Chapter Two
787 Words
Karma dreamed of moonlight soaked in blood.
She was small again—fur too soft, paws unsteady on cold stone as the pack circle loomed around her. Torches burned bright beneath the full moon, shadows stretching long and warped across the ground.
Her father stood at the center.
Alpha Slivermoon.
Strong. Steady. Unyielding even as his wolf strained beneath his skin.
“Stay behind me,” he told her gently, large hand resting on her head. “No matter what happens.”
Her mother stood beside him, silver-eyed and regal, Luna’s mark glowing faintly at her throat.
Then her uncle stepped forward.
Cassian Slivermoon smiled as if this were a celebration instead of an execution. His eyes gleamed with hunger—not for blood alone, but for power.
“You’ve grown complacent, brother,” Cassian said smoothly. “The pack needs strength. Direction.”
“You challenge me?” her father asked, voice calm but deadly.
“I replace you.”
The fight was brutal.
Karma remembered the sound—bone breaking, snarls tearing through the night, the way the moonlight gleamed silver on crimson-soaked stone. Her father fell to his knees, breath ragged, claws scraping uselessly against the ground.
Cassian didn’t hesitate.
Alpha blood spilled across the circle.
The world shattered.
Karma screamed as her mother lunged forward, grief ripping free in a raw, feral cry. Wolves howled in the distance—some in protest, others in obedience.
Cassian turned to the gathered pack, blood slick on his hands.
“The Alpha is dead,” he declared. “I claim leadership.”
Then his gaze shifted.
To her mother.
The widowed Luna.
“You,” he said softly, stepping closer. “Will stand at my side.”
Her mother’s lips curled back in a snarl. “I would die first.”
Cassian struck her—hard enough to send her sprawling.
“She will submit,” he said to the pack. “A Luna belongs with her Alpha.”
Karma ran to her mother, tiny body shaking as she pressed into her side. Cassian’s eyes flicked down to her then, assessing.
“For now,” he said coldly, “the pup lives.”
Her mother clutched Karma tightly, trembling. “I will protect her,” she whispered fiercely. “You will not touch my child.”
Cassian crouched in front of them, smile sharp and satisfied. “She is young. No threat.” His gaze hardened. “But when she grows… I will finish what I started.”
The moon burned overhead.
The line would end.
________________________________________
“Karma?”
A voice cut through the darkness.
Her lashes fluttered, the dream dissolving as light pierced behind her eyes. Her body felt heavy—wrong—like she’d been dragged back into herself after being torn apart.
“Karma Slivermoon,” the voice repeated gently. “Can you hear me?”
She forced her eyes open.
White ceiling. Soft lights. The steady beep of a monitor beside her bed. A woman in pale blue scrubs leaned over her, eyes kind but focused.
“You’re safe,” the nurse said quickly. “You’re in Black Hollow Pack Medical. You’ve been unconscious for four days.”
Four days.
Panic surged, sharp and immediate.
“I—” Karma croaked. “Four?”
The nurse nodded. “Severe exhaustion, dehydration, stress shock. You collapsed in town.”
Arms.
Warmth.
A low voice telling her easy.
“I remember… someone caught me.”
The nurse smiled. “Yes. Our Alpha brought you in himself.”
Her chest tightened in a way she didn’t understand.
“Try to rest,” the nurse continued, checking her vitals. “You’re healing well. I’ll notify him you’re awake.”
-——————————————————————
Xavier had spent four days pretending he didn’t care.
Four days avoiding the pack hospital. Four days burying himself in duties and distractions that didn’t touch the persistent pull beneath his ribs.
Lyra leaned against the lodge balcony railing, moonlight outlining her sharp confidence. “You’ve been distant,” she said lightly. “The pack notices.”
“I’ve been busy,” Xavier replied.
Her fingers brushed his arm. Familiar. Intentional. For a moment, he let it ground him—let routine dull the edge.
It didn’t work.
His phone vibrated.
Pack Medical.
“She’s awake,” the nurse said. “Karma Slivermoon regained consciousness ten minutes ago.”
Everything narrowed.
“I’m on my way,” Xavier said, already moving.
Behind him, Lyra’s smile faded—jaw tightening as she felt it too.
The pull had chosen.
And it hadn’t chosen her.
- Writer
