"Look beyond the glass, Freya."
Lucien's voice cut through the silence of the massive silver chamber.
I pushed myself off the mattress, testing my weight on my right leg. Zero pain. I walked to the arched window and stared out.
Below us stretched a city of white stone and gleaming spires, nestled within a colossal mountain crater. Thousands of wolves moved through the illuminated streets, their movements sharp and purposeful.
"This is the Federation Sanctuary," Lucien said. He stood a respectful distance away, his hands clasped behind his back. "The world you knew is merely a fraction of our kind."
"Why bring me here?" I asked, gripping the cold stone sill. "You called me the Moon Maiden. What does that mean?"
"It means you are our only salvation." He turned to face me, his ice-blue eyes dead serious. "Our race is dying, Freya. A curse plagues every pack. We call it the Wolf Madness."
I frowned, turning away from the window. "Madness?"
"Every few years, the affliction takes hold. Wolves lose their minds, twisting into mindless monsters that slaughter their own families. No one is immune." He stepped closer, his imposing frame casting a long shadow across the marble floor. "The prophecy stated only the sole descendant of the Moon Goddess possessed the power to purify the rot in our blood. That child went missing over twenty years ago."
"Me," I whispered.
"Yes."
A sharp knock on the heavy oak doors interrupted us. An older man carrying a leather medical bag entered.
"Doctor Thorne," Lucien commanded. "Examine her."
Thorne gestured for me to sit on the edge of the bed. He rolled up my pant leg, his fingers pressing along the smooth skin where jagged scars used to be.
"Fascinating," Thorne muttered, adjusting his glasses. "The goddess's healing is absolute. But tell me, Luna Freya... who treated this injury initially?"
"Pack healers," I replied, my chest tightening at the memory. "Damian brought them in. They said the tissue was necrotic. Irreparable."
Thorne stopped. He looked up, his expression grim. "That is a lie."
"What?"
"Your leg never died," Thorne stated flatly, his fingers tracing the phantom lines of my old injury. "The bone was fractured, yes. A clean break. But the golden recovery period was intentionally delayed. They bound it wrong. They fed you suppressants disguised as painkillers."
"Suppressants?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
"Wolfsbane derivatives," Thorne explained, packing his tools away. "Just enough to stunt the natural healing process. A simple splint and basic wolf healing would have fixed this in a month. Whoever treated you made sure you remained crippled."
The room spun. Damian. He didn't just ignore my pain. He orchestrated it. He wanted me weak, dependent, a pathetic excuse to discard me.
"I will kill him," I said. The words tasted like ash and iron.
Lucien's gaze darkened. "You will have your chance. Thorne, assemble the best medical team in the Sanctuary. She begins physical conditioning immediately."
"Yes, Supreme Alpha," Thorne bowed and hurried out.
Lucien looked at me. "I will personally oversee your training. You have a goddess's power, but your muscles have atrophied for five years. We fix that today."
Hours blurred into a grueling cycle of movement. Under the vaulted ceiling of the training hall, Lucien pushed me to my absolute limits.
"Stand up," Lucien ordered.
I pushed off the mat, my chest heaving. "I've been walking for an hour. Can we take a break?"
"No." He paced around me, a predator evaluating his prey. "Your enemies will not give you a break. Damian did not give you a break when he left you under a burning beam."
I flinched. The mention of his name sent a hot spike of anger through my chest.
"Use that," Lucien said, catching my reaction. "Anger is fuel. You spent five years swallowing your pride to please a man who poisoned you. Stop swallowing it. Let it burn."
"He was my mate," I countered, defending a past I already hated. "I thought I was doing the right thing."
"You were surviving," Lucien corrected. "Now, you will conquer. Again. Walk the length of the hall."
I gritted my teeth and forced my legs forward. The muscles in my right thigh burned, screaming from the sudden exertion after years of neglect. But the pain was different now. It wasn't the dull, hopeless ache of permanent damage. It was the sharp, alive burn of growth.
"Again," he barked, catching my arm as I stumbled on the polished stone floor.
"My legs are shaking," I snapped, wiping sweat from my forehead.
"Your mind is shaking. Your body is perfect." He released my arm and stepped back. "Call her forward, Freya. Stop treating your wolf like an intruder. She is you."
"I don't know how!" I yelled, frustration boiling over.
"You do." Lucien crossed his arms. "Stop thinking like a broken Luna. Start thinking like a god."
Night had fallen, painting the high arched windows in shades of deep indigo.
I closed my eyes. I reached into the void in my mind, searching for the massive white wolf I had seen hours ago.
Come to me, I told her silently.
A low rumble vibrated through my chest. The untamed energy spiked, hot and demanding. I didn't fight it this time. I let the dam break completely.
Silver light exploded from my skin, blindingly bright. The marble floor cracked beneath my bare feet.
I opened my eyes. I wasn't just standing in the hall anymore. The massive white wolf materialized beside me, her luminescent fur glowing like a fallen star. She stood eight feet tall at the shoulder, radiating an aura so heavy the air in the room grew thick.
The white wolf stepped forward, her massive paws making no sound on the cracked stone. She nudged her large head against my shoulder. I reached out, burying my fingers in her glowing fur. The connection was instantaneous. I felt her ancient power, her righteous fury, and her absolute loyalty.
A loud thud echoed through the hall.
I turned.
The guards stationed at the doors were on their knees, their heads bowed low to the cracked marble.
I looked at Lucien. The Supreme Alpha, the myth who bowed to no one, lowered himself to one knee. He placed a hand over his heart, his ice-blue eyes fixed on the floor.
"Hail the Moon Maiden," Lucien rumbled, his voice echoing with absolute submission.
As the silver aura pulsed through the room, a sharp, violent tug yanked at the back of my skull. The dormant mate bond flaring to life.
Because my wolf was finally awake, the bond worked both ways.
A sudden vision slammed into my sight, overlaying the silver hall with the charred remnants of the Blackwood pack grounds.
Damian stood on a makeshift wooden stage, holding Ivy's hand high in the air.
"I present your new Luna!" Damian shouted to the cheering crowd.
But as the words left his mouth, I felt the exact moment panic struck him. Through the tether, his absolute terror flooded my veins. The bond connecting us began to fray, snapping strand by strand. He dropped Ivy's hand, clutching his chest, his eyes widening as he realized the connection to his dead mate was not only alive, but growing monstrously powerful.
I didn't sever the bond.
I grabbed the final, fraying thread of our connection with my mind, and I squeezed.
Damian collapsed to his knees on the wooden stage, vomiting black blood onto Ivy's pristine shoes.
