## Chapter 16: The Luna's Choice

Something strange happened when Mira spoke. Her words, born from weeks of suppressed pain and righteous anger, seemed to carry more weight than they should. Around the clearing, wolves who had been poised for violence suddenly stilled, their aggressive postures wavering as if responding to some invisible command.

Mira noticed the change immediately, confusion flickering across her features. Why were they all staring at her like that? Why had the tension between the two Alphas suddenly shifted toward... submission?

Lucian felt his heart hammering against his ribs as he took in the sight of her. Something was different—not just her appearance, but the very air around her seemed charged, electric with potential he couldn't name.

"Mira," he said, taking a step toward the shore. Water dripped from his clothes as he moved. "I came to—"

"To what?" Her voice cut through his words, and again that strange ripple passed through the assembled wolves. Several of the Silverpine pack members actually took a step back, their eyes wide with something that looked like... awe? "To drag me back to a pack that cast me out? To claim what you threw away when it became inconvenient?"

The accusation hit him like a physical blow, but Lucian was distracted by the way his own warriors were reacting. Marcus had gone very still, his head slightly tilted as if listening to something only he could hear. Even Rowan's wolves seemed affected, their attention fixed on Mira with an intensity that went beyond mere curiosity.

"To apologize," Lucian said, forcing himself to focus on her words rather than the inexplicable atmosphere. "To make amends for the mistakes I made."

"Amends?" Mira's laugh was sharp and bitter, and the sound seemed to echo strangely in the clearing. "You stood before our entire pack and chose another woman as your mate while I carried your child in secret. Tell me, Lucian—what amends could possibly repair that?"

Behind her, Rowan stepped forward, but his movement was careful, almost reverent. His silver eyes kept darting between Mira's face and something just beyond her, as if he could see things she couldn't.

"She found sanctuary here when your pack offered her nothing but shame," he said, his voice oddly formal. "I won't let you destroy the peace she's built."

"Peace?" Lucian's protective instincts flared, though he too felt the strange pull of Mira's presence. "While other Alphas hunt her? While she carries my child unprotected?"

"I am not unprotected," Mira said, frustration making her voice rise. As her emotions peaked, the air around her seemed to shimmer, like heat waves on a summer day. "And I am not helpless. The frightened girl who fled Blackpine territory no longer exists."

She paused, noticing for the first time how every wolf in the clearing was staring at her with expressions ranging from wonder to something approaching fear. Even the most dominant warriors among both packs had unconsciously shifted into more submissive postures.

"What..." Mira looked around, bewildered. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Lucian stared at Mira with dawning understanding, pieces falling into place. The shimmer in the air, the way both packs were responding, the authority flowing from her—this was what Elder Moira had suspected, what his father had feared. Luna blood, awakening under extreme emotion.

Rowan looked between them, confusion clear on his face. He could see something was happening, could feel the strange pull of Mira's presence, but he didn't understand what it meant.

"Mira," Lucian said carefully, his voice filled with wonder and certainty. "Do you know what you are?"

"I'm a pregnant woman who's tired of being fought over," she snapped, but her words carried that strange resonance again, making several wolves actually whimper in response.

Mira's hand flew to her throat, her eyes wide with shock. "What's happening to me? Why did they—what was that?"

Around them, the assembled wolves remained frozen, caught between confusion and an instinctive need to submit. The very air seemed to thrum with unleashed potential, and Mira stood at the center of it all, unaware of the power coursing through her veins. Whatever she was becoming, whatever ancient bloodline was awakening within her, it would reshape the fate of both packs forever.