The figure didn't move.
Moonlight spilled between the trees, casting the hooded intruder in an eerie silver glow. I couldn't smell fear, or aggression.
Only… purpose. Their eyes...silver, not gold, watched me without blinking.
"Who the hell are you?" I demanded, my claws already slipping free. But they didn't answer.
The wind shifted again. That scent, sharp and wrong... wasn't Crescent Hollow. Not rogue either. Something… older.
My wolf snarled and I took a step forward but they disappeared. Just... gone. Not shifted, not run. Gone, like a wisp of mist breaking apart.
I blinked and backed up quickly, my heart hammering. Something was very definitely wrong.
"Lyra!"
I turned, breath catching, as Kade burst through the trees, his golden eyes wild. Luca was behind him, crouched and scanning the area.
"I... I sensed something," I said, voice shaky.
"I did too. Just now." Kade was already moving past me, sniffing the air.
"Someone was here," I insisted. "Silver eyes, hooded and they weren't rogue."
"They vanished," Luca said, voice low. "No scent trail."
Then, Kade glanced at me sharply. "You're not injured?" He asked, concern evident on his face.
"No," I replied, but my skin still prickled. "Whatever it was… it felt like it came for me."
"We need to inform the Elders." Luca met Kade's gaze.
Kade nodded, but his jaw was tight as he turned to me. "You're not going anywhere alone again. Understood?"
"Excuse me?" I bristled.
"That thing, whatever it was...targeted you."
"That's not your call—"
"It is my call," he growled, closing the gap between us with just one stride. "You're under my training, and in my territory. If you think—"
"I think you're still a controlling freak," I cut in. "And I'm not some defenseless pup."
"You will obey," he said, voice dropping into his Alpha command.
My spine locked, and my wolf whimpered.
I hated this. Hated the command threading into my bones, bending me to his will. But I couldn't fight it.
I didn't have to look at Luca to know he hated watching it too...
Back at the packhouse, the Elders were already assembling.
Kade stood before them like a commander before war. I stood beside him, arms crossed, heart still thudding from the encounter.
"Describe it again," Elder Mari said.
I did, and when I finished, there was silence. Then Elder Thom's voice cut through the air as he faced me.
"You said… silver eyes?"
"Yes," I nodded.
"Oh, that's not a rogue." He looked grim. "That's a Shadowborn."
The word felt like ice down my spine as I looked around. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.
"The Shadowborn were exiled wolves," Mari said. "Twisted by corrupted magic. They've been extinct for a century, or so we thought."
"But why would one come here?" Luca asked, and all eyes shifted to me.
"She's Moonfire-blooded," Elder Thom said gravely. "Her very existence would draw them."
"What exactly is Moonfire?" I asked. "Everyone keeps whispering it like a curse."
"Well," Mari sighed. "It is not a curse, It's a lineage. The first wolves, those born directly of Selene, the Moon Goddess... carried her flame in their blood. It gave them power, far beyond what even Alphas possess."
"Power?" I echoed. "Like what?"
"Mind binding, Dream-walking, Emotion echo, and even glimpses of the future," Mari answered. "But it came at a cost. Those who bore it were either revered as holy… or hunted as threats."
"Holy shit!" I stared at her. "So you're saying I'm one of them?"
"You're a descendant," Thom interjected. "One of the few remaining. Which is why we kept you hidden."
Kade's jaw flexed.
"You knew?" I demanded, turning to him.
But as usual, he didn't answer.
"Oh my god," I whispered. "You knew. That's why you rejected me. That's why you let everyone think I wasn't worthy, because you were afraid of what I am."
His silence was answer enough.
"I rejected you," he said finally, "to protect you. If the truth had come out then, you wouldn't have lived to see your first shift."
"I didn't need your protection," I hissed but he looked away.
"Be that as it may," Thom interrupted, "if Shadowborn are returning… the Moonfire line must be safeguarded, or destroyed."
"Destroyed?" Luca said sharply.
"Yes... We don't know how stable her magic is," Thom argued. "It could be corrupt. She's untrained, volatile—"
"That's why I'm training her," Kade cut in.
"You've already begun?" Mari turned to him.
"Not just training," he took a breath. "I'll be working with her personally beyond that. I need to know how her power can corrupt and harm the pack."
The entire room fell still. Even I blinked at him. So it was beyond training between us again? I just can't understand him.
"You will personally oversee her development aside from training her?" Mari asked, her brow rose.
"Yes."
"That's highly irregular and risky to your wolf, Alpha." Thom frowned.
"It's necessary," Kade uttered. "She responds to no one else. And if she is dangerous, I'm the only one strong enough to stop her."
Or to protect her... but he didn't say that part aloud. My heart twisted as he was doing this to test me, not help me.
Fine, let him try.
I'd prove I didn't need saving. And I'd never bow to him again, not without a fight and make him suffer what he had done to me...
Later that night, I sat on the stone ledge outside the packhouse, letting the wind cool my skin.
Footsteps approached behind me, light and familiar.
"Figured you'd need air," Luca said. I didn't turn, but I didn't move away when he sat beside me either.
"You okay?" he asked.
"That depends," I muttered. "On whether I'm about to be declared a divine miracle… or a magical nuclear bomb."
He chuckled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"I believe in you," he said quietly and the words hit something raw inside me.
"Good to hear because no one else does," I let out.
"I do."
I looked at him then. And for a moment, the silence between us was soft.
"Wait, why are you so nice to me? Even back then?" I asked and he shrugged.
"Maybe I'm just not a fan of watching good people be treated like dirt."
I didn't realize how close we were until I turned and felt the heat of his breath.
Luca leaned forward, brushing a strand of hair from my cheek. His fingers lingered. "If he doesn't see you, Lyra… that's his loss."
Something flared in my chest, and that's when the growl came. Low, possessive and dangerous.
Kade.
Standing at the edge of the stone path, eyes locked on us, golden irises burning like fire. He didn't say a word. Didn't need to.
Luca pulled away slowly, but didn't look ashamed. Only… disappointed.
"Kade," I called out. "I thought you left."
"I forgot something," he said, voice taut.
"Right, Like your control?" I muttered and his eyes snapped to mine.
"Don't start with me."
"Or what?" I stood. "You'll command me again? Order me to sit and roll over?"
He stalked closer, making Luca rise, placing himself between us just slightly... protective. And Kade's jaw ticked.
"We start fresh at dawn, don't be late!"
Then he turned and disappeared into the darkness. Luca sighed beside me.
"What the hell was that?" I asked.
"I think... he's starting to realize what he gave up." Luca replied slowly and my heart thudded.
"Not possible. He's getting married next month."
"Yeah, but to a Luna who'll never have your power." Luca said with a smirk and I shook my head in denial...