Chapter three

⸻

Chapter Three

The Call of the Moon

Six days.

That was all Ivy could think about.

Six days until her eighteenth birthday.

Six days until she would finally know whether she belonged in Blackridge Pack… or nowhere at all.

She tried to focus on her chores.

She swept the orphanage floors.

Collected eggs from the chickens.

Helped bake bread at the bakery with Martha.

But her thoughts wandered every few minutes.

What if everyone was right?

What if she wasn’t a werewolf?

What if she wasn’t anything?

⸻

“Stop frowning.”

Martha slid another loaf onto the wooden table.

“You’ll scare the bread.”

Ivy blinked.

“The bread?”

“It rises better around happy people.”

Despite everything, Ivy laughed.

“I don’t think that’s how bread works.”

“It does in this kitchen.”

Martha wiped flour from her hands before stepping closer.

“You’ve been carrying the weight of next week for months.”

“I can’t help it.”

“I know.”

The older woman gently tucked a loose curl behind Ivy’s ear.

“But whatever happens… you’re still my girl.”

Emotion tightened Ivy’s chest.

She wasn’t used to hearing those words.

“My girl.”

It was such a simple phrase.

Yet no one had ever claimed her before.

She wrapped her arms around Martha in a fierce hug.

“Thank you.”

Martha smiled sadly.

“If only your parents could see you now.”

The words lingered long after they had finished baking.

For the first time…

Instead of wondering why they had abandoned her…

Ivy wondered if they ever had.

⸻

The morning patrol returned just before noon.

Kael stood at the front of the warriors, his expression darker than usual.

“Gather the council,” he ordered.

His Beta, Rowan, frowned.

“What happened?”

“We found tracks.”

“Rogues?”

Kael crouched beside a map spread across the council table.

“No.”

He traced a claw mark carved into the edge of the forest.

“Too large.”

Silence settled over the room.

One of the elders swallowed.

“There hasn’t been a wolf that size since…”

“The war.”

Kael finished the sentence.

The old stories flooded back into everyone’s minds.

The Lycans.

Powerful.

Faster than wolves.

Stronger.

Almost impossible to kill.

Most believed they had vanished centuries ago after the Great War.

Others believed they had gone into hiding.

Kael had always dismissed the tales as little more than history.

Until now.

“We increase patrols,” he ordered.

“No one leaves pack lands alone.”

⸻

That afternoon, Ivy escaped to the forest once again.

The stream had become her sanctuary.

She slipped off her boots, dipping her feet into the cool water.

The forest felt…

Different.

Alive.

Almost aware of her.

A white fox stepped cautiously from the undergrowth.

Its pale blue eyes met hers.

“Hello.”

Instead of running…

The fox walked straight to her.

It nudged its nose against her hand.

Ivy smiled.

“Aren’t you beautiful?”

More rustling echoed through the trees.

A family of deer emerged.

Then rabbits.

Birds landed on nearby branches.

Even a lone wolf appeared at the edge of the clearing.

None of them showed fear.

They simply…

Gathered.

As though answering an invitation only they could hear.

Ivy looked around in confusion.

“What are you all doing?”

The white fox sat at her feet.

Watching her.

Waiting.

A warm pulse spread through her body.

Silver light flickered beneath the surface of the stream.

Then disappeared.

Every animal lifted its head toward the sky.

The moment passed.

As quickly as it had begun.

The forest slowly returned to normal.

The wolf disappeared first.

The deer followed.

Birds took flight.

Within moments…

Only Ivy remained.

“What… was that?”

No answer came.

Only the quiet murmur of flowing water.

⸻

She wasn’t alone.

Hidden high among the trees, Kael had witnessed everything.

He had come searching for her after hearing she had wandered into the forest again.

He had expected to find an orphan girl sitting by a stream.

Instead…

He had watched wild animals gather around her without fear.

Even predators.

Even wolves.

His own wolf stirred uneasily.

Protect her.

Kael frowned.

“From what?”

His wolf offered only one response.

Everything.

⸻

Hundreds of miles away…

The hidden Lycan Kingdom prepared for something it barely dared hope for.

The Crystal Palace buzzed with quiet excitement.

Servants polished silver halls that had stood empty for nearly two decades.

Fresh flowers lined the grand staircase.

Royal banners bearing the white crescent crest were hung once more.

The Lycan Queen stood before the portrait that had never left her chambers.

A baby wrapped in ivory blankets.

Tiny fingers curled around her mother’s thumb.

“I’ve missed every birthday,” she whispered, brushing tears from her cheeks.

“I don’t even know your favourite colour.”

Behind her, the Lycan King rested a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“You’ll have time.”

“What if she hates us?”

“She won’t.”

“But she grew up alone.”

His expression softened.

“And that is the greatest regret of my life.”

Neither of them had wanted to hide their daughter.

But eighteen years ago, they had been given no choice.

The royal seer had spoken only one prophecy before sacrificing her own life to protect the infant princess.

“The White Lycan must sleep among wolves until the eighteenth moon, or darkness will claim the throne forever.”

So they had let her go.

Trusting fate.

Praying every day she had survived.

Now…

The bond pulsed stronger than ever.

Their daughter lived.

And soon…

She would come home.

⸻

That evening, as darkness settled over Blackridge, Ivy lay awake staring at the ceiling.

Sleep refused to come.

Every time she closed her eyes…

She heard whispers.

Not frightening.

Not threatening.

Calling.

A woman’s gentle voice.

“Come home…”

A man’s steady voice.

“We’re waiting…”

Then another voice.

Ancient.

Powerful.

Filled with endless love.

“Rise, my White One.”

A brilliant silver wolf appeared in her dream, larger than mountains, her fur glowing beneath an endless moonlit sky.

The wolf lowered her magnificent head.

Golden eyes met Ivy’s.

“You have never been broken.”

The words echoed through her soul.

“You have only been waiting.”

Ivy reached out.

The wolf touched her forehead with its nose.

A burst of blinding white light exploded around them.

Ivy jolted awake, gasping for breath.

Her bedroom glowed faintly.

Tiny silver sparks danced around her fingertips before fading into the darkness.

She stared at her trembling hands.

“No…”

Her heart pounded.

“What is happening to me?”

Outside her window, the full moon shone brighter than it had the night before.

And somewhere beyond the mountains…

A white wolf lifted her head and howled.

This time…

The sound was answered.