BLOODLINES AND BAGGAGE

The air the next morning was heavy, like the ground itself was holding its breath. Maybe it was the way the trees stood so still, or maybe it was the weight of what Lira had said the night before. Either way, something had shifted, and I felt it deep in my chest—like a warning.

Roman didn’t say much when he emerged from the cabin. Just gave a nod, lit a cigarette, and started sharpening the hunting knife clipped to his belt. His eyes were sharp, distant—like his mind had already run ten miles ahead of us.

Lira was inside, still asleep. She’d finally passed out close to dawn, after tossing and turning for hours, muttering things she probably didn’t even realize she was saying.

I sat on the porch steps, cradling a cup of bitter coffee that tasted like burnt bark and regret. I didn’t mind the taste. It matched the morning.

“Sleep?” Roman asked without looking at me.

“Barely.”

“Same.”

There was a pause, just the sound of the knife sliding clean against the whetstone.

“She remembers more than she says,” I muttered, watching the smoke curl from his cigarette.

“Yeah.”

“She’s scared.”

“Good.”

I blinked and turned to him. “You think fear is good?”

“I think it means she knows how bad this is. People who aren’t scared? They get cocky. They are dead.”

Right. Of course.

Roman Vale wasn’t the type to sugarcoat anything.

I looked back toward the woods where Grayson’s pack had disappeared for early patrol. They’d offered us protection for a day or two, but everyone knew it wouldn’t last. Grayson didn’t like playing hero. His loyalty only stretched as far as the line between inconvenience and survival.

“How long until Kael finds out she’s alive?” I asked.

Roman flicked ash off his smoke. “He already knows.”

I stiffened. “What?”

He nodded. “Grayson has a snitch. He always has. That’s how he stays a step ahead—feeds both sides, plays the middle.”

“So we’re sitting in a wolf’s den with a leaky roof?”

“Yep.”

I let out a bitter laugh. “Fantastic.”

Lira joined us an hour later, still wrapped in Roman’s oversized flannel. She looked like hell—eyes sunken, hair a wild halo around her head—but she walked like someone who was done being scared. That worried me more than anything.

She sat down beside me, clutching a chipped mug. Her hands shook just a little, but she hid it well.

“I had a dream,” she said quietly. “My mother was there. She kept trying to hand me something, but every time I reached for it, she turned to ash.”

Roman didn’t react, but I saw his jaw tighten.

“She used to tell me stories,” Lira went on. “About the Moonfire Pendant. Said it only passed to the rightful Luna. Not the chosen one, not the married one—the real one. The one born to lead.”

I frowned. “You think that’s what you are?”

Lira stared into her cup. “I don’t know. But the pendant came to me. And Kael… he’s trying to erase that.”

Roman stood suddenly. “Get dressed. We’re leaving.”

“Where to?” I asked.

“To get answers.”

We loaded into the truck again. Roman didn’t explain much, just muttered something about an old priestess who lived near the mountains—someone who knew the bloodlines better than the Council itself. Said if anyone could trace the Moonfire’s origin, it was her.

The drive was long. Dusty roads, broken signs, and the occasional stretch of forest that looked like it hadn’t seen sunlight in years. Lira slept most of the way, curled up like a kid trying to disappear. I couldn’t blame her.

When we finally pulled up to a rickety wooden house built into the base of a cliff, I felt that same chill in my bones. Something about the place felt… ancient. Not in a historical way, but in a this-ground-remembers kind of way.

Roman cut the engine and lit another cigarette. “She doesn't like surprises,” he warned. “So let me do the talking.”

He didn’t knock. Just stepped up to the door and tapped twice with the handle of his knife.

A moment passed. Then two. Then the door creaked open.

An old woman stood there—gray dreadlocks wrapped in beads, eyes milky white but sharp as glass. She didn’t look blind. She looked like she could see more than anyone else.

“Roman Vale,” she rasped. “Still dragging cursed girls to my doorstep?”

Roman gave a tight smile. “Wouldn’t be me if I didn’t.”

She snorted and stepped aside. “Bring her in. Leave your shadows outside.”

Roman gestured to me. “She comes too.”

The old woman’s gaze landed on me, and I swear I felt my skin crawl.

“Hm. Fine. But she better not touch anything.”

Inside, the place was crammed with herbs, hanging bones, faded books, and strange jars filled with things I didn’t want to look at too long. It smelled like incense and secrets.

Lira sat on a stool while the priestess circled her slowly, muttering in a language I didn’t recognize. Her fingers danced over the air like she was painting runes no one else could see.

“She’s marked,” the woman finally said.

“No shit,” I muttered under my breath.

The priestess shot me a glare. “Marked by the blood moon. That pendant didn’t choose her. It was bound to her before she was born.”

Lira’s brows drew together. “What does that mean?”

“It means,” the woman said slowly, “your mother wasn’t just a Luna. She was a direct descendant of the Moon Line.”

Roman sucked in a breath. “That line was supposed to be extinct.”

“Kael knew,” the woman said. “He always knew. That’s why he married her. Why did he try to breed her? He wanted a child of the Moon Line. A High Alpha born, not made.”

Lira’s face went pale.

The priestess stepped back and stared at Roman. “You came all this way for answers. There they are. But they won’t save you.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“Because Kael already has what he needs. He’s found another.”

The ride back was quiet. Too quiet.

Roman’s hands were tight on the wheel, his face unreadable.

Lira didn’t speak. Just stared out the window like she’d seen a ghost.

Me? I couldn’t stop thinking about what the priestess said.

He’s found another.

What else? Another Luna? Another heir?

My stomach twisted.

When we stopped for gas, Roman finally broke the silence.

“I need to go south,” he said, voice low. “To Elarrow.”

“Why?” I asked.

“There’s a child there. A girl. Pureblood. Rumors say she’s got Kael’s eyes.”

Lira turned sharply. “He has a daughter?”

Roman nodded. “He’s been trying again. This one… she’s young. Maybe five or six. The mother died under strange circumstances.”

“Let me guess,” I said. “Kael called it an accident.”

Roman didn’t answer.

Lira looked sick again. “We have to find her.”

“We will,” Roman promised. “But we need help. We need proof.”

I hesitated, then said, “What about Milo?”

Roman’s jaw clenched.

“I’ve been trying to track him,” I continued. “He went dark, but someone’s been using his scent markers. Not recently, but enough to think he’s still breathing.”

“Milo won’t help us,” Roman said flatly.

“He might,” I said. “If he knew what was at stake.”

Lira looked between us. “Who’s Milo?”

I sighed. “An old friend. He was supposed to die with the rest of us.”

Roman gave me a look. “He didn’t die. He ran.”

“And yet I’m still here,” I shot back.

We glared at each other.

Lira held up a hand. “Enough. If there’s someone out there who can help, we find him. If there’s a child in danger, we protect her. If Kael is building some twisted bloodline army… we burn it to the damn ground.”

Roman blinked, then gave her a nod. “You’re starting to sound like a Luna.”

She stood up straighter. “Maybe I always was.”

That night, we found another safehouse—this one an old ranger station buried deep in the forest. No tech. No trails. Just trees, wind, and quiet.

I sat outside under the stars, arms wrapped around my knees.

Lira joined me after a while, sitting beside me in silence.

“You think she was right?” she asked eventually.

“About what?”

“My bloodline. My… destiny or whatever.”

I snorted. “Don’t know about destiny. But you’ve got something in you that Kael’s scared of. That means it’s real.”

She nodded slowly.

“You okay?”

“No,” she said honestly. “But I’m not running anymore.”

“Good,” I said. “Because from here on out, it’s only gonna get harder.”

She smiled, sad but solid. “I can handle hard.”

And for the first time since this whole thing started… I believed her.