Chapter 5: Kidnap

Luna’s POV

I’m going to die in this forest.

Not in a heroic, “she saved the world” kind of way.

Not even in a dramatic, slow-motion, tragic-princess way.

No.

I’m going to die wheezing, tripping over roots, and wearing mismatched slippers like a complete embarrassment.

My lungs are burning. Not the cute “I climbed three flights of stairs” burn. The “bury me in a nice outfit and pretend I was graceful” kind of burn.

Because Kaelen is dragging me through the forest like I’m emergency luggage, and the only reason I’m not screaming is because I need the air to stay alive.

Branches whip across my arms. I step on every rock imaginable. My ankle throbs from an earlier fall.

And behind us—

Wolves.

Not normal wolves.

Fast. Heavy. Organized.

Hunters.

Every howl makes my heart leap into my throat.

“Can you—slow—DOWN?!” I gasp between desperate gulps of air.

“We’re being hunted!” Kaelen growls without looking back.

“And?!” I wheeze. “I only have two lungs—both are dying!”

He shoots me a look like I’m the problem. “You survived a Feral. Running should be easy.”

“EASY?!” I slap his back weakly. “Try doing this in slippers!”

He mutters something ancient that definitely sounds like a curse. Then—without warning—he lifts me like a sack of rice and throws me over his shoulder.

“PUT ME DOWN!”

“You said you were tired!”

“I didn’t say kidnap me again!”

He ignores me. Again.

This man. This walking pair of biceps. This dramatic, slightly unhinged Alpha.

If we survive this, I’m suing.

The forest darkens, shadows stretching like claws. The sound of footsteps grows louder—human boots mixed with wolf paws. Metal scrapes. Someone cocks a crossbow.

Kaelen stiffens. “They’re too close.”

Great.

Perfect.

Love that for us.

He suddenly skids to a stop beneath a massive, ancient tree. The trunk is twisted, old, and pulsing faintly like it’s alive.

“Here,” he says.

I blink. “Here WHAT? Hide behind a tree? That is not a plan, Kaelen!”

“This isn’t the hiding place.” He presses his palm to the bark. “It’s the entrance.”

“Huh—?”

The tree responds.

Silver light ripples beneath the bark like glowing veins. The forest falls silent. Even the hunters’ noises pause, as if the woods itself is holding its breath.

“What… what is this?” I whisper.

Kaelen lowers his voice. “The Veil Path. Only ancient blood can open it.”

Before I can protest, he grabs my wrist.

The bark splits open.

A portal of swirling shadow and moonlight yawns before us.

“NOPE,” I say immediately, backing up. “Do you know what that looks like? A horror movie opening scene. I am not getting eaten by a tree.”

“You’re going in,” he says calmly.

“No, I’m definitely not—”

He pulls.

I scream.

We go in.

The world flips. Cold slices through my skin. My stomach somersaults.

Then—

We land inside a glowing cavern.

Silver light reflects off crystal walls. The air hums. The silence feels sacred, ancient, untouched.

I wobble, clutching my knees. “I’m dizzy… I’m dying… is this the afterlife…?”

“No,” Kaelen says dryly. “You’re just dramatic.”

“Oh, sorry, I don’t have teleporting privileges!”

He ignores me again, scanning the cavern. His jaw tightens.

“We don’t have long.”

I rub my arms, shivering. “Kaelen… what was that thing earlier? The monster?”

“A Feral,” he says quietly. “And not the last one.”

I swallow. “They were after you, right? Not me?”

Silence.

Too long.

“Kaelen?” I whisper. “They were after me?”

His shoulders rise and fall.

“Yes.”

My stomach drops.

He steps closer, shadows flickering across his face. “Luna, there’s a truth you need to hear. And you won’t like it.”

“Try me.”

“The King isn’t hunting you because of who you are now… but because of what you were born to be.”

The cavern suddenly feels ten degrees colder.

“What does that mean?” I whisper.

Kaelen’s expression softens, almost painfully. “Your blood is not human.”

The air leaves my lungs.

“That’s impossible. My parents—”

“Were not your parents.”

I go still.

“Luna… you were hidden. Disguised. Smuggled out the night the royal palace burned.”

“No.” I shake my head. “No, my mom—she loved me—she—”

“She wasn’t lying,” Kaelen says gently. “She loved you. She raised you. But your bloodline… was forbidden to exist.”

The crystals around us flicker, reacting to my heartbeat.

My vision blurs.

“What bloodline?” I choke.

He steps closer, voice low and reverent.

“Silver-blood.”

My head spins. “Silver what? That sounds like a jewelry brand.”

“No.” His eyes glow faintly. “Silver-blooded wolves appear once every thousand years. Descendants of the Moon Empress. Born with power strong enough to command the sky.”

The world tilts.

“That thing that attacked us,” Kaelen continues, “wasn’t trying to eat you. It was trying to take your power.”

“I—I don’t have power.”

“You do,” he says quietly. “Your eyes glowed silver.”

I freeze.

Silver eyes.

Silver blood.

No.

No, no, no.

“That’s why the prophecy mentions you,” he whispers.

My knees wobble. “What prophecy…?”

Kaelen exhales like the words physically hurt him.

“Luna… the prophecy of the Silver-Blooded Girl speaks of you.”

“I want to hear it.” My voice cracks.

He hesitates—like saying it aloud will break something forever.

Then he speaks, slow and heavy.

“The girl with silver eyes shall either save the werewolf race… or destroy it.”

The cavern hums.

The crystal walls pulse.

My heartbeat roars in my ears.

“Destroy it?” I whisper. “As in… wipe everyone out?!”

Kaelen swallows. “Yes.”

My breath breaks. “I don’t want that. I don’t want ANY of this!”

“You didn’t choose it,” he says gently, “but the King wants your power more than he wants his own life.”

My skin crawls.

“He will tear down every pack, every territory, every soul if it means finding you.”

“Why… why me?”

Kaelen’s voice lowers.

“Because only your blood can unlock the dormant Moon Throne.”

I step back, shaking. “I’m human! I’m nothing like that!”

“You’re awakening,” he murmurs. “The seal is breaking.”

The cavern suddenly shakes.

Dust falls from above.

An explosion thunders through the ceiling.

Kaelen’s head snaps upward. “No… they can’t be—”

Another BOOM.

The walls crack.

Cold air rushes inward.

HOWLING erupts above us.

He grabs my arm. “Luna—RUN!”

We sprint deeper into the cavern. Water bursts through a side tunnel—icy and violent—flooding everything.

“KAELEN!” I scream. “IT’S FILLING UP!”

“Keep moving!”

A massive chunk of ceiling collapses behind us, sealing the entrance.

We’re trapped.

Water rises to my knees.

Then my waist.

Then—

“Luna!” Kaelen grabs my shoulders. “Look at me!”

I can’t breathe. The cavern is freezing. The water is rising too fast.

“I can’t—Kaelen—I can’t—”

“You can,” he says fiercely. “Your power woke the Veil. It can save us now.”

“I don’t know how to use anything!”

“You don’t have to know. Your wolf knows.”

“My WHAT?!”

“The ancient wolf inside you,” he says urgently. “She’s been sleeping your whole life. But the prophecy is forcing her awake.”

The water reaches our chests.

I panic. “Kaelen—I can’t shift! I don’t even know what shifting IS!”

“Listen to me,” he says, voice raw. “Your body will know. Your blood will know. Just stop fighting it.”

“I’m not fighting anything—”

Lightning-bright pain shoots through my spine.

I gasp.

Kaelen’s eyes widen. “Luna… your eyes.”

“They—what?”

“They’re glowing. Silver.”

The crystals ignite with light, responding to me—my heartbeat, my fear, the creature clawing its way out of my bones.

I collapse against him, trembling.

Something inside me is cracking open.

Breaking.

Waking.

“K-Kaelen,” I whimper, clutching his chest, “make it stop—please—”

He holds me tightly.

“I can’t,” he whispers. “I can only guide you.”

My spine arches—pain exploding through every nerve.

“KAELEN!”

He presses his forehead to mine.

“Luna… listen to me.”

Water swirls up to our shoulders.

His voice is the only anchor I have left.

“You are not dying,” he says fiercely.

“You are shifting.”

My vision turns white.

Silver light erupts from my skin.

The cavern shakes violently.

Kaelen pulls me closer, whispering against my hair:

“Let her out, Luna. Let your wolf awaken.”

My scream rips through the cavern—

The water surges.

The crystals explode with light.

Power blasts from my body—

And everything goes black.

To be continued…