The night pressed heavy against the palace walls, the moon swollen and veiled in silver mist. Sleep came reluctantly, sliding over my skin like a restless tide. My body ached from the day's silence. The constant, invisible distance between Xavier and me. His cold eyes, his formal touch, his polite refusal to look at me too long.But in the quiet, something else stirred. A pulse beneath my skin and a heat that wasn't mine.I drifted under the pull of dreams.And suddenly, I was standing barefoot in a forest washed in moonlight. The trees were tall and skeletal, their branches shimmering with ash and light. Fire danced between them, gentle flames licking the air, not burning, only glowing, as if the night itself was alive.My breath caught.In the heart of that fire stood a man.He was tall, his shoulders was broad and his stance was commanding. Shadows clung to him as though they worshipped him. His eyes the color of amber and molten gold. They found mine through the smoke and I knew instantly he wasn't Xavier. There was power a strange power in him, wild and untamed, the kind that belonged to the old bloodlines, the alphas who didn't kneel before crowns.He stepped closer, and every nerve in me answered his nearness."You don't belong there. You don't belong to him alone," he said. His voice was deep, rough silk that brushed against my senses.I tried to speak, to ask who he was, but my lips refused to move. My heart was pounding too loudly. I could feel the bond between us hum. Something ancient, alive, forbidden.The forest flared with heat as he reached for me. He didn't touch me. His hand only hovered above my skin, yet the air sizzled between us. Flames curled around my wrists and ankles, but I didn't feel chained. I felt free. Like the fire melted the invisible chains that had always weighed me down."You're not his," he whispered, stepping even closer until the scent of smoke and pine filled my lungs. "You were never meant to bow."When his fingers brushed the side of my neck, light exploded beneath my skin. My mark, the one Xavier's marked me burned gold instead of silver. I gasped, feeling something vast and dangerous awaken inside me.He leaned in, his lips barely touching mine, and the world cracked.The fire rose, swallowing the trees, and I could feel the rhythm of his heartbeat against mine, steady and sure. It didn't feel like lust. It felt like a pull of souls, like remembering a song I'd long forgotten.And then—blackness.The flames dimmed. The man's voice was the last thing I heard before I was ripped from the dream."Find me, Luna of the Fire Moon."---I woke up drenched in sweat, the sheets tangled around me. My heart galloped in my chest, and my throat felt raw as though I'd been calling out in my sleep.The room was still dark, but something was wrong.The air was thick with the scent of smoke. Not imaginary, not fading—a real, faint trace of burning wood. I looked around wildly, but no flame burned. No candle had been lit.My mark throbbed, glowing faintly beneath the skin. Gold, not silver.A knock tore through the silence, and the door swung open before I could answer."Who were you calling for?"Xavier stood there, half-dressed, his eyes sharp and storming. The muscles in his jaw tensed, and I saw the flicker of hurt before it hardened into rage."I wasn't—" I started, but he was already crossing the room, the scent of his dominance filling the air."Don't lie to me, Samantha." His voice was low but edged like steel. "Your scent—your pulse—something changed."I shrank back instinctively. "It was a dream."He laughed, humorless. "A dream?" He stopped at the edge of the bed, looking down at me. "Then why do I smell another wolf on you?"I froze. The accusation sliced deeper than his tone. I hadn't realized until now how raw I was, how his rejection had carved space inside me for loneliness to bloom."There's no one else," I whispered. "I don't even leave this room without your guards knowing."His eyes flared with something unreadable—jealousy, maybe, or fear. He reached out, gripping my wrist too tightly. "Your mark—why is it glowing?"I looked down. The faint golden shimmer still pulsed beneath my skin."I don't know.""Don't you dare lie to me again." His voice cracked this time, softer, almost pleading. "You're my Luna. The bond is mine."Something inside me snapped."Yours?" The word burned in my mouth. "You treat me like a prisoner, Xavier. You don't touch me, don't speak to me, and now you want to claim my dreams?"His nostrils flared, but I wasn't done. I stood, trembling but furious. "I don't even know who he is!" I cried. "Do you hear me? I don't know him!"The silence that followed was so deep it felt sacred. The moonlight cut across his face, revealing a flicker of pain before his walls slammed back into place.He turned his back on me, voice low. "Then maybe you should start praying you never do."And he left.The door slammed, the echo shattering what was left of my calm. I sank back onto the bed, pressing my palm over my mark. The gold glow pulsed once more before fading.The scent of smoke still lingered.But now, something else stirred—a whisper in my head, faint but unmistakable. Do not fear the fire, little Luna. It is yours.My breath caught. I sat frozen in the dark, staring at the reflection of the moonlight on the wall. I could feel it now—something ancient and awake deep inside me, something that had waited years in silence.For the first time, the emptiness I'd carried all my life felt… full.A tear slipped down my cheek, unbidden. Was this what it meant to be seen? To be called something more than a burden?I didn't know who the amber-eyed man was, but I could still feel the echo of his touch. The warmth hadn't faded; it lived beneath my skin, coiled like a promise.My gaze drifted to the window. Outside, the moon had shifted. Its silver edge shimmered faintly with gold.I shivered, pulling the sheets tighter around me. Somewhere, far beyond these walls, I could hear the forest whispering—the trees alive with unseen fire.Maybe Xavier was right to be afraid.Because deep down, I knew the truth he didn't.Something was coming for me.And when it arrived, nothing—not even the Alpha's claim—would be able to stop it.I whispered into the dark, barely audible: "But I do know him."Somewhere beyond the walls of the palace, in the sleeping wilderness, the wind answered with a single howl.And this time, I could have sworn it called my name.---Cliffhanger: The prophecy's shadow deepens. Two alphas. One destined Luna. And a bond already tearing her apart.
