The Pack That Turned Against Me
1617 Words
The first thing I noticed when we returned to Mooncrest was the silence.
Usually, the pack was loud in the evenings. Wolves gathered around the training grounds, children ran between the houses, and the scent of food drifted from the kitchens.
That evening, people stopped talking whenever they saw me.
Some stared.
Others whispered behind their hands.
I tried not to listen, but I heard enough.
“She is the reason Blackridge is threatening us.”
“The Alpha should have let her leave.”
“Everything was fine before she appeared.”
My chest tightened.
Kael noticed the change in my expression.
“Don’t listen to them.”
“I can hear them.”
“I know.”
He looked at the guards behind us.
“Stay with her.”
I turned toward him.
“Where are you going?”
“The council called an emergency meeting.”
“I want to come.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I know.”
I looked directly at him.
“But this is about me.”
Kael studied me for a moment before nodding.
“Then come.”
We entered the council chamber together.
Almost everyone was already there.
Selene sat beside Elder Rowan.
She looked at me but said nothing.
Kael took his place at the head of the table.
“What happened?”
Elder Rowan placed a letter on the table.
“Blackridge has withdrawn from the alliance.”
Kael picked it up.
“And?”
“They’ve moved more warriors toward the northern border.”
“How many?”
“Nearly two hundred.”
The room went quiet.
Two hundred.
That wasn’t a warning anymore.
That was preparation for war.
Kael’s fingers tightened around the letter.
“What are they demanding?”
Elder Rowan looked at me.
“Liana’s removal from Mooncrest.”
My stomach dropped.
Kael didn’t even hesitate.
“No.”
One of the council members stood.
“Alpha, you need to think carefully.”
“I have.”
“If Blackridge attacks, innocent wolves will die.”
“Then we defend our territory.”
“They will have the support of two neighboring packs.”
Kael’s expression hardened.
“And we will have Mooncrest.”
The councilman shook his head.
“You’re underestimating them.”
“No,” Kael said. “I’m refusing to surrender one of our own because another pack threatened us.”
A different council member spoke.
“She wasn’t born here.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“She came to Mooncrest as a child. Her identity was sealed. Now we discover she carries the bloodline of the Moon Queens, and suddenly enemies appear at our borders.”
He looked around the room.
“How can we know she isn’t the reason they are coming?”
The words hurt more than I expected.
I stood.
“I didn’t ask for any of this.”
Nobody spoke.
“I didn’t ask to carry this bloodline. I didn’t ask for my wolf to be sealed. And I certainly didn’t invite those people into our territory.”
The councilman folded his arms.
“But they came because of you.”
I swallowed.
“Yes.”
The room went silent.
“I won’t lie about that.”
Kael looked at me.
I continued.
“But sending me away won’t solve anything. They already know where I am. They’ve attacked the border. They broke into the records room. They came inside the pack itself.”
I placed the crescent symbol on the table.
“They’re not going to stop because I leave.”
Elder Rowan nodded slowly.
“She is right.”
The council members began arguing among themselves.
Kael raised his hand.
The room immediately fell silent.
“We are not sending Liana away.”
One councilman stood.
“Then what are you going to do?”
Kael looked at the map spread across the table.
“We strengthen the northern border, double the patrols and close the eastern passage.”
“And if they attack?”
“Then we fight.”
His voice was calm.
“But we are not starting a war because we’re afraid of one.”
⸻
The meeting lasted another hour.
By the time it ended, the pack had already begun preparing for an attack.
Warriors were being assigned to the northern border.
Healers were gathering supplies.
Families were being moved away from the outer villages.
Everyone was afraid.
And I couldn’t stop thinking about one thing.
This was happening because of me.
I left the council chamber and walked toward the garden.
I needed air.
I had barely reached the fountain when Selene appeared behind me.
“You shouldn’t blame yourself.”
I turned.
“You heard the council.”
“I heard everything.”
“Then you know they’re right.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“They’re afraid.”
“So am I.”
Selene looked at me for a long moment.
“I don’t want a war.”
“Neither do I.”
“Then maybe there is another way.”
I frowned.
“What way?”
She didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she looked toward the eastern mountains.
“Maybe you should leave temporarily.”
I stared at her.
“Is that what you want?”
Her eyes met mine.
“I don’t know anymore.”
That answer hurt.
She stepped closer.
“I’ve spent my whole life believing I knew exactly what my future would be.”
Her voice became quieter.
“Then you met Kael.”
I looked away.
“Selene…”
“No. Let me finish.”
She took a shaky breath.
“First, you became his mate. Then we found out you’re connected to the Moon Queens. Now there’s a prophecy saying one sister will rise while the other falls.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“How am I supposed to feel?”
I didn’t have an answer.
“I never wanted your place.”
“But what if your place is the reason mine disappears?”
I looked at her.
“Then we find another way.”
She gave me a sad smile.
“You always say that.”
“Because I believe there is one.”
Selene wiped her eyes.
“I hope you’re right.”
She walked away before I could say anything else.
I watched her disappear through the garden doors.
Something felt wrong.
Not because she had been cruel.
Because she hadn’t.
She sounded genuinely afraid.
⸻
That night, Kael found me in the library.
“You’re still awake.”
“So are you.”
“I have responsibilities.”
“So do I.”
He smiled faintly.
“You’re becoming difficult.”
“I learned from the best.”
He laughed quietly.
For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then his expression became serious.
“The council wants me to increase your protection.”
“I don’t need guards following me everywhere.”
“You do now.”
“I can protect myself.”
“I know.”
He sat across from me.
“But this isn’t only about whether you can fight.”
“What is it about?”
“People are starting to see you as a threat.”
I looked down.
“I noticed.”
“They don’t know you.”
“They don’t need to.”
Kael frowned.
“Yes, they do.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because if you’re going to stand beside me, you need to understand what that means.”
My heart skipped.
He continued before I could respond.
“Being Luna isn’t about wearing a crown. It’s about making decisions when everyone is watching. It’s about taking responsibility when those decisions hurt.”
I thought about the council.
The frightened families.
The warriors preparing for war.
“I don’t know if I can do that.”
“You don’t have to know yet.”
He leaned forward.
“But if you choose this life, you can’t keep thinking you have to disappear whenever things become difficult.”
His words stayed with me.
For most of my life, disappearing had been my solution.
Stay quiet.
Step aside.
Let Selene shine.
But perhaps that was about to change.
⸻
The next morning, the northern patrol returned.
They were exhausted.
One warrior was badly injured.
Kael rushed toward them.
“What happened?”
The patrol leader dropped to one knee.
“They attacked us.”
Kael’s face hardened.
“How many?”
“Too many.”
“Blackridge?”
The warrior shook his head.
“No.”
Everyone went silent.
“Then who?”
The warrior looked toward me.
“The same people with the crescent symbol.”
My stomach turned.
“They weren’t attacking the border,” he continued.
“They were looking for something.”
Kael stepped closer.
“What?”
The warrior swallowed.
“They kept asking one question.”
“What question?”
His eyes moved back to me.
“Where is the Moon Queen?”
A cold shiver ran through my body.
Kael looked at me.
Then the warrior added,
“And they already know you’re in Mooncrest.”
My wolf stirred.
This time, I didn’t feel fear.
I felt something else.
Recognition.
As if a part of me knew exactly who they were.
And why they had come.
The pack wasn’t just being threatened because I carried the Moon Queen bloodline.
They were coming because they believed I was their queen.
And if that was true, then sooner or later, I would have to decide whether I was going to keep running from what I was…
or finally become it.
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