The moon rose that night.
Not full. Not hidden.
Just watching.
Luna sat alone at the edge of the ruins, knees pulled to her chest, arms wrapped tightly around herself. The stone beneath her was cold, but she barely felt it. Her body was still trembling from what she had done. From what she had become.
She had not meant to command the land.
She had not meant to scare anyone.
Yet fear was exactly what she had seen in the hunters' eyes.
And fear always turned into hate.
Behind her, the ruins whispered softly, like an old breath passing through cracked stone. They did not demand anything from her. They simply waited.
That scared her more than the council ever had.
Kael stood several steps away, giving her space but never truly leaving. He leaned against a broken pillar, arms crossed, eyes fixed on Luna like she might vanish if he looked away for even a second.
Rhea was gone, scouting the perimeter, but Luna could still feel her presence in the land. Alert. Tense. Ready for war.
Luna hugged herself tighter.
She had sworn not to kill.
She had sworn not to become a weapon.
But tonight proved something worse.
She was becoming an authority.
And authority always required sacrifice.
"You're running in circles in your head," Kael said quietly.
Luna flinched. "I didn't hear you come closer."
"I know," he replied. "You're far away right now."
She did not look at him. "They were human, Kael. They weren't monsters. They were scared of men following orders."
"And they came to cage you," he said gently.
"That doesn't mean they deserved to feel that kind of fear," Luna whispered. "I felt it. When the land moved. It wasn't anger. It was judgment."
Kael pushed off the pillar and slowly walked toward her. He stopped beside her but did not touch her.
"Judgment isn't the same as cruelty," he said.
Luna shook her head. "It is when you're the one delivering it."
Silence stretched between them.
Then Kael spoke again, his voice lower, rougher.
"When I was young, before I became Alpha, I was sent to hunt a rogue pack."
Luna finally looked up at him.
"They were starving," he continued. "Pushed out of every territory. Sick. Desperate. They attacked a border village."
His jaw tightened. "The council ordered their execution. Every last one."
Luna's chest tightened. "Did you…?"
"Yes," Kael said. "I followed the order."
Her breath hitched.
"I told myself it was necessary. That I was protecting my people. But that night," he said quietly, "I learned the difference between survival and obedience."
Luna's eyes burned. "Do you regret it?"
Kael did not answer immediately.
"Yes," he said at last. "Every single day."
The honesty in his voice broke something inside her.
"What if that's my future?" Luna whispered. "What if every choice I make saves some people and destroys others?"
Kael knelt in front of her then, finally closing the distance. He lifted her chin gently, forcing her to meet his eyes.
"Then you will suffer," he said simply. "And that suffering will remind you you're still human."
Tears spilled down Luna's cheeks. "I don't want to be worshipped. I don't want to be feared."
Kael's thumb brushed away a tear. "You won't be. Not by the people who matter."
A sudden sharp pain cut through Luna's chest.
She gasped, clutching at her mark.
Kael's hand snapped to her wrist. "What is it?"
The silver symbol burned, brighter than it ever had, but this time it was not calling power.
It was calling memory.
The ruins answered.
The air thickened, pressing down on them.
Luna cried out as the vision slammed into her.
She was standing in the same valley, but it was whole. Alive. Moonlight bathed everything in silver. At the center stood the First Moonbound again.
The woman turned slowly.
Her eyes were Luna's eyes.
"You are afraid," the woman said, her voice echoing like wind through stone.
"I don't want to be you," Luna cried. "I don't want your crown. Your fate."
The First Moonbound smiled sadly. "I said the same words."
"What happened to you?" Luna demanded.
"I chose balance over obedience," the woman replied. "And balance made enemies."
The scene shifted.
Luna saw betrayal. Councils plotting. Blades hidden behind smiles. Chains forged not of iron, but law.
"They stripped me of my voice," the First Moonbound said. "Not my power. Power cannot be destroyed. Only redirected."
The vision darkened.
"I was sealed," the woman whispered. "And the world learned to fear what it could not control."
Luna shook her head violently. "I won't let them do that to me."
"You already stand where I once stood," the woman said softly. "The question is not whether they will come for you."
"Then what is the question?" Luna asked, sobbing.
The First Moonbound stepped closer, placing a hand over Luna's heart.
"Who will you become when they do?"
The vision shattered.
Luna screamed as she collapsed forward.
Kael caught her just in time, holding her tightly as she shook in his arms.
"It's okay," he murmured urgently. "I've got you. You're here."
Luna clung to him like he was the only thing anchoring her to the world.
"She was betrayed," Luna sobbed. "They didn't kill her. They erased her. That's what they want to do to me."
Kael's voice went cold. "They won't."
"They will try," Luna whispered. "And they'll use you. Rhea. My father. Innocent people."
Kael pulled back slightly, looking into her tear-streaked face. "Then we make a choice before they force one on you."
Her heart pounded. "What choice?"
He took a breath. "You disappear."
Luna froze. "What?"
"We erase you first," Kael continued. "No public appearances. No symbols. No miracles. Let the world think the Moonbound failed."
Luna stared at him. "You're asking me to hide."
"I'm asking you to survive," Kael said fiercely.
"And what about the people who need help?" she demanded. "What about the imbalance I can feel everywhere?"
Kael's expression cracked. "You can't save everyone, Luna."
She pulled away from him then, standing unsteadily on her feet.
"That's exactly what they told her," Luna said, her voice shaking but strong. "And that's why she stood alone."
The ground beneath them hummed faintly.
Kael stood as well, pain flickering across his face. "If you stand openly, they will destroy everything around you to reach you."
Luna wiped her tears, lifting her chin.
"Then I won't stand openly," she said. "But I won't disappear either."
Rhea emerged from the shadows at that moment, eyes sharp. "You felt it too, didn't you?"
Luna nodded. "They're coming. Not hunters this time."
"Council envoys," Rhea said. "With a peace banner."
Kael cursed softly. "They move fast."
Luna closed her eyes, steadying her breath.
When she opened them again, something had changed.
Not hardness.
Clarity.
"I'll meet them," Luna said.
Kael's head snapped toward her. "Absolutely not."
"I won't bow," Luna continued. "I won't threaten. I won't kill."
Rhea crossed her arms. "And if they demand control?"
Luna's voice trembled, but she did not look away.
"Then I'll choose myself."
The ruins responded with a low, steady pulse.
Kael stared at her, fear and pride warring in his eyes. "This path breaks people."
Luna stepped closer to him, pressing her forehead briefly to his chest.
"I'm already breaking," she whispered. "But I'm still choosing."
As the moon climbed higher, distant footsteps echoed at the edge of the valley.
The council had come.
And for the first time since her awakening, Luna did not feel like running.
She felt like standing.