All Chapters of Unleashing the lunar within: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

EmilieEMILIEThe shadows were moving again,I know how that sounds. Trust me, I've heard myself say it enough times to know it sounds completely insane. But there they were, twisting across my bedroom walls like living smoke, separating from the darkness and reaching toward me with fingers that shouldn't exist.I was twenty-two years old and still afraid of the dark; Pathetic."You're being ridiculous," I whispered to the empty room, pulling my knees to my chest. "Shadows don't move on their own."Except mine always had.I did the breathing exercise Mrs. Hawthorne taught me when I was little, count to ten, close your eyes, think of something peaceful. When I opened them again, everything was normal. Just regular darkness doing what darkness does.My phone said 3:33 AM. Of course it did. Every time the nightmares woke me up, it was always 3:33.The nightmare was still fresh, playing on repeat behind my eyes. A burning kingdom,a man with silver eyes reaching for me, mouth moving in wor

EMILIEI don't know how long I ran through those woods. Could have been an hour, could have been five minutes. Time felt broken, like my brain couldn't process anything except run and don't stop and don't look back.My lungs burned, My legs screamed.. Branches tore at my clothes and skin. But I kept going because the alternative was dying, and Mrs. Hawthorne hadn't sacrificed herself just so I could give up in the forest.The rain had stopped at some point, but I was soaked through. My too-big boots kept trying to come off. My pajama pants were shredded. I was pretty sure I was bleeding from a dozen different cuts.I finally stopped when I physically couldn't run anymore, collapsing against a tree and gasping for air.That's when I heard it.Someone groaning in pain nearby.Every instinct I had screamed at me to stay hidden, stay quiet, keep moving. But something else something stronger pulled me toward that sound.I crept through the underbrush and froze.A guy about my age was leani

EMILIEThey made me sit for the story, which should have warned me it was going to be bad.The Alpha Magnus paced while Aurora and Ethan stood nearby looking like they wanted to reach for me but didn't dare. Kai stayed close to my side."Three hundred years ago," Magnus began, "a dying oracle spoke a prophecy. A child would be born marked by two moons, born of priestess and warrior blood, with the power to either unite all supernatural realms in peace or shatter them and end everything."I stared at him. "That's insane.""That's destiny," the white haired woman Storm said. "Your mother was High Priestess of the Moon Temple, Your father was a warrior from the oldest bloodline. You're something that hasn't existed in a thousand years.""What am I?""We don't know exactly," Ethan admitted. "That's why we gave you to Hawthorne, to keep you hidden until you could control your power.""Except that didn't work," I said bitterly. "Mrs. Hawthorne is dead and I'm here and apparently there's som

(Emilie's POV)I couldn't sleep at night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the shadows from Kai's warning creeping across my walls. The darkness whispered things I didn't want to hear, and when I finally gave up and opened my eyes, dawn was already breaking over Silvercrest.That's when I saw her standing by the window.Storm. The woman with the white blonde hair and those pale, strange eyes that seemed to see right through you. The one who'd whispered about marks appearing when my power fully awakened. I hadn't seen her since that night, and part of me had hoped I wouldn't have to again. But here she was, watching the forest like she could read its secrets."You're awake," she said without turning around. Her voice was quiet but it made my heart jump anyway. "Good. We don't have much time.""What do you want?" I asked, still half tangled in my blankets.She finally looked at me, and those pale eyes seemed to glow in the early morning light. "The marks, Emilie. They're starting to s

 (Emilie's POV) The silence after the attack was suffocating. For three days, Silvercrest held its breath. The halls reeked of medicine and ash. Everywhere I walked, eyes followed me like I was poison. The whispers started almost immediately. "She's the reason they came.""The shadows were looking for her.""Maybe Magnus should turn her over before more people die." I heard them all. I pretended not to care, but each word carved itself into my chest. By the fourth morning, Magnus called a council. The great hall filled with pack leaders and warriors, their faces hard and suspicious. Magnus stood at the center, towering and calm, his silver-gray eyes cold as winter. Everyone fell silent when he spoke. "The attack was coordinated," he announced. "Our wards were breached from the Shadowlands. But I want to be clear