All Chapters of A Packless Luna: Chapter 121 - Chapter 130

The wolves surrounded me, but I was not afraid.I had already lost everything once. I had watched my family disappear, my home burn, and my life fall apart.I would not let anyone own me again.“Lower your sword,” Kael ordered.The man standing before us did not move. His sword remained pointed toward the ground, but his warriors had formed a tight circle around us.“Your Alpha gives orders even in another man's territory?” he asked.Kael stepped forward. “You drew a sword in front of my Luna. I suggest you explain yourself before I decide what to do about it.”“Kael,” I said quietly.He glanced at me.“Let him speak.”The man finally lowered his sword completely.“My name is Lord Aric,” he announced. “I am the leader of the missing fourth house.”A murmur passed through the wolves behind him.I studied his face. He looked older than Kael, with dark hair touched by gray and a scar running from his temple to his cheek. His eyes moved over me as if he were searching for something he had

By sunrise, Ironfang was surrounded by wolves from across the kingdom.I stood on the fortress steps, watching them arrive in groups, carrying banners and weapons. Some came on horseback, while others walked through the gates with their warriors behind them.The crowd kept growing.“Are all these wolves here because of the throne?” I asked.Kael stood beside me. “Some want you to accept it. Others want to make sure you never do.”“And the rest?”“They want to see which side will give them the most power.”I looked at him. “That sounds like a lot of people.”“It is.”A guard hurried up the steps.“Luna, the representatives from Stormpeak, Blackriver, and Redcliff have arrived.”“Let them enter.”“There are also rogue representatives waiting at the outer gate.”“Bring them in too.”The guard hesitated. “Some of the Alpha representatives may object.”“Then they can tell me why.”Kael's mouth twitched, but he said nothing.The guard bowed and hurried away.I turned toward Kael. “You think

Aric had vanished from a fortress filled with hundreds of wolves.Nobody saw him leave.“Seal the gates!” I ordered.The guards moved immediately.“No one leaves Ironfang,” Kael added. “Not until we know how Aric disappeared.”The great hall erupted.“This is an insult!”“Your people must have helped him!”“You are accusing the wrong house!”I raised my voice.“Enough!”The shouting slowly stopped.I looked around the room.“Aric was standing here minutes ago. Now he's gone. Until we know what happened, nobody is leaving.”A representative from House Veyra stepped forward.“You think one of us took him?”“I think someone knows more than they're saying.”The representative of House Auren frowned.“Perhaps your own people helped him escape.”Kael's eyes hardened.“Watch your words.”I touched his arm.“Let him speak.”The man swallowed.“I am only saying that Aric entered this fortress with his own warriors. If he disappeared, someone must have helped him.”“Then we'll find that person,

The words should have sounded like a legend.But I knew legends did not leave warnings carved into stone.DO NOT WAKE THE FIRST ALPHA.I stared at the glowing words on the old map.Kael folded it carefully.“We need to be careful.”“I know.”“You don't sound worried.”“I am worried.”He raised an eyebrow.“I just don't think fear will help us understand what is beneath that city.”“Then we go prepared.”We left Ironfang before dawn with only a small group of trusted warriors. By sunset, the abandoned royal city appeared beyond the mountains.It was nothing like the cities I knew.Broken towers rose from the earth. Ancient stone walls surrounded empty streets, and strange symbols covered the buildings.Kael looked around.“This place is older than the Council.”“Much older.”I stepped closer to one of the walls.The same symbol from the map was carved into the stone.“This is where it started.”“Maybe,” Kael said.We entered the ruins.After walking through several empty halls, we foun

The enemy had followed us into the oldest ruins in the kingdom.The first arrow struck the stone beside my head.I ducked.“Kael!”“I see them!”He pulled me behind a broken pillar as another arrow cut through the air.The guardian turned toward the entrance. His face became hard.“They found us faster than I expected.”“How?” I asked.He looked at the ancient seal in my hand.“They were searching for you.”Kael stepped in front of me.“How many?”“Too many to count.”A roar shook the ruins.Then armed wolves rushed through the broken entrance.Their armor was dark. Their weapons were silver. And on every chest was the same strange symbol we had seen in the ancient records.My stomach tightened.“The organization,” I whispered.The guardian nodded.“They have finally stopped hiding.”Kael drew his sword.“Then they made a mistake.”The first attacker reached us.Kael blocked his blade and struck him across the chest. Another wolf came from the side, but I moved first, twisting away be