Chapter 40: Gathering Storm

By evening, Blackpine territory had transformed into something unprecedented. The main settlement overflowed with Luna families, their silver-touched children creating an otherworldly atmosphere as they played together for the first time in their lives. Mira watched from her recovery chamber window, Aurora nursing peacefully in her arms, as the scope of what they'd accomplished became clear.

"Forty-three families confirmed," Lyra reported, entering with updated tallies. "Including bloodlines we thought were extinct. The Starweaver clan arrived an hour ago—they've been hiding in the far northern wastes for three generations."

"Any word from the eastern territories?" Mira asked, adjusting Aurora's position as the baby finished feeding.

"Mixed responses. The Moonvale family is traveling under heavy guard—they've been persecuted by local packs for years. But the Silvermist bloodline..." Lyra's expression darkened. "They were attacked two days ago. Only the children escaped."

Aurora made a soft sound of distress, as if sensing the tragedy being discussed. The baby's silver glow flickered, and around the territory, other Luna children began to cry in response.

"She's connected to all of them," Mira realized, gently soothing her daughter. "Every Luna child can feel what she feels."

Elder Sage appeared in the doorway, her ancient face grave. "We have a problem. Garrett's petition to the Eastern Coalition was successful. They're declaring the Unity Gathering a 'magical insurgency' and mobilizing forces to disperse it."

"How many?" Lucian asked, rising from where he'd been helping coordinate security arrangements.

"Two hundred wolves from five different packs, all claiming legal authority under territorial law. They'll be here by tomorrow afternoon—hours before the full moon ceremony."

Mira felt Aurora tense in her arms, the baby's silver eyes focusing with unusual intensity. "They're not just coming to disperse us. They're coming to claim us."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it," Mira said, her Luna instincts sharp despite her physical exhaustion. "The largest gathering of Luna bloodlines in two centuries, all in one location. It's not a threat to be eliminated—it's a resource to be controlled."

Kane entered with his intelligence officers, confirming Mira's fears. "My spies report that Garrett's coalition isn't planning to scatter the families. They're planning to capture them. Separate the adults from the children, relocate them to 'protective facilities' where their powers can be properly regulated."

"Concentration camps," Alpha Vera said bluntly. "They're planning to imprison every Luna family in the territories."

Aurora's distress intensified, and the baby's silver glow began to pulse in an urgent rhythm. Throughout the settlement, Luna children stopped their play, all turning toward the main lodge where Mira held her daughter.

"She's calling them," Lyra whispered in amazement. "All the children—they're responding to her."

Indeed, they could see through the windows as dozens of silver-touched children began moving toward the lodge, their parents following in confusion and concern. The youngest were barely walking, while the oldest were adolescents just coming into their power, but all were drawn by the same inexorable pull.

"What's happening?" Sera asked as she and Naia arrived with the growing crowd.

"Aurora's trying to tell us something," Mira said, studying her daughter's face. The baby's silver eyes held an urgency that seemed far beyond her newborn status. "She can sense the danger coming."

Elder Sage consulted the ancient Charter, her fingers tracing passages worn smooth by time. "The old texts speak of Luna children being born with prophetic awareness during times of great crisis. If Aurora is responding to future threats..."

"Then we need to listen to her," Mira decided. "What is it, little one? What do you need us to understand?"

Aurora's glow intensified, and suddenly every Luna child in the gathering began to shine with silver light. The effect was breathtaking—dozens of children connected by visible threads of power, all centered on the newborn in Mira's arms.

"Unity," whispered the Starweaver matriarch, her voice filled with awe. "The children are showing us true unity. Not just political alliance, but magical integration."

"Can we use it?" Lucian asked pragmatically. "If the children are this connected, can their combined power protect against Garrett's forces?"

"It's possible," Elder Sage said slowly. "But dangerous. Luna children channeling power together... the energy could be beyond any of our abilities to control."

"Then we don't control it," Mira said with sudden certainty. "We guide it. Tomorrow night, under the full moon, we let the children show us what they're truly capable of."

Aurora settled peacefully in her arms, her silver glow returning to its gentle pulse. But around the territory, the other Luna children remained connected, their combined radiance creating a barrier of light that could be seen for miles.

"Garrett's forces will see that," Kane observed grimly. "They'll know we're preparing something."

"Good," Mira replied, looking down at her daughter with fierce pride. "Let them come. Let them see what happens when Luna families finally stand together."

As the night deepened, the silver light of the connected children painted the entire settlement in otherworldly beauty. Tomorrow would bring the greatest test the Luna Network had ever faced, but tonight, they were no longer scattered and hiding.

Tonight, they were one people, united by the light of a child born to revolution.

The gathering storm was coming, but they would meet it together, with power beyond anything their enemies could imagine.