face. Hearing his last words.

We had no money to pay for our treatment, so Michelle—ever the practical one—asked if we could volunteer at the clinic to help. They agreed. We were given spare clothes, clean water, and a list of chores.

The dream… I told myself it was just a hallucination. A side effect of blood loss.

I pretended nothing had happened and carried on with my chores, humming softly to myself.

With a sigh, I glanced around the hallway—empty. I was the only one awake. I quickly put away the rag and bucket, then headed to the room for a quick nap.

But the moment I closed my eyes, I was back—barefoot in that same forest. And there she was again, standing before me.

“I know you’re scared,” The Moon Goddess said. “But denial won’t protect you.”

“I’m not—I just…” My voice cracked. “Why are you showing me this?”

“Because truth can’t be buried forever.”

I swallowed, hard.

“The attack on Hellbound Village wasn’t random.” She said, stepping closer. “Alpha Erika orchestrated the rogue ambush to seize more land. He is responsible for Rochelle’s death.

I stared at the ground. “I don't—” I began but paused.

I didn’t want to believe I was living in the same Pack led by the man who killed my father—and my best friend.

She reached out and touched my forehead. “Lois.” She called out. “You are destined to kill Alpha Erika.”

I woke up with tears in my eyes.

And still—I tried to push it all down.

I threw myself into helping the medics. Michelle worked harder than I’d ever seen her. She moved through the clinic calmly, smiling at patients, organizing supplies, and dressing wounds with hands that trembled when no one looked.

One afternoon, I was tending to a bunch of soldiers. I turned to the last one whose arm had been slashed, and I focused on wrapping the bandage tightly.

He chuckled, oblivious. “You know, I didn’t think it’d be that easy. Thought Hellbound would give more of a fight.”

I froze.

“Alpha Erika said we’d get bonuses if we cleared the village faster. ‘Less blood, more land,’ he said. Now the expansion can start early. Probably get promoted after this one.” Another chimed in

My fingers went numb. ‘She was right, he killed Rochelle.’

They kept talking, but I couldn’t hear them anymore. My stomach twisted as I dropped the gauze and stumbled out of the room.

I was shaking. I needed to tell Michelle—she had to know. But as I rounded the corner, I saw her.

She was seated beside an injured elder, laughing softly at something he said while pressing a compress to his leg. Her smile was gentle, but her eyes were glassy.

She was pretending. Pretending to be okay. Pretending not to feel the gaping wound Rochelle’s death left behind.

And at that moment, I knew I couldn’t do it.

I couldn’t crush her with the truth that the people she was helping—the people healing us—were the same ones who burned our home and slaughtered her Mate.

She needed hope. She needed space to breathe.

So I swallowed it down.

I would carry this.

For her.

For Rochelle.

For Hellbound.

That evening, I had a plan. ‘I'll infiltrate the Packhouse and find a way to make Alpha Erika pay for Rochelle's death.’