Chapter 9: The Luna's Secret

The morning sun cast long shadows across the village as the pack began to stir. The air was crisp with autumn's promise, carrying the scent of woodsmoke and drying leaves. It should have been a peaceful dawn, but something felt wrong in the very fabric of the morning.

It was Anya who first noticed the emptiness. She had awakened early, expecting to find Mira already up and tending to the fire. Instead, she found Mira's bed cold and undisturbed, her few possessions gone. Panic fluttered in Anya's chest as she searched the cabin, calling Mira's name in desperate whispers.

She found the note tucked beneath her pillow, her hands trembling as she unfolded the bark paper. The words were few but heavy with finality: I have to go. Please understand. Thank you for everything. Don't look for me.

"She's gone," Anya whispered, then louder, her voice cracking with panic. "Mira's gone!"

The cry echoed through the cabins, rousing wolves from their sleep. Within minutes, the entire pack had gathered in the clearing, their voices rising in worried speculation. Search parties were hastily organized, the forest combed for any trace of her. But there was nothing—no scent trail beyond the territory's edge, no sign of struggle.

It was as if she had simply vanished into the morning mist.

Lucian arrived later than the others, his face a mask of controlled composure. But those who knew him well could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his hands clenched at his sides. Selene stood beside him, her expression unreadable as she surveyed the chaos.

"Report," Lucian commanded.

The head tracker stepped forward, his face grim. "No trace beyond the eastern border, Alpha. Her scent trail ends at the boundary stones."

"That's impossible," Selene said sharply. "No one simply disappears."

The Alpha Elder had been standing apart, his ancient eyes studying the forest. Now he stepped forward, his weathered face grave. "Gather the council," he commanded. "We need answers."

Within the hour, the elders had assembled in the sacred grove, their faces grim in the dappled sunlight. Lucian stood before them, every inch the Alpha despite the turmoil beneath his controlled exterior.

The Alpha Elder began to pace, his movements deliberate. "The girl's disappearance is no coincidence," he said, his voice carrying the weight of ancient knowledge. "We have all felt the changes in our territory—the shift in the very air we breathe, the way the forest itself seems to hold its breath."

The council members nodded, troubled. They had all sensed it—a disturbance in the natural order, a ripple in the magical currents flowing through their land.

"The shift we felt nights ago," the Alpha Elder continued, "the one that shook our territory's foundations—it was not random magic." He paused, letting his words sink in. "It was an awakening."

The council exchanged uneasy glances. Elder Moira leaned forward. "What kind of awakening?"

The Alpha Elder's eyes grew distant. "Luna blood." The girl—Mira—could carry the bloodline of the ancient Lunas. The signs suggest it, though I've never seen such power manifested."

Lucian's composure cracked, shock flashing across his features. "That's impossible. She's an orphan, left at our borders—"

"With no history, no family, no past," the Alpha Elder interrupted. "Have you never wondered why? "Luna bloodlines are rare—if the old texts are to be believed. According to legend, such families often hid their daughters to protect them from those who would exploit even the possibility of such power."

Murmurs rippled through the council. Elder Thane leaned forward with concern. "If she carries Luna blood, she should be brought back immediately—"

"The pack needs answers first," the Alpha Elder cut him off, his gaze boring into Lucian. "The awakening had to have been triggered by something. Luna blood doesn't simply activate—it requires a catalyst, a moment of intense emotion or physical union."

Lucian felt the blood drain from his face, but before he could respond, a voice rang out from the grove's edge—clear, brave, and trembling.

"She ran because she was pregnant."

All eyes turned to see Anya standing at the boundary of the sacred space, her face pale but resolute. The council erupted in shocked whispers, but she pressed on, her voice growing stronger.

"She came to me by the river three days ago, terrified and sick. She knew she was carrying a child, and she knew the pack would never accept it. So she left to protect herself and the baby."

The Alpha Elder's expression darkened. "Pregnant? And you said nothing?"

Anya lifted her chin defiantly. "She was my friend. She trusted me with her secret. I won't betray that trust, even now."

"Whose child?" Selene's voice cut through the air like a blade, cold and sharp.

Anya met her gaze steadily. "She didn't say. Only that the father had chosen another path, and she couldn't stay to watch him build a life with someone else."

The words hit Lucian like physical blows. A child. Their child. The Luna blood awakening, the power surge the elders had felt—it all made terrible sense now. The night they had come together under the moon had triggered something ancient and powerful, awakening the dormant magic in Mira's bloodline.

And he had driven her away with his choice, his duty, his cowardice.

The Alpha Elder's voice was deadly quiet. "A pregnant Luna, awakened but unbound, carrying a child of unknown parentage." He turned to face the council, his expression grave. "She must be found. Immediately. Before her power becomes too dangerous to contain, or before others learn of what she carries."

The implications hung heavy in the air. An unbound Luna was a power beyond any pack's ability to control. And if other packs learned of her existence, learned that she carried new life that might inherit both Luna and Alpha blood...

Wars had been fought over less.

But even as search parties were organized and scouts sent out to scour neighboring territories, Lucian knew in his heart that they were too late.