Plots and shadow
990 Words
It had been a month since the shift ceremony, and Seryna’s world had changed in ways she never imagined. Living with Maria, working at the clinic, and planning for college had given her a sense of purpose and stability she’d never known. Now that Maria had offered to adopt her and cover her expenses, Seryna finally felt her dream of becoming a doctor was within reach. Her days were filled with herbal brews, healing chants, and study sessions that spilled late into the night. She was healing—slowly, steadily. For the first time in her life, she felt like she had a future worth fighting for.
But not everyone was pleased.
From the shadows of the village, the Luna watched.
She had taken a sudden and unnerving interest in Seryna the night of her first shift, when the crowd had gasped at the sight of her glowing silver wolf. Just like the one in the legends. Just like Aelwyn, the First Healer.
Since then, the Luna had made regular visits to the clinic, cloaked in false pleasantries and concern. But Maria saw through it. The Luna had never spared Seryna a glance before. Now she brought gifts and compliments, each one laced with questions—questions about her heritage, her health, her abilities, and most tellingly, her plans for the future.
Seryna tried to ignore her, but the Luna’s sudden interest rattled her. Why now? she often wondered. Why the sudden attention? Is it because of Dorian? I wish she’d go back to ignoring I even existed.
Maria didn’t trust her. Not for a moment. She remembered the dozens of times she had pleaded with the Luna to intervene, to stop the neglect Seryna endured. Each time, the Luna declined, dismissing her concerns and commanding her to maintain a proper distance. “It’s between her and her mother,” she had said coldly, “but I won’t have you stirring up trouble in this pack.” That was the Luna’s version of justice—indifference wrapped in protocol.
In her private quarters, the Luna traced the rim of her teacup with a nail, a dark smile blooming. Seryna was more than just a girl with promise. She was a symbol—a weapon blessed by the Moon Goddess. And the Luna intended to wield her. Whether by binding her to the pack through marriage to her second son, Dorian, or by forcing her hand through darker means, the Luna would not let her slip away.
"She'll never leave," she whispered. "Not until I’ve unlocked every gift that wolf hides."
Outside, under the twilight sky, Seryna laughed beside Maria while gathering herbs. But Maria’s instincts warned her. Danger circled. The Luna's sudden interest was no coincidence.
Maria began making plans. She would relocate with Seryna near the campus, handing over the clinic to Nina-who had always worked diligently at her side. She updated her will, naming Seryna her sole heir. The girl she now called daughter would not be trapped. Not by the Luna. Not by anyone.
Ezekial seethed.
For a month, he’d watched Seryna flourish, surrounded by admiration and protected from his reach. Ordered by the Alpha and Beta to stay away under threat of losing his future title, Ezekial could do nothing but glare as the girl he once humiliated grew stronger.
To make it worse, Dorian had taken an interest. The Alpha’s second son, the golden boy, hovered around her constantly. With Dorian near, no one dared touch her. Ezekial burned with rage. Everything he had done to keep her beneath him had backfired.
His wolf, Raze, snarled inside him.
"You're a disgrace," Raze growled. "She was a gift, and you our connection. She rose while you sank. You mocked the blessing of the Moon Goddess."
"Shut up," Ezekial snapped aloud, pacing his room.
"No. I won't be silenced anymore. I'm bound to a fool—a coward who rejected his mate out of pride and cruelty. Do you know what it feels like? To be cut off from her scent? Her light? Her spirit? I feel the burn every day, and it's your fault!"
Ezekial pressed his hands to his temples, fury boiling over. "I know!, But she is mine and ill get her back one way or the other."
"No, she never was. You lost her the second you treated her like filth. And now? She's beyond you. She's becoming everything we should have stood beside—not spat on."
The silence that followed was thick, poisonous.
Ezekial clenched his fists, trembling. But Raze was silent now, retreating in disgust.
And for the first time, Ezekial was truly alone.
High in the trees beyond Blue Coral Pack territory, Caius watched.
Weeks had passed since he infiltrated the region. In that time, he had silently thwarted five separate attempts to kidnap Seryna. All aimed at taking her alive. All failed.
They didn’t know she was being protected by the prince of all wolves.
The target list had grown increasingly specific: gifted she-wolves. Healers. Elemental empaths. Lunar-sensitives. Seryna fit the profile too well to be coincidence.
She was being hunted.
Each time he saw her, the pull in his chest tightened. Vanilla and pineapple. Power hidden beneath gentleness. A past filled with scars. A future filled with light. She had no idea how rare she was. Or how precious.
Dorian's courtship attempts were laughable. Seryna brushed him off with polite indifference, her true focus elsewhere. Caius and Kael took quiet satisfaction in every rejection.
But the threat was real. The enemy moved in silence. And every day, the noose tightened.
Soon, Seryna would leave for Luminaris. Caius hoped that at Luminaris, he could protect her more openly—no longer just a shadow in the trees. He prayed she’d find safety there. And perhaps then, he could step from the shadows.
For now, he would protect her from afar.
Even if she never knew he was there.
- Writer
