Chapter Two: Old Wounds, New Blood

Rain hissed through the trees, cold against Baylee’s bare skin. The forest, moments ago a sanctuary, now felt like a cage. Gunner stood before her—dripping rain and rage—while Collin hovered just behind her shoulder, the weight of his presence steady and grounding.

The two wolves couldn’t have been more different. Gunner’s energy was fire and fury, barely contained. Collin’s was like stone—controlled, unyielding, and impossibly calm.

Baylee felt the storm crackle between them, and she knew what was coming.

“Gunner, don’t do this,” she warned. “You need to leave.”

His golden eyes flicked to hers. “Leave? When my mate stands beside a Silverveil wolf?”

“I was never your mate,” she said quietly, the words slicing through the air. “You chose Maren. You made your bed—now lie in it.”

Gunner’s expression twisted, grief and anger warring across his face. “I chose wrong. I’ve been trying to find you, to tell you that.”

Baylee’s heart clenched despite herself. She remembered the boy who used to climb trees with her, who’d whispered that he’d challenge the Alpha for her someday. But that boy had died the night he’d marked another.

“I don’t need your apologies,” she said. “You broke something you can’t fix.”

Collin took a step forward. “You heard her.”

The words were simple, but they hit Gunner like a strike. His wolf surged beneath his skin, and his claws broke through, gleaming under the Blood Moon.

“Stay out of this, Silverveil,” Gunner snarled. “This isn’t your fight.”

Collin didn’t move. “It is now.”

Lightning flashed, and in that instant Gunner lunged. Baylee barely saw the motion before fur exploded into the air—Gunner shifting mid-charge, his dark wolf colliding with Collin’s gray-silver form in a blur of teeth and muscle.

The sound was deafening. Growls. Snaps. The wet smack of bodies hitting the earth.

Baylee stumbled back, heart hammering as the wolves tore at each other. Gunner’s wolf was faster, but Collin fought with precision. Every move was deliberate, every counter fluid. He wasn’t fighting to kill—he was fighting to protect.

“Stop!” Baylee shouted, her voice raw. “Both of you, stop!”

Neither listened.

The fight crashed through the clearing, shattering branches and scattering rain. Baylee’s wolf strained against her skin, desperate to join, to protect, but she forced herself to stay human. She couldn’t lose control—not now.

Then Gunner caught Collin off-guard, slamming him into a tree. The crack of impact echoed through the night. Collin’s wolf staggered, blood matting the fur at his shoulder. Gunner lunged for his throat—

—and Baylee moved.

Her body shifted before thought could catch up. One heartbeat she was human, the next she was all fur and fury. Her wolf—ashen gray with streaks of white—hit Gunner broadside, throwing him off Collin and into the mud.

The sound of Gunner’s shock rippled through the clearing.

Baylee hadn’t shifted in front of him since the night she’d run away.

She stood over him, her wolf baring its teeth, growl rumbling from deep in her chest. Her eyes glowed the color of moonlight and storm, the mark of something ancient stirring within her blood.

Gunner’s wolf froze, recognition flickering in his golden gaze. “Baylee…” he rasped through the pack link, voice raw even in her mind. “What are you?”

She didn’t answer.

Because she didn’t know.

The power flooding through her veins was unlike anything she’d felt before—stronger, wilder, almost sacred. It wasn’t just her wolf. It was something older.

Collin shifted back to human form behind her, his breath ragged but steady. “Baylee,” he said softly, his voice carrying through the rain. “It’s enough.”

Her wolf hesitated, trembling with rage and instinct. She turned her head toward him. The moment their eyes met, the chaos inside her eased. His scent—thunder and pine—anchored her, reminding her who she was.

Slowly, she stepped back, fur melting into skin as she shifted back to human.

Gunner followed suit, panting, bleeding from a dozen cuts. He stared at her like he was seeing her for the first time. “The Moon Goddess marked you,” he said hoarsely. “That glow—Baylee, it’s not possible.”

Collin’s jaw tightened. “It’s rare, but not impossible. She’s Moon-Touched.”

Baylee frowned. “Moon-Touched?”

Collin met her gaze. “A wolf chosen by the Goddess herself. A protector. A catalyst for change.”

Gunner laughed bitterly, blood dripping from his lip. “You expect me to believe that? That she’s some divine weapon?”

Collin’s expression darkened. “You saw her power.”

Baylee took a shaky breath, arms wrapping around herself as the rain washed the blood from her skin. “I don’t want to be a weapon. I just want to be left alone.”

“You won’t be,” Collin said quietly. “Not after tonight. The Blood Moon has chosen its champion, and the packs will feel it.”

Gunner’s eyes flashed with fury. “If you think I’ll let her run off with you, you’re wrong. She’s still Ironclaw.”

Baylee straightened, meeting his gaze. “I’m not yours, Gunner. Not Ironclaw. Not anyone’s property.”

For a moment, the Alpha’s son looked small—haunted. “You’re making a mistake.”

“Maybe,” she said, turning toward Collin. “But at least it’ll be mine.”

The forest was silent except for the rain and the distant roll of thunder. Gunner stood motionless, the conflict in his eyes almost breaking her heart. Then he shifted without another word and vanished into the trees, the sound of his retreat fading into the night.

Baylee sank to her knees, exhaustion crashing through her. The ground was cold beneath her hands.

Collin crouched beside her, his touch gentle. “You did well.”

She gave a bitter laugh. “I nearly killed him.”

“He gave you no choice,” Collin said softly. “He needed to see what happens when he pushes too far.”

She looked up at him. “Why are you helping me? We’re supposed to be enemies.”

Collin’s eyes softened. “I don’t believe in enemies. Only wolves who’ve forgotten what they’re fighting for.”

Something in his voice—steady, sure—made warmth stir in her chest despite the chill.

He offered his hand. “Come with me. My pack will give you shelter until we understand what’s happening to you.”

Baylee hesitated. Every instinct screamed to run again. But the memory of Gunner’s eyes—rage and heartbreak twisted together—told her there was nowhere left to hide.

She took Collin’s hand. His fingers closed around hers, warm and solid.

As they disappeared into the storm, the Blood Moon hung above them, brighter than before, casting its crimson light across the forest floor.

Far away, in the Ironclaw stronghold, the Alpha raised his head from a war council, eyes narrowing.

“The Moon-Touched has awakened,” he murmured. “And the balance will shift.”