The winds that once raged with fury now whispered like old ghosts.
Their howls were softer, laced with secrets. But Luna had learned that wind never truly rested—it simply waited. And tonight, it brought with it something else.
A presence.
⸻
It started as a tremor in the trees.
She stood alone atop the southern ridge, surveying the land that had become her home. Her cloak fluttered in the rising breeze, and the moon bathed her skin in silver light.
Behind her, Deadwood Grove pulsed with quiet recovery. The storm had passed. The wounded were healing. The corrupted rogues remained unconscious, but their fevered breathing had slowed—Luna's elemental healing had worked, in part. Mira remained hopeful.
But Luna… Luna couldn't rest.
Not when the air felt wrong.
⸻
She heard the footsteps before she saw the figure.
Not heavy. Not hurried.
Measured.
Calculated.
She turned slowly.
And her breath caught.
A young man approached—cloak pulled tight, his features mostly hidden in shadow. But the scent that followed him was unmistakable.
Moonshadow.
Old pine. Steel. Wet stone.
Her stomach twisted.
The man lowered his hood.
Ashen hair. Storm-gray eyes. A jagged scar across his left cheek.
Luna's heart stuttered.
"Caelum."
⸻
Caelum.
The alpha's half-brother.
A warrior by birth. A shadow walker by training. Thought dead after a failed mission beyond the southern borders two years ago.
And once—the only wolf who had ever spoken to Luna with kindness in the Moonshadow pack.
⸻
He stopped several paces away, eyes flickering to her mark.
"So it's true," he said softly. "The Goddess marked you."
Luna didn't move. "What are you doing here?"
"I came with a warning."
Her shoulders tensed.
"I'm not interested in Moonshadow's threats."
"This isn't a threat. It's a storm worse than the one you just tamed."
She narrowed her eyes. "Talk."
⸻
He stepped closer, but not too close. Not enough to threaten. Just enough that his words wouldn't carry on the wind.
"Orion is no longer the one holding the reins. After your rejection and the unrest in the pack… Selene made a move."
Luna's jaw tightened. "Of course she did."
"She's invoked ancient law. The Rite of Shattered Bonds."
Luna blinked. "That's outlawed."
"Not anymore. She convinced the elder council to resurrect it. Said your existence defies nature. That a rogue marked by the Goddess is an insult to tradition."
Luna folded her arms. "She's afraid."
"She's furious. But yes—she's afraid. You're stronger than they imagined. Stronger than Orion feared."
"Then let them be afraid."
He stepped forward again. "No, Luna. You don't understand. The Rite doesn't just sever bond claims—it gives Selene legal permission to hunt you. To destroy you. And if you don't come back for a trial, they'll do it without one."
Luna exhaled slowly.
Ice cracked beneath her boots.
"She wants to kill me under Moonshadow law… as if I were the threat."
Caelum nodded. "She's gathering an army. Not just Moonshadow wolves. Allies from the Silver Spire. Even rogues promised gold for your death."
Luna tilted her head. "And where does Orion stand in this?"
Caelum hesitated.
"He hasn't stopped her."
That was answer enough.
⸻
The wind gusted suddenly, and Luna turned her face to the sky.
Stars blinked down at her, cold and unmoved.
"So that's what she wants. Me silenced. Forgotten."
"She's afraid of what you represent," Caelum said. "A wolf outside the pack. A she-wolf with power the Goddess confirmed."
"She's afraid because I survived."
⸻
They stood in silence for a moment.
Then Luna looked at him, truly looked.
"You came to warn me," she said. "Why?"
"I owe you," Caelum said. "More than you know."
"You were always kind, but kindness in that pack cost something."
"I saw what they did to you," he admitted. "What Selene whispered. How Orion let it happen. I didn't speak out then. But I won't be silent now."
Something flickered in his expression.
Grief. Shame. And something gentler.
"I don't know where I belong anymore, Luna. But I believe in what you're building here."
She studied him.
"What are you asking for?"
He didn't flinch.
"Let me fight beside you."
⸻
Later that night, Luna called a council fire.
Vara, Thorne, Mira, and a dozen of the older rogues gathered. The flames crackled in the center of the circle, casting long shadows across hardened faces.
Luna stood, the pendant glinting over her heart.
"We've received news," she said. "Moonshadow is coming."
Murmurs.
Vara narrowed her eyes. "Let them. We've held this ground before."
Luna raised her voice. "They come with law. With old magic. They come not just to claim land—but to erase me."
The murmurs stopped.
"They say I insult the old ways. That I should have died as a runt. That power without a pack is dangerous."
She looked around the circle.
"You've all lived that truth. You've all been told your place."
Thorne stepped forward. "What do we do?"
Luna's voice didn't waver.
"We prepare. We don't run. We don't bow. But we don't burn the world either."
Vara crossed her arms. "You're not talking about war."
"I'm talking about choice. We defend the Grove. But we do not become the monsters they expect. Not unless they give us no other way."
The firelight shimmered in her silver eyes.
"They think being rogue makes us broken. But maybe… it makes us free."
⸻
After the council ended, Luna remained alone beside the fire.
The wind picked up again—gentle this time.
Carrying the scent of pine.
And something older.
Ash.
She closed her eyes.
She knew what the wind was saying.
Selene was coming.
But Luna would not kneel.
Not again.