CHAPTER 1: Like Fish Out Of Water

Isabella’s POV

“Watch out!”

I heard the shout a split second before my senses reacted. The hairs on the back of my neck rose with my wolf pushing forward so fast it made my heartbeat stumble.

I spun around without thinking and it was at the same time that something flew through the air... too fast for human eyes but not too fast for mine.

I lifted my hand and my fingers closed around the arrow just before it could bury itself in Clara’s chest.

Clara screamed, Ramona gasped and for a whole moment, the world went silent around us... like even the breeze held its breath and then everything rushed back at once.

“My Luna!” Clara clutched her heart with her eyes shaking. “Oh my goodness... did that just... did you just...”

Ramona stood up so fast her chair almost fell.

“Isabella, what was that reflex?! How did you...”

Before she finished, my guards stormed in from every direction... of course, late. They formed a circle around me with their swords drawn and breathing hard like they’d just run across the entire pack grounds.

“Luna Isabella, are you hurt? What happened?” one of them demanded.

“Relax,” I said, lowering my hand and holding up the arrow. “Just a stray shot.”

The training field went quiet. Soldiers froze mid-drill and then a captain sprinted toward us with a young recruit trailing behind him. The poor boy looked like he’d seen a ghost... actually, I was the ghost he had seen. He couldn’t even meet my eyes.

The captain bowed deeply.

“My Luna, I am so sorry. The boy misfired. It was careless, unforgivable and...”

“It was an accident,” I cut in, giving him a small smile. “Nobody died, captain.”

“That does not excuse such recklessness!” The captain grabbed the boy by the collar and forced him into a bow. “Apologize to the Luna!”

The boy trembled.

“I-I’m sorry, Luna Isabella. I didn’t mean... I didn’t know... I’m really sorry...”

“Hey,” I said gently, stepping closer. “Lift your head.”

He did, cautiously.

“It’s training. Mistakes happen. That’s why it’s called training and not perfection day.” I shot the captain a look. “And stop yelling before you scare the boy away from the field forever.”

The captain stiffened.

“Yes, my Luna.”

“Good. Now go back to what you were doing and make sure the targets are aimed away from the women next time.”

He nodded sharply, dragged the boy back to the training line and the soldiers resumed their drills.

Clara finally exhaled.

“I swear my life just flashed before my eyes.”

Ramona let out a shaky laugh.

“Flashed? My soul left my body and came back with a suitcase.”

I laughed.

“You two dramatize everything.”

“No, Isabella... seriously,” Ramona said as we headed away from the training ground. “The way you caught that arrow? If you weren’t a Luna, you’d make a hell of a warrior.”

My smile tightened for half a second.

“If only.” I muttered.

She didn’t notice, of course. Ramona talked as we walked toward the gardens, while Clara kept glancing around like another arrow might pop out of a bush somewhere but my mind… my mind drifted.

Ramona was right. I could’ve been a warrior. I was one. Once. Before everything changed. Before duty, politics and a mate bond tied me to a throne instead of a battlefield.

I pushed the thoughts away and forced myself to relax. I didn’t like digging up old memories... they had claws.

We settled in the gardens where it was quiet and safe from stray flying projectiles. Ramona kept replaying the moment I caught the arrow, adding dramatic sound effects that she insisted made the story better.

I snorted.

“Ramona, I didn’t leap ten feet into the air with glowing eyes. I just turned and caught it.”

“You turned faster than wind,” she argued.

“Here we go,” I muttered, laughing.

Clara nodded.

“She’s right, my Luna. You moved like... like...”

“Like someone who still trains in secret,” Ramona teased.

I froze for half a second. She was joking. She didn’t know anything and she didn’t mean anything.

“Please,” I said lightly, waving her off. “If I trained in secret my body wouldn’t hurt every time I stand up from bed.”

They laughed and I let myself laugh with them even though deep inside, a part of me still felt that old ache... that longing for the thrill of combat, for the rush that came with a fight and for the feeling of purpose I once had.

But that wasn’t my life anymore. I was Luna Isabella of Evergreen Pack. A title that looked prettier than it felt.

After an hour, Ramona and Clara left and I headed back to the pack house. The halls were quiet as I made my way toward the throne room, humming softly to myself and then I noticed the voices. Deep, serious, tense and I slowed my steps.

Edmund was inside, sitting on his throne... my mate and my Alpha. He looked as he always did lately.. stressed, frustrated and very very distant. Around him sat several elders with their faces hard and worried and then I heard the words.

“Lycan King Leon…”

“…invasion…”

“…border movements…”

My stomach dipped. Those were not small words. Those were the kind of words that cracked peace in half.

I didn’t step into the room. I stayed back, out of sight. If I walked in, the elders would stop talking, Edmund would shut down and I’d learn nothing. So I listened quietly... something I’d become surprisingly good at.

Edmund’s eyes suddenly lifted, spotting me from across the hall. He didn’t stop talking, but his voice dropped and his gaze lingered watchfully and tensely.

We used to smile at each other when our eyes met but now? Now it felt like we were two wolves on opposite sides of a fog.

I gave him a small nod and continued walking. No need to interrupt.. no need to pretend we were okay.

By sundown my five-year-old son, Magnus, was already fighting sleep like it owed him money.

“Mommy,” he mumbled, hugging his stuffed wolf. “Tell me a story.”

“You’ll be asleep before I finish,” I teased, tucking him under the blanket.

He yawned so wide his eyes watered.

“No, I won’t.”

Two minutes into the story, he was snoring softly.

I kissed his forehead and slipped out quietly. Edmund still hadn’t returned from his meetings, worries, elders and threats... those were his nights now.

I stepped into our bedroom and walked to the balcony and from up here, the pack looked peaceful with wolves moving around, patrols changing shifts and lights glowing in the houses below.

I gripped the railing. Peace was supposed to make me happy but sometimes… I missed the fire, the battle cry and the feeling of clawing my way through danger and knowing exactly who I was. A warrior not a Luna trapped in etiquette. I was like a fish out of water!

“Almost wishing for a war,” I muttered to myself with a humorless smile. “How terrible can I be?”

Maybe I was terrible or maybe I was just bored out of my mind. I closed my eyes and let the night wind brush my face... then something cold wrapped around my wrist.

I gasped and jerked back instantly as a hand.. a cold hand clamped around me from behind…