POV: PRIESTESS ILLARA, UNNAMED PRIESTESS, NOVICE GUARD, THE MOTHER The moon hung heavy over the Alpha’s Hall — swollen, silver, watching. The Blessing Moon. The night when every expectant she-wolf stood before Selene’s altar, her belly touched, catalogued, whispered over. Power dressed as piety. Fertility traded like a coin. I knelt at the altar, sleeves scented with lavender and moonflower, fingers slick with sacred oil. Three years in service, and I’d seen them all — proud matrons with eyes like victory, shamed brides trying not to cry. I thought nothing could surprise me. I was wrong. She stepped from the shadows at the end of the line. No silks. No jewels. No escort. Just a plain cloak, hair loose, face half-hidden in torchlight. But the way she held her belly — as though cradling the last flame in the world—made my hand falter. She wasn’t on the registry. The High Priestess gave the smallest nod. Better to bless and dismiss than cause a scandal. I stepped forward, my voic
Last Updated : 2025-08-02 Read more