บททั้งหมดของ Beyond The Moon's Promise: [The Forsaken Luna]: บทที่ 11 - บทที่ 16

"Again."Ezra stumbled, caught himself, and shifted back to human form. Sweat dripped down his face despite the cold morning air."I can't. I'm tired.""Then you push through tired." Kael's voice was patient but firm. "In a real fight, your enemy won't care if you're exhausted or not. Again."We'd been training for three days. Kael pushing Ezra to shift faster, smoother, and with more control. I watched from the tree line, ready to intervene if it got too intense.Ezra closed his eyes. Concentrated. His body rippled and reformed into a wolf pup with silver eyes and dark fur."Better," Kael said. "Now hold it for five minutes. Move around. Get used to the body."Ezra-wolf trotted in circles, testing his legs. He was getting better. The shifts came easier each time."He's a natural," Lydia said from beside me. She'd been observing the training, taking notes on Silverblood development and improvement."He's five. He shouldn't be shifting at all yet. Don't you think?""Well, normal wolves

"There are twelve vehicles coming up the mountain road."Marcus's voice crackled through the phone at 6 AM. I jerked awake, nearly dropping it."What?""Twelve SUVs. All with Thorne Pack insignia. Damien's here, and he brought an army."Kael was already out of bed, pulling on clothes. "How long do we have?""Twenty minutes. Maybe less if they're pushing through the speed limits.""Get everyone to the town square. Now."I scrambled up, my heart hammering. "He can't just invade Pinehaven like that.. This is neutral territory.""He can if he's carrying divine mandate." Kael tossed me my jeans. "The Goddess probably gave him authority to retrieve you by force.""Then we fight.""Not yet. First we see what he wants. Maybe—""Maybe nothing. You know what he wants." I put on my clothes, grabbed my phone. "Mrs. Ravenna, I need you to take Ezra somewhere safe. Like right now."Ten minutes later, we stood in the town square with every supernatural being in Pinehaven. Wolves, witches, vampires

Five days after Damien left, the first wolf fell sick.Young male. Twenty-three. Healthy and strong.He collapsed during patrol. By the time they got him to the clinic, he was burning with fever."I don't understand," the doctor said, checking vitals. "Everything's shutting down. It's like his body's attacking itself."Two hours later, three more wolves showed the same symptoms. And by nightfall, ten were sick."It's the Goddess," Helen said, her face grim. She'd examined the sick wolves with magic. "Divine plague. I've read about them. She has done this before to the packs who defied her.""How do we stop it?" Marcus demanded."There is nothing we can do about it. She's the only person who can cure it. That's the point. Submit or watch your people die."I looked at the sick wolves lying in makeshift hospital beds. One was a teenager. Sixteen. She'd been at the meeting, voted to fight.Now she was dying for that choice."There has to be something," I said. "Some cure, some magic—""T