For the first time in days, Ayana slept without fear. No visions, no shifting, no howling in the back of her mind. Just silence.
But when she opened her eyes, she knew the world had changed.
She was back at the edge of the ruined temple, Kael slumped against a fallen pillar, his arm freshly bandaged. The sun filtered through the broken ceiling, casting pale gold over the debris. Dust hung in the air like floating ghosts.
Ayana sat up slowly. Her body ached, her palms were raw, and her throat felt like it had been scorched from the inside out.
"Morning," Kael said hoarsely.
She looked at him. His face was pale, drawn, but there was something in his expression she hadn't seen before — pride.
"Is he gone?" she asked.
Kael shook his head. "Sealed. Like before. But deeper. Stronger. Whatever you did… it worked. For now."
Ayana swallowed. "So he'll come back."
"Eventually. Maybe years from now. Maybe longer. But the curse never fully dies. You know that."
She looked down at her hands. They didn't glow now. No magic, no light. Just skin. Dirt. Blood under her nails.
"And what happens to me? "
Kael didn't answer right away.
Then, gently: "You carry it. Like your mother did. Like all the MoonBound before you."
Ayana nodded slowly. She already knew.
She stood and walked to the center of the temple. The altar was gone — just dust and scorched stone. But beneath it, she could still feel something. A faint heartbeat in the earth. A memory that would never leave.
Elira had once said the curse was a living thing — not just magic, but will. And Ayana had looked it in the eye.
She had *chosen*.
***
By midday, they were back at the forest camp. Elira met them in silence, her eyes scanning every inch of Ayana as if expecting her to fall apart.
"I'm still me," Ayana said.
Elira nodded slowly. "For now."
The words were cold, but not cruel. Just real.
They sat together by the fire that evening. Elira prepared tea from crushed herbs that smelled like earth and smoke. Kael sat with his back to a tree, sharpening his blade.
Ayana sipped the tea and finally asked what had haunted her since the fight. "Why did he want me to join him?"
Elira looked into the flames. "Because he knew you were the only one strong enough to finish what he couldn't. If he turned you… it would be over. No one would stand a chance."
Ayana stirred the tea. "He called me his daughter."
"You are," Elira said softly. "By blood. But not by soul. You made your choice. That matters more."
Ayana nodded, staring into the fire.
"What happens to people like me?" she asked.
Elira smiled faintly. "That depends. Do you plan to run again?"
Ayana met her gaze. "No. I'm done running."
"Then you'll learn," Elira said. "You'll grow. And one day, when someone else stands where you stood — torn, scared, angry — you'll be the one to guide them."
Ayana blinked. "You think I'll live that long?"
"I think you'll fight to."
***
Days passed.
Kael's wounds healed slowly. Ayana trained harder. The forest felt different now — less threatening, more alive. She could hear things she hadn't noticed before. Sense the moods of the woods. Smell the rain before it came.
She was changing.
But not in the way she feared.
She was *becoming*.
One night, she sat at the edge of a stream, the moon full overhead. Her reflection stared back — same face, but her eyes seemed older now. Sharper.
Selene's journal lay open beside her. She ran her fingers over the final entry.
*If you're reading this, then you've already made the choice I couldn't. I hope the world is better for it. I hope you are.*
She smiled through the tears.
Behind her, Kael approached quietly.
"I never asked," he said, sitting beside her. "Why did you stay?"
She didn't answer at first.
Then: "Because someone had to break the cycle. My mother ran. Her mother ran. I couldn't do that too."
Kael nodded slowly. "You didn't just break it. You burned it to the ground."
They sat in silence for a while, listening to the stream.
Then Ayana turned to him. "What about you? What happens now?"
He hesitated. "I was trained to lead a pack that no longer exists."
Ayana nudged him with her shoulder. "So start a new one."
Kael smiled faintly. "You volunteering?"
"I don't know yet," she said. "But I'm not leaving."
He looked at her. "Good. Because we'll need you."
She looked up at the moon. "Yeah. I think… for the first time, I believe that."
The wind carried the sound of distant howls.
Not threats.
Just life.
***
That night, as she lay in the hut staring at the roof, Ayana felt it again — that low hum beneath her skin. The presence of the curse. But it didn't feel like a monster anymore. It felt like something else.
A tool.
A warning.
A part of her that she had learned to tame.
For now.
Because she knew — peace never lasted. The world was full of broken things. And one day, the darkness would rise again.
But when it did, she'd be ready.
Not as prey.
Not as a cursed girl running from her past.
But as the MoonBound Alpha.