CHAPTER 2 : " The Awakening Power "

Chapter 2: The Awakening Power

The forest was quieter than usual.

Selene sat on the edge of the cliff, wind whipping through her obsidian hair as dawn bled across the sky in hues of crimson and gold. Her bare feet dangled over the rocky ledge, toes curling with tension. Below, the forest stretched endlessly, mist crawling between the trees like a living thing. The silence here should’ve calmed her.

But instead, it screamed.

Ever since the night under the moon—the surge of power, the vision, the glowing eyes—something had shifted inside her. Her wolf, once fierce but steady, now growled with something darker. Wilder. Hungrier.

Selene flexed her fingers and watched as faint trails of silver shimmered beneath her skin, like moonlight trapped in her veins.

What the hell is happening to me?

"Found you."

The voice came from behind her, gruff, familiar.

Selene didn’t need to turn to know it was Thorne, her beta. The one man who had stood by her side through every battle, every victory and loss. He was older by ten years, fiercely loyal.....or so she'd believed. His presence usually grounded her.

Not today.

"You're not supposed to be this far out alone," Thorne added, stepping closer. "The elders already think you're unstable after... what happened."

Unstable.

She clenched her fists.

"And what do you think, Thorne?" she asked without turning. "Do you believe them? That I’m going to snap and kill someone just because my mate rejected me?"

He paused. "No. I think you're still grieving. But the power inside you… it's different, Selene. It's not just from training or bloodline. There's something else, and you're not telling me everything."

Selene stood slowly and turned to face him. Her violet eyes burned into his, sharp, unyielding.

"I don’t even know what’s happening to me," she said. "But I will find out. With or without your help."

Thorne's gaze softened, but there was something unreadable beneath it. "Just… be careful. The council is watching. And not kindly."

Later That Day — Pack Grounds

The training field buzzed with the clang of steel and the growls of sparring wolves. Selene stood at the edge, dressed in tight black combat leathers, watching the warriors go through their drills. Normally, she would’ve been leading them. But today, they watched her with sidelong glances, whispers in the wind.

“She’s the rejected Luna…”

“Did you hear? She tried to seduce Cassian…”

“I heard she went feral under the moonlight…”

She heard every word. And ignored them all.

“Partner up!” the drill sergeant barked. “Hand-to-hand! No weapons!”

A tall young male approached Selene. “Want to go a round, Alpha?”

She smirked. “Only if you like losing in front of your friends.”

A few chuckles echoed around the field, but the tension didn’t break.

They circled each other.

He lunged, fast and aggressive. Selene sidestepped effortlessly, twisted his arm, and flipped him over her hip in one smooth motion.

He hit the ground hard.

Applause scattered....but it was hesitant.

She looked down at her opponent, offered her hand. He took it with a sheepish grin.

But as soon as she touched him, something happened.

Crack.

A bolt of silvery energy surged through her fingertips, snapping into his skin like lightning.

He cried out and fell backward, clutching his arm.

“What the hell was that?!” he shouted.

Selene froze. Her hands trembled.

“I....I didn’t mean to…”

“Back away!” one of the elders yelled from the sidelines. “Everyone back!”

She backed away slowly, eyes wide. The entire field went still. Her heart pounded in her chest.

It had happened again.

The power.

That Night – The Archives

The ancient scrolls were dusty, smelling of parchment and ash. Selene ran her fingers along the old tomes, scanning the texts by lantern light.

She needed answers.

And the elders sure as hell weren’t going to give them to her.

Hours passed as she dug through volumes of lore; myths, legends, bloodline histories. Then something caught her eye.

A title, burned into the leather:

"The Moonborn: Wolves Touched by the Goddess"

Her breath hitched. She opened it.

The text spoke of rare children born under celestial alignments, marked by the Moon Goddess herself. These wolves were gifted with power beyond ordinary alphas, destined for great upheaval, for either salvation or ruin.

They were feared. Revered. Hunted.

The Moonborn.

Selene’s hands shook as she turned the pages. There were sketches of glowing eyes, battles beneath blood-red moons, a she-wolf crowned in light and shadow.

Then, on the final page, a prophecy:

> “She shall rise rejected, her mate turned foe, her bloodline cloaked in shadow. The Moonborn shall awaken as the world begins to fall.”

Selene stared at the words, her pulse thundering.

This was her.

Everything made sense now, the rejection, the visions, the power.

But why now?

What had triggered the awakening?

What else was still buried inside her?

The next morning, Selene stormed into the Alpha Hall, where the council was in session. The elders looked up, startled. Cassian sat at the far end of the table, composed and cold as ever.

“I want answers,” Selene demanded. “You all knew what I was.”

One of the oldest elders, Gareth, a narrow-eyed, silver-haired wolf, stood slowly. “We suspected, yes. But knowledge is dangerous in the wrong hands. Especially when it concerns the Moonborn.”

“You had no right to keep that from me.”

“We were protecting the pack. From you.”

Selene’s voice dropped. “You mean from my power.”

Gareth nodded. “Yes. And we still must.”

She stepped forward, a faint shimmer pulsing beneath her skin. “If you’re afraid of what I’ll become, that’s not my problem anymore. I won’t hide what I am.”

Cassian stood now, his expression unreadable.

“You’re walking a dangerous path, Selene.”

She looked him dead in the eye. “No, Cassian. I’m finally walking my own.”

That night, as the wind howled through the forest, Selene stood by the river on the eastern border of their territory. Her thoughts were a storm inside her head ; visions, prophecy, rejection, betrayal.

And then...

A branch cracked behind her.

She spun around, claws half-formed, ready to strike.

But what she saw wasn’t a threat.

It was a man.

A rogue.

Tall, dark, soaked from the river, his body scarred and powerful. His eyes—silver, almost inhuman—locked onto hers with burning intensity.

He said nothing.

But Selene’s breath hitched.

Because something inside her stirred again—not the mate bond.

Something else.

Deeper. Older.

As if her soul had recognized a shadow from a past life.

He opened his mouth, voice low and rough:

“Selene Blackthorn. We need to talk. Before it’s too late.”