LOGINCHAPTER six: THE MOON’S JUSTICE
The color drained from Alpha Terren’s face. He looked from Audrey to Lucas, his mind racing to understand how his "human" daughter was standing before him, radiating the power of a goddess. "This... this is impossible," Selene hissed, stepping forward, her face contorted in a mask of rage. "You are a freak! You have no wolf! This is some trick, some sorcery from the Silver Pack!" Samantha, blinded by jealousy, lost all sense of caution. She lunged forward, her claws extending, her blue elemental power flickering around her hands. "You stole my life! You stole my Alpha!" Before Samantha could even reach the stairs, a low growl erupted from the Silver Pack warriors. But they didn't need to move. Audrey simply raised a hand. A wave of golden energy hit Samantha like a physical blow, pinning her to the stone floor. Samantha let out a choked scream as the weight of Audrey’s power pressed down on her, neutralizing her wolf completely. "You speak of stealing, Samantha?" Audrey walked down the steps, each footfall echoing with power. "You stole my childhood. You stole my mother’s memory. You and your mother treated me like a servant in my own home and then sent me to die for a prophecy you were too cowardly to fulfill." Audrey turned her gaze to her father. The man who had ignored her for twenty-one years was now shaking. "And you," Audrey said, her voice trembling not with fear, but with the sheer force of her suppressed pain. "You were supposed to be my Alpha. My protector. You traded your firstborn for a lie." "Audrey, I—" Terren started, but his voice failed him. "The prophecy was true," Lucas said, stepping up beside Audrey and placing a protective arm around her waist. "The marked princess was born on a stormy night. She was the one who could heal the Silver King. But you were so blinded by your own hatred that you couldn't see the treasure right in front of you." Lucas looked at the gathered Moon Shadow wolves. "Your Alpha and his family attempted to murder their True Luna. According to the laws of the Great Pack Alliance, this is treason." A murmur of shock and agreement rippled through the Moon Shadow Pack. They had seen Audrey’s mistreatment for years, and now, seeing her true power, their loyalty was shifting. A pack respects strength, and Audrey was the strongest thing they had ever seen. "I won't kill you," Audrey said, looking down at her father, Selene, and Samantha. "Death is too quick for the years of misery you gave me." She closed her eyes, and the golden light around her flared. "I, Audrey of the Silver and Moon, invoke the Rite of Severance. I strip you of your titles. I strip you of your connection to this land." With a sudden, violent flash, the "Moon Shadow" marks on the necks of Terren, Selene, and Samantha vanished. They gasped, clutching their throats as their connection to the pack's power was cut. They were now Rogues—unclaimed, powerless, and exiled. "Get out," Audrey commanded. The former Alpha and his family scrambled to their feet, fleeing the courtyard under the hateful glares of the pack they had once ruled. Audrey stood in the center of the courtyard, the sun setting behind her, casting her shadow long and regal across the stone. She looked at the Moon Shadow wolves, then at Lucas. "The Moon Shadow Pack is no more," Lucas announced. "Today, we unite. Two packs, one Luna." The wolves of both packs let out a synchronized howl that shook the very mountains. Audrey looked up at the sky, feeling the warmth of her mother’s spirit in the gentle breeze. She was no longer the girl they never wanted. She was the Queen they could never break.Chapter 13: The Price of a SoulThe interior of Selene’s cottage felt larger than the outside suggested, the walls lined with jars of shimmering starlight and dried herbs that smelled of ancient winters. In the center of the room was a circular basin carved from a single block of obsidian, filled with water so still it looked like a mirror."The Blood-Link is a parasite," Selene said, her voice echoing with a weight that made the air vibrate. "It feeds on the shared essence between parent and child. To kill the parasite, we must make the host—Audrey—momentarily invisible to the world of spirits. We must create a void where her identity used to be."Lucas stood by the door, his hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. "And the void consumes the memories of us.""It consumes everything that has happened since her power woke," Selene confirmed. She began to draw runes in the air with a finger made of light. "The mind is a map of connections. If I cut the connection to her father, I must
Chapter 12: The Whispering PinesThe Forbidden Grove was not a place found on any map of the five kingdoms. It existed in the "In-Between," a pocket of the world where the veil between the physical realm and the spirit wild was thin enough to bleed. To get there, Lucas, Audrey, and a small, elite guard led by Vane had to leave the safety of the stone fortress and trek into the Blackwood—a forest so dense that the sun struggled to touch the mossy floor.As they rode deeper into the woods, the temperature didn't just drop; the air grew heavy, smelling of ancient ozone and damp earth."Stay close," Lucas commanded, his hand never straying far from the hilt of his claymore. His silver eyes were constantly scanning the canopy. "The trees here have memories, Audrey. If they sense fear, they’ll twist the path. You’ll be walking in circles until your heart stops."Audrey sat tall on her white mare, her leather armor creaking with every movement. The pain from Samantha’s blood-ritual had faded
Chapter 11: The Blood-Steel and the SunThe sun rose over the Silver Mountains not with a glow, but with a sharp, biting glare. Audrey woke to the sound of steel clashing against steel. For a moment, she was back in the Moon Shadow kitchens, flinching at the sound of dropped pots, but the scent of cedar and the warmth of the heavy furs reminded her where she was. She was in the Alpha’s bed. And she was no longer a servant.Lucas was gone, but the indent in the pillow beside her was still warm. On the stone hearth sat a fresh tunic of boiled leather and silver-spun silk—warrior’s clothes.When Audrey stepped onto the training grounds ten minutes later, the chatter of the Silver Pack warriors died instantly. Lucas stood in the center of the ring, stripped to the waist despite the freezing air, his skin glistening with sweat. He was sparring with Vane, their movements so fast they were a blur of silver and gray."You're late," Vane called out, parrying a blow from Lucas that would have s
Chapter 10: The Quiet Before the StormThe Alpha’s private quarters were located at the highest point of the fortress, a sanctuary of dark wood, heavy furs, and a balcony that overlooked the jagged, snow-dusted spine of the mountains. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of Lucas—sandalwood, cold rain, and a primal, masculine musk that made Audrey’s pulse skip a beat.Lucas closed the heavy oak door, the click of the latch sounding like a finality. The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the crackle of the hearth.Audrey stood by the window, her silhouette framed by the moonlight. She looked fragile, her shoulders tense, but the golden glow beneath her skin was pulsing in time with her heartbeat, casting rhythmic amber light against the stone walls."You should have told me," she said softly, her back to him. "About the eyes. About what happens to you if I fail the Trial of Purity."Lucas crossed the room, his footsteps silent on the rug. He didn't stop until he was st
The Silver Pack fortress, Kharos, did not sit upon the mountain; it was carved into it. As the weary column of Solar Eclipse wolves rounded the final jagged pass, the fortress loomed like a titan of white stone and reinforced steel. It was beautiful, cold, and imposing—a stark contrast to the wooden longhouses of Audrey’s childhood."It looks like a cage," Audrey whispered, her breath hitching in the thin, freezing mountain air."It’s a shield," Lucas corrected softly. He signaled to the sentries on the ramparts. The massive iron gates began to groan open, the sound echoing through the valley like a low growl. "But tonight, it is your home. My people have heard the rumors, Audrey. They know I went to fetch a bride from the Moon Shadow line. They do not yet know that I brought back a miracle."As they crossed the threshold, the atmosphere shifted. The Silver Pack was disciplined, their warriors standing in silent, silver-armored rows. But as Audrey passed, the silence wasn't one of res
The trek toward the Silver Pack’s mountain borders was not the triumphal march the stories promised. It was a slow, agonizing crawl through a forest that seemed to be mourning the death of the Moon Shadow line. The trees, once familiar to the wolves, now groaned under the weight of an unnatural wind, their branches clawing at the sky like skeletal fingers.Audrey walked at the head of the line, refusing the horse Lucas had offered. Her boots felt like lead, and the humming warmth in her marrow—once a comfort—now felt like a simmering fever. She could feel the eyes of the hundred wolves behind her. They weren't looking at her with the hatred she was used to, but with something far more exhausting: expectation."You’re pushing yourself too hard," Lucas said, his voice cutting through the rhythmic crunch of boots on dry leaves. He walked beside her, his stride effortless despite the jagged terrain. "The Rite of Severance takes more than just spirit, Audrey. It takes a physical toll. You







