C101

“I will not take the throne.”The words landed harder than the dead body lying across the chamber floor, nobody moved. The succession seal behind me continued to burn, its white-gold light spilling across the blood-stained stones. Every eye in the chamber hall was fixed on me. I could feel the weight of their expectations. They wanted me to turn around, they wanted me to place my hand on the seal, they wanted me to become the Luna their laws had been searching for. I looked at the ancient crest beneath my feet, then I looked at Dean.He was standing, blood running down his arm, his black shirt torn from the battle. His eyes held something I had not seen there in years.Hope!. That almost made me laugh.“You heard her,” Elder Gideon said quietly. “She refuses.”“I heard her,” Elder Miriam replied.Corvin stared at me. “Rowena, do you understand what the seal has done?”“Yes.”“Then you understand what you are refusing.”“The throne.”A murmur moved through the chamber, I did not raise

C102

“If this place falls down tonight, at least nobody will be here to hear it.”I pushed the crooked door open with my shoulder, it groaned. A cloud of dust dropped from the frame and landed in my hair. I stood there for a moment, staring into the darkness.“Crescent Moon Cottage”. My new home. It was worse than I remembered, the roof sagged above the main room. Two windowpanes were missing, the fireplace was filled with old ash, and the wooden floor complained beneath every step. One wall had a crack running from the ceiling almost to the ground.I looked around.“Wonderful.”For the first time in a long time, nobody was waiting for me to behave like a Luna. Nobody was watching, nobody was taking notes, nobody was deciding what I was allowed to do. I dropped my small bag beside the fireplace, “This will do.”The cottage sat on the far edge of old Moonfang territory, beyond the main settlement and close enough to the forest that wolves rarely came this way. It had been abandoned for yea

C103

“Please don’t make me leave.”The voice came from outside my door. I froze, my fingers tightening around the knife I had found on the table the night before. For a moment, I listened. No footsteps, no growl. Just the wind moving through the trees, then came a soft knock.“Who are you?”“My name is Mara.”“What do you want?”“I need somewhere to stay.”“Why?”“Because I have nowhere else.”I moved closer to the door and opened it, a young woman stood in the snow. She looked exhausted, her dark hair was tangled, her clothes were torn, and one sleeve was stained with mud. A fresh cut crossed her cheek. She was barefoot, with strips of cloth wrapped around her feet. But it was the mark on her neck that held my attention. The black scar of banishment, she noticed me staring.“I know what you're thinking.”“I have

C104

“Nobody is sleeping in that building until I know the roof won't kill them.”Mara looked up at the abandoned structure.“You're serious?”“I didn't come all the way here to admire it.”The old military barracks stood beyond the cottage, half swallowed by weeds and years of neglect. Its stone walls were cracked, several doors had rotted away, and the roof sagged over one side. It was ugly, damaged and exactly what we needed. I walked through the entrance, dust covered the floor, broken bunks leaned against the walls, rusted weapons racks lined the corridor, empty except for cobwebs.“This place hasn't been used in years,” Mara said.“Then we'll give it a reason to stand.”By noon, everyone was working. The women who had arrived at the cottage helped clear debris. Mara dragged broken boards outside, the older women scrubbed the sleeping quarters. I climbed onto the roof and replaced loose timber with whatever usable wood we could find. Nobody had assigned me the work. I simply did it, t

C105

“You came three years too late.”The words stopped the Moonfang elders at the entrance of the barracks, they had arrived at sunrise. Six elders stood in the snow, dressed in ceremonial Moonfang robes. Behind them stood four warriors carrying the banners of the pack and at the center was Alpha Aldric Moonfang.My father!.I hadn't seen him since the day he stood before the council and said he didn't know me. Now he stood in front of my barracks as if the past could be crossed like a bridge. Our eyes met; for several seconds neither of us moved. Then Aldric stepped forward.“Rowena.”I said nothing, he lowered himself to one knee the elders followed. Every one of them bowed their heads, the women behind me went silent. Mara looked at me, I kept my eyes on my father, “What are you doing?”Aldric's voice was low, “Recognizing our Alpha.”Something inside me hardened, “I am not your Alpha.”“You are Moonfang blood.”“I know what my blood is.”“You are the rightful Alpha of this pack.”I al

C106

“Then build your own walls.”The courtyard went silent, Aldric stared at me as if I had lost my mind. One of the elders actually laughed, “You cannot be serious.”“I am.”“You want Moonfang to build defensive walls without Alpha Dominion resources?”“Yes.”“That is impossible.”I looked toward the half-repaired barracks.“Good.”The elder's face hardened.“Alpha Rowena, this is not a game.”“I know.”“You are asking an entire territory to defend itself without the resources allocated to it.”“I am asking you to prove you can protect the wolves you claim to lead.”Aldric stepped forward, “Rowena, Moonfang has never built its own defensive perimeter.”“Then it's time.”“We don't have enough stone.”“Find some.&rdquo