The Luna's Hidden Moon King

Chapter 10: The Protective Surge

Tension had been building on the training grounds for days. Brittany felt it the moment she stepped onto the field, the air thick with something she could not name. Conversations were sharper. Movements were quicker. Eyes lingered on her longer than they should have. She kept her gaze low, her hands clasped in front of her, trying to make herself small. But Bellatrix’s whispers pressed against her chest, growing louder with each passing morning. ‘They sense the rise in you.’ “I do not want them to,” Brittany whispered. ‘Want has never mattered. The moon does not ask permission to shine.’ Brittany swallowed hard and kept walking.

Bianca was already on the field, laughing with Drew, Edward, and Henry as if the entire pack existed for her amusement. She tossed her hair over her shoulder, her smile sharp enough to cut. When she spotted Brittany, her expression twisted into something cruel. “Basement rat,” she called, her voice slicing through the air. “Why don't you crawl back to your hole?” Laughter followed, loud and eager, as if mocking Brittany was a sport they all enjoyed. Brittany lowered her gaze, her cheeks burning. She tried to breathe past the tightness in her chest, past the heat rising beneath her skin. She had endured worse. She had survived worse. She could survive this.

But today, the laughter did not stop with her.

One of the younger trainees, a small boy barely old enough to shift, stumbled under the weight of his practice shield. His arms shook as he tried to lift it again. The older boys jeered, circling him like vultures. “Pathetic,” one sneered. “Even the basement rat is stronger than you.” The boy flinched. Another shoved him hard, sending him sprawling into the dirt. The shield clattered beside him. He scrambled to grab it, but one of the older boys kicked it away. “Pick it up,” he taunted. “Or are you too weak for that too?”

Something inside Brittany snapped.

It was not anger. It was not fear. It was something deeper, older, rising from a place she did not understand. Before she could think, she was moving. Her feet pounded against the ground, her vision sharpening until she could see every grain of dirt, every twitch of muscle, every flicker of surprise on the boys’ faces. She reached the group in seconds. Her hand shot out, grabbing the attacker by the front of his shirt. She yanked him back with a strength that startled even her. He flew several feet before hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

For a heartbeat, no one moved. Even the wind seemed to pause, as if the entire world was stunned by what Brittany had done. She stared at her own hands, her fingers trembling, her breath coming in sharp bursts. She had not meant to push him that hard. She had not meant to move that fast. Her body had reacted before her mind could catch up, driven by something fierce and instinctive.

The boy she had protected looked up at her with wide, startled eyes. Brittany felt her stomach twist. She had never frightened anyone before. She had never had the power to. A flicker of panic rose in her chest, but Bellatrix’s voice cut through it, steady and unyielding. ‘Do not fear your strength. Fear the world that taught you to hide it.’

Brittany swallowed hard, her pulse thundering in her ears.

Gasps echoed across the field.

Brittany stood over the younger trainee, chest heaving, eyes blazing. A low, primal growl rumbled from her throat, vibrating through the air. The sound was not human. It was not gentle. It was not weak. It was the sound of something ancient waking inside her.

The pack froze.

Drew’s expression hardened, confusion flickering in his eyes. Edward shifted uneasily, his posture tense. Henry’s jaw clenched, his gaze darting between Brittany and the boy she had thrown. Bianca’s smirk vanished, replaced by something Brittany had never seen on her face before. Fear.

Inside her chest, Bellatrix’s voice rang clear, fierce, and undeniable. ‘You are not weak. You are mine. You are chosen.’ Brittany’s breath trembled. She felt the warmth in her chest pulse, spreading through her ribs, her spine, her limbs.

It felt like fire and moonlight woven together. It felt like power.

The younger trainee scrambled to his feet, staring at Brittany with wide eyes. “She… she protected me,” he whispered. His voice was small, but the words rippled through the crowd like a shockwave. For the first time, Brittany was not the basement rat. She was something else. Something powerful and dangerous.

Alpha Rowan arrived moments later, drawn by the commotion. His gaze swept across the field before landing on Brittany. His eyes widened, just slightly, but enough for her to see it. Recognition. Unease. Something like memory. He stepped closer, his voice low. “What happened here?” No one answered. The pack was too busy staring at Brittany. Rowan’s gaze flicked to the boy she had thrown, then back to her. “Brittany,” he said, his tone unreadable. “Come here.”

Her heart pounded. She stepped forward slowly, her hands trembling. Rowan studied her, his eyes narrowing as if he were trying to see something beneath her skin. “Look at me,” he said. She lifted her gaze. The moment their eyes met, the warmth in her chest surged. A faint hum vibrated beneath her skin. Rowan inhaled sharply. The pack murmured. Brittany’s breath caught. Bellatrix whispered, ‘He feels the moon’s mark on you.’ Rowan stepped back, his expression tightening. “Training is dismissed,” he said abruptly.

Confusion erupted across the field. “What? Already?” “Why?” “What is going on?” But Rowan did not explain. He turned and walked away, his shoulders tense, his steps quick.

Brittany stood frozen, her heart racing. Drew stared at her, suspicion deepening in his eyes. Bianca looked furious, her face pale with shock. Edward and Henry exchanged alarmed glances. The younger trainee she had protected lingered near her, his expression filled with something she had never seen directed at her before. Gratitude.

Bellatrix’s voice curled through her mind. ‘The Alpha is uneasy. He senses the truth even if he does not understand it.’ “What truth?” Brittany whispered. ‘That you are not what they think you are.’ Brittany pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the warmth there, steady and alive. “I do not want this,” she whispered. ‘You cannot run from destiny.’ “I am not ready.” ‘No one ever is.’

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Everywhere Brittany went, eyes followed her. Some curious. Some wary. Some afraid. Even the younger trainee she had protected watched her with wide, reverent eyes, as if she were something holy. Or something dangerous. Brittany tried to keep her head down, but the whispers followed her like shadows. “She threw him like he weighed nothing.”

“I saw her eyes. They were silver.” “She is not normal.” “She is not weak.” “She is not one of us.”

Bianca tried to smother the rumors, but her voice trembled now. Her confidence cracked. Her control slipped. She snapped at anyone who mentioned Brittany’s name. She clung to Drew as if he were the only thing keeping her from falling apart.

But Drew was not looking at her. He was watching Brittany.

That evening, as Brittany carried laundry down the stairs, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see Drew standing at the top of the staircase, his expression unreadable. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The silence stretched between them, thick and heavy. Finally, Drew said, “What happened on the training grounds?” Brittany swallowed. “I do not know.” “That is not true.” His voice was quiet, but firm. “Something is happening to you.” Brittany’s breath trembled. She looked away. “I do not want to talk about it.” Drew took a step down the stairs. “Brittany…”

She shook her head and hurried down the remaining steps, her heart pounding.

She could not do this. Not with him. Not now.

That night, back in the basement, Brittany collapsed onto her cot, her heart still racing. Her hands shook as she pressed them to her chest. “I could not stop it,” she whispered. ‘You were never meant to stop it,’ Bellatrix answered. ‘You were meant to rise.’ Moonlight poured through the small window, silver and strong, wrapping her in its glow. The warmth inside her rose to meet it, pulsing in time with her heartbeat. Brittany closed her eyes, tears slipping free. The pack had seen her. Not the servant, nor the basement rat. She was no longer invisible. They had seen the wolf. And soon, everyone else will.