Chapter five

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Chapter Five: Blood and Birthright

Selene’s POV

The secured wing felt like a tomb.

I sat on the edge of the narrow bed, staring at the reinforced door that cut me off from any hope of freedom. No windows, no sunlight, just the sterile, oppressive glow of fluorescent bulbs that made my skin look sickly pale. The echo of guards’ footsteps in the hallway reminded me constantly I was not just a prisoner. I was a prisoner under direct threat.

Three hours. That’s how long I’d been trapped in this concrete cage, and already the walls felt like they were pressing in. My hands trembled as I reached for the thermos of herbal tea Maris had given me, the one thing they allowed me to keep.

It was still warm, fragrant with chamomile and something I couldn’t name. I barely took a sip when a strange tingling washed over me not nausea, but a vibration that started at my fingertips and raced up my arms.

What the hell?

I stared at my palms as the tingling intensified. For a heartbeat, I could swear I saw a shimmer beneath my skin, like veins of liquid silver threading through my bloodstream.

Then came the pain.

Not the dull ache of pregnancy or morning sickness, but something deeper. Something elemental. My body doubled over, gripping the bed as waves of agony rolled through me, and the thought struck me

The baby

But no. The pain wasn’t coming from my womb. It was everywhere. Every cell, every nerve, alive, rewriting themselves. Something inside me had awakened, something long dormant.

The fluorescent lights flickered, then blazed brighter. The walls seemed to pulse with a rhythm I had never noticed before. And at the back of my mind, almost inaudible at first, were whispers.

Luna child… blood awakens… the power calls…

“What’s happening to me?” I whispered, my voice sounding strange even to my own ears.

The whispers grew stronger, insistent. Images flooded my mind: ancient forests, silver-eyed women, wolves bowing in reverence. Through it all, a voice the soft, familiar cadence of my mother’s spoke words I had long forgotten.

“You are more than you know, little star. When the time comes, you will remember what you are.”

The memory hit like a physical blow. My mother, in our small garden, brown eyes solemn as they met mine. I had been seven or eight, asking why wolves sometimes spoke to me in dreams.

“Promise me,” she said, “that you’ll remember. When darkness comes, when you feel lost and alone, remember that you carry the blood of queens.”

Blood of queens. Luna bloodline. It clicked with terrifying clarity. I wasn’t just human. I never had been.

The revelation surged through me, a wave I no longer resisted. The whispers became distinct, coherent, urging me: Use it. Use what you are.

I rose slowly, legs steady despite the energy surging inside me. The tingling in my hands intensified; when I looked down, I gasped. My skin glowed faintly, silvery light pulsing with my heartbeat.

Impossible.

Yet I knew it wasn’t. Every strange dream of my childhood, every animal drawn inexplicably to me, Kael’s obsession with me it all made sense. I was Luna-born. And my power was finally awake.

The approaching footsteps made me dim the glow though I wasn’t sure how I did it. The heavy door lock clicked, and I expected a guard.

Instead, Dr. Maris Caldwell slipped in, face tense, carrying a medical bag and a leather-bound journal.

“Selene,” she said softly, “how are you feeling?”

“Like I’m losing my mind,” I admitted. “Maris … what did you put in that tea?”

Her eyebrows lifted. “Nothing that should wait.” She stepped closer, examining me. “Your pupils… the scent… it’s happening, isn’t it? The awakening?”

“The what?”

“I hoped I was wrong,” she admitted, voice low, “but the signs were all here.” She opened the journal, revealing intricate illustrations and elegant script. “This belonged to your grandmother. Your father gave it to me before he died, said to give it to you when the time was right.”

“My father… dead?”

“Two months ago. Heart attack,” she said gently. “He left instructions: if you ever showed signs of… this, you were to receive these.”

As soon as my fingers touched the leather, recognition jolted through me. This was mine. Our blood, our power.

“What am I, Maris ?”

“You’re Luna-born,” she said simply. “The first to awaken in three generations. Your grandmother was extraordinary.”

I opened the journal. The first page stunned me: a family tree in silver ink, each name marked with powers Alpha Caller, Wolf Speaker, Pack Healer, Moon Daughter. At the bottom, freshly inked: Selene Blackwood – Luna Ascendant.

“Luna Ascendant?”

“The rarest gift of our bloodline,” Maris explained. “You can command wolves, influence Alpha bonds, heal supernatural wounds, shape werewolf society itself.”

I felt it immediately. I could sense the guards outside loyalty, fear, uncertainty. Kael several floors above his anger a bonfire, laced with fear and protectiveness.

The mate bond but stronger. Something I could manipulate, control, even sever.

“The baby?” I whispered.

“Safe,” Maris said, a hint of awe. “Luna-born children are resilient, especially when carried by an awakened mother. Your child will inherit your power.”

I pressed my hands to my stomach. A tiny pulse, glowing silver with the energy coursing through me. My child would never be weak. Never at the mercy of cruel men.

“What now?”

“You have choices,” Maris said urgently. “Stay, use your power to change this pack from within. Demand respect, equality, safety. Or leave. With your abilities, no one can stop you not even an Alpha.”

The thought tempted me but power without knowledge is dangerous.

“I need time.”

“Time is the one thing you don’t have,” she warned. “Liora is planning something tonight. It’ll force Kael’s hand and put you directly in danger.”

Before I could ask more, alarms blared. Red lights flashed, chaos erupted outside: running footsteps, shouting.

“What’s happening?”

Maris ’s face paled. “We’re about to find out.”

The door burst open. Three guards, grim.

“Luna, you must move. Now.”

“Why?”

“The pack is under attack. Eastern perimeter breaches. Alpha orders: get you to the bunker immediately.”

But I could feel it this wasn’t random. It was deliberate. Liora’s presence pulsed like a dark heartbeat in the chaos.

“She’s using the attack as cover,” I realized. “Whatever she’s planning it’s happening now.”

The guards exchanged confused glances. Maris ’s turned to horror.

“The bunker…” she whispered. “If she isolates you there…”

I understood. The bunker could protect me but also trap me, make an “accident” easy in the chaos.

“I’m not going,” I said. “Luna… the Alpha’s orders ”

“They’ll get me killed.” I stood, energy radiating. The guards recoiled instinctively.

“Stand down.”

The words carried absolute authority. They stiffened, obeying instinctively.

“You will return to posts,” I commanded. “Report that I reached the bunker safely. Forget everything in this room.”

“Yes, Luna,” they said, eerily flat.

After they left, Maris stared, awe and fear mingling.

“That was…”

“Terrifying,” I finished. “But necessary.”

I could feel chaos surging through the pack house, Kael desperately coordinating, fearing for me. The mate bond tugged strong, mutual now. He needed me.

“Maris , get somewhere safe,” I said. “Now.”

“What about you?”

I looked at my glowing hands. “I’m ending this. All of it.”

“Selene, you barely understand your powers Liora, the attack ”

“I’m not just facing Liora,” I said. “I’m confronting three years of fear, helplessness, being treated like property.”

My ancestors’ whispers grew louder. Every Luna-born woman before me had faced choices, fear, and power. They fought. I would too.

“Besides,” I added, moving toward the door, “I have what Liora doesn’t.”

“Which is?”

I smiled, genuinely. “I’m the real Luna. And it’s time I start acting like it.”

The secured wing door opened at my touch. Beyond, chaos and danger but also possibility.

The scared human girl inside me was gone. In her place stood a Luna-born woman awakened, powerful, and done with fear.