The pain did not end with the scream.
It changed.
Liora lay sprawled on the forest floor, silver light pouring over her like liquid fire. Her body trembled violently, every nerve singing as if tuned too tightly. The mark above her heart burned, searing itself into her flesh with deliberate slowness as though whatever claimed her wanted her to remember.
Her breath came in ragged gasps.
In.
Out.
The forest no longer felt empty.
It felt… aware.
Every leaf. Every root. Every shadow between the trees vibrated with a quiet attention, as if the land itself had turned its gaze toward her. The air smelled different cleaner, sharper, charged with power that made her skin prickle.
Her wolf stirred.
Not like before.
This time, it did not thrash or panic. It rose slowly, stretching within her consciousness like something ancient waking from a long sleep.
You are late, the wolf murmured.
Liora choked on a sob. "I tried," she whispered hoarsely. "I swear I tried."
There was no anger in the wolf's presence.
Only patience.
You were not ready then.
The silver light began to recede, withdrawing back toward the moon as gently as it had come. The burning faded into a deep, lingering ache. Liora curled onto her side, clutching her chest as exhaustion crashed over her like a tidal wave.
She did not lose consciousness.
The Moon did not allow it.
Stand, a voice commanded.
It was not loud.
It did not need to be.
The sound reverberated inside her bones, inside the blood that now felt heavier, denser, stronger.
Liora pushed herself upright with shaking arms. Her muscles protested, screaming from exertion and transformation, but she obeyed. Somehow, instinct told her this was not a request.
Silver mist coalesced before her, swirling low to the ground. Slowly, it shaped itself into a form tall, indistinct, neither fully human nor wolf.
Eyes emerged first.
Ancient.
Endless.
They fixed on her with unsettling intensity.
Liora's breath caught. "The Moon… Goddess?"
The figure tilted its head slightly.
Names are for those who forget what they serve.
Fear crawled up Liora's spine, cold and sharp. She lowered her gaze instinctively, pressing her forehead to the dirt.
"I didn't ask for this," she whispered. "I just… I didn't want to be nothing."
The presence regarded her in silence.
Then.
And you are not.
The weight of those words crushed her chest.
Tears spilled freely now, soaking into the earth. "They rejected me. My pack. My mate. I lost everything."
The silver mist drifted closer, the air humming with restrained power.
You lost what was never worthy of you.
Liora stiffened.
"Kael" she began, then faltered.
The name tasted bitter.
The bond gone now still ached like a phantom limb.
The Moon's presence darkened, the silver glow sharpening into something colder.
The Alpha broke an ancient law.
Her head snapped up. "What law?"
The mist rippled.
A mate chosen by the Moon may not be rejected without consequence.
Liora's heart slammed against her ribs. "But I wasn't chosen. I failed my awakening."
A pause.
Then,
You failed because they bound you.
The words struck like thunder.
"Bound me?" she echoed.
Images flooded her mind without warning memories she had never questioned suddenly rearranging themselves into something sinister.
Her childhood illnesses.
The constant exhaustion.
The way her wolf had always felt distant, muffled, like a voice behind thick walls.
Her mother's terrified eyes the night she died.
Run, Liora.
Her hands curled into fists. "Who did this to me?"
The Moon's gaze sharpened.
The Silver Fang elders feared what slept in your blood.
Cold fury ignited in her chest.
"They knew," she whispered.
They sealed your power to protect their hierarchy.
Anger surged, hot and violent. "They called me weak. They humiliated me. They exiled me."
And in doing so, they freed you.
The truth settled heavily in her chest.
All this time… she had never been broken.
She had been contained.
The mist shifted again, pulling back slightly.
But freedom is not without cost.
A chill slid down Liora's spine. "What cost?"
The silver eyes bored into her.
You belong to the Moon now.
Her breath stuttered.
"Belong how?"
You will walk between packs. You will answer no Alpha. You will not bow.
Power stirred eagerly inside her wolf.
"But" Liora hesitated. "That sounds like freedom."
The Moon's presence darkened further.
You will also never be allowed a normal mate bond.
Her chest constricted painfully.
"What?"
You are claimed by something older.
Her hands trembled. "So I'll be alone."
Silence stretched.
Then,
No.
Liora looked up sharply.
You will be hunted.
Her pulse roared in her ears. "By who?"
The mist thinned, revealing fleeting visions wolves with glowing eyes, packs bowing to false kings, shadows moving where they should not exist.
By those who fear what you will become.
Her throat tightened. "And Kael?"
The name echoed like a challenge.
The Moon's gaze flickered briefly.
The Alpha's punishment has already begun.
Far away, Alpha Kael woke screaming.
Kael lurched from his bed, drenched in sweat, his heart hammering violently. Pain radiated from his chest, sharp and unrelenting, as if something was clawing its way out.
He staggered to his feet, gripping the edge of the table to steady himself.
"What have I done…?" he rasped.
The mate bond was gone.
But the absence was wrong.
Too loud.
Too painful.
A Beta burst into the room. "Alpha! The borders something happened last night."
Kael's eyes snapped up. "What?"
"The wards reacted. The Moon flared. Elders say it hasn't happened in centuries."
Kael's blood ran cold.
Liora.
Back in the forest, dawn crept slowly across the horizon. The Moon's presence began to fade, its task complete for now.
You will learn, it said. You will grow.
The mist dissipated completely.
The forest fell silent once more.
Liora swayed, suddenly alone again but not empty.
Power thrummed beneath her skin, steady and controlled. Her senses expanded she could hear birds stirring miles away, smell the damp earth, feel the pulse of life beneath her feet.
She was different.
She looked down at her hands, flexing her fingers. They felt stronger. Surer.
A twig snapped behind her.
Liora spun, instincts flaring.
A figure stepped out of the shadows an older woman cloaked in dark leather, silver hair braided tightly down her back. Her eyes glowed faintly, unnaturally bright.
"Well," the stranger drawled, lips curling into a knowing smile. "Took you long enough."
Liora dropped into a defensive stance. "Who are you?"
The woman studied her with open curiosity.
"Someone who's been waiting for you," she said calmly. "Name's Nyra."
The wolf inside Liora growled softly.
Nyra chuckled. "Relax. If I wanted you dead, Moon-Marked, you'd already be ash."
Liora's breath hitched. "You know what I am."
"Oh, sweetheart," Nyra said, stepping closer. "Everyone important will, soon enough."
Fear and excitement twisted together in Liora's gut.
Nyra's smile sharpened. "And if you want to survive what's coming, you'll come with me."
The forest seemed to hold its breath.
Liora straightened.
For the first time in her life, she didn't hesitate.
"Lead the way," she said.
The wolf purred.