Chapter 3 Silent Poison

I pulled out every piece of jewelry he'd ever given me.

One by one, I checked them all.

Each one had the same mark.

My hands were shaking as I grabbed the sapphire necklace again.

The stone was set in an ornate platinum casing. I used my fingernail to pry at the edge.

The casing popped open.

Inside, embedded in the hollow space beneath the sapphire, was a small black stone covered in strange symbols.

No.

No, no, no.

I knew what this was.

I'd learned about it years ago during my Luna training.

A Moonbane Rune Stone.

An ancient, forbidden object used to drain a wolf's power.

Slowly. Gradually. Until there was nothing left.

It was like a parasite that fed on life force and magic.

And Leighton had hidden them in every gift he'd ever given me.

I dropped the necklace as it had burned me.

My whole body was shaking now. Not from fear. From rage.

He'd been poisoning me. For months. Maybe years.

Making me weak. Making me sick.

So he'd have an excuse to get rid of me.

All those times I'd worn his "gifts of love," I'd been wearing my destruction.

"That bastard," I whispered.

Then I heard it.

A scream.

High-pitched and filled with pain.

"Mommy! Help me!"

Erica.

I ran out of my room and down the hall.

Erica's bedroom door was closed. I slammed it open.

My daughter was on the floor, convulsing.

Her entire body shook and twisted.

Silver light flickered across her skin—her wolf trying to emerge but failing.

Her arms were covered with scratches from her nails.

"Erica!" I dropped to my knees beside her.

Her eyes rolled back, showing only white. Foam bubbled at her lips. Her skin was ice cold.

"Mommy..." she gasped.

"It hurts... everything hurts..."

This was a power backlash.

It happened when a young wolf's awakening was blocked or corrupted somehow.

If it weren't stopped, she could die.

"Hold on, baby. Hold on!" I pulled her into my arms.

That's when I smelled it.

That same cold, metallic smell from my jewelry.

Moonbane stones.

I looked around frantically. Where? Where were they?

I laid Erica on the bed and started tearing through her room. Dresser drawers. Under the bed. Inside her bookshelf.

My fingers touched something cold.

I pulled a black stone from behind her picture frame.

Then another from inside her lamp.

Another in her jewelry box—hidden in the locket Leighton gave her for her birthday.

By the time I finished searching, I'd found twelve stones.

Twelve.

He'd been poisoning our daughter, too.

Not just trying to replace her.

Trying to kill her.

"You monster," I whispered, clutching the stones.

"You absolute monster."

Erica's convulsions were slowing down now that the stones were removed from her immediate area.

But she was still unconscious. 

I had to do something.

Something drastic.

There was a knock on the door.

"Luna?" A voice called softly.

"I heard screaming. Is everything all right?"

Mara. My personal maid and the only person in this pack I still trusted.

"Come in," I said. "Quickly."

The door opened, and a small, elderly woman slipped inside.

Mara had been with me since I was ten years old—a gift from my mother.

She was more than a maid. She was family.

"Dear Moon-goddess," Mara breathed when she saw Erica.

"What happened?"

"Moonbane stones," I said, showing her the pile.

"Leighton hid them all over. In my jewelry. In Erica's room. He's been draining our power for months."

Mara's wrinkled face went pale.

"That's... that's dark magic. Forbidden magic."

"I know." I grabbed her hand.

"Mara, I need your help. You studied shamanic healing, right? You know about runestones?"

She nodded slowly. "A little. But Luna, removing the stones isn't enough. The damage is already done. The energy drain is already in your bodies."

"Then what do I do?"

Mara bit her lip.

She looked scared. "There is one way. But it's dangerous. Possibly fatal."

"Tell me."

"You can... tame the stones. Absorb their power back into yourself. However, the backlash is intense. Most wolves die trying."

"And if I succeed?"

"You'd be stronger than before. All the power they stole would return. Plus the rune magic itself."

I looked at Erica's unconscious form. Then at the stones in my hand.

"Teach me how."

"Luna, you could die—"

"I'm dead anyway if I do nothing!" I grabbed her shoulders.

"Leighton's planning to announce my removal tomorrow. He'll take Erica for 're-education'—which is just torture. If I don't fight back now, we're both finished."

Mara stared at me for a long moment.

Then she nodded.

"All right. But we need to move fast. The shaman who created these stones will sense when they're tampered with."

She pulled a silver dagger from her sleeve.

"This will hurt, Luna. A lot."

"I don't care. Do it."

Mara took the smallest stone and pressed it into my palm.

Then she cut my hand with the dagger.

Pain exploded through my arm.

The stone seemed to come alive, drinking my blood greedily.

But this time, instead of draining my power, I pushed back.

I imagined my wolf—strong, fierce, and angry—grabbing that stolen energy and dragging it home.

The stone grew hot.

Burning.

I screamed.

It felt like my blood was boiling.

Like my bones were shattering and reforming.

Like every nerve in my body was on fire.

"Hold on!" Mara gripped my shoulders.

"Don't let go! Channel your rage! Use it!"

I thought of Leighton's betrayal. His lies. His plan to destroy us.

And I got angry.

Not sad.  Just pure, burning rage.

The pain reached a peak and then suddenly shifted.

Changed.

The burning became... something else. Power. Raw, wild power flooding back into me.

The stone cracked in my hand.

Then it crumbled to dust.

I gasped, falling forward.

Mara caught me.

"Did it work?" I panted.

"Look at your hand."

I opened my palm.

The cut was already healing. Impossibly fast.

And my skin... it was glowing faintly.

Silver light pulsing under the surface.

"It worked," Mara breathed.

"Dear Goddess, you actually did it."

"How many more?" I asked.

"Twelve total. But Luna—"

"No time. Do the next one."

We worked fast.

All stone was agony.

Each one felt like dying and being reborn.

But each one also made me stronger.

By the time we finished the fifth stone, I could feel my wolf again.

Really feel her.

Strong and whole for the first time in months.

That's when we heard footsteps.

Heavy boots. Running. Multiple people.

"They know," Mara whispered.

"The shaman sensed the disruption."

The bedroom door exploded inward.

Leighton stood there, his face twisted with rage. Behind him were six guards in black uniforms.

His eyes locked onto the pile of broken stones. Then onto my glowing hands.

"You," he snarled.

"What did you do?"