The Night Before Breaking
The moon hovered on the verge of fullness, its glow almost blinding in its intensity.
The surrounding sky was unusually still, as though even the wind had learned caution. Thin wisps of cloud drifted lazily, unable to dim its dominance. The light didn’t just illuminate the forest—it exposed it, stripping shadows of their usual comfort and leaving everything too visible, too vulnerable.
Not yet complete, but intense enough that every wolf in the pack felt it deep in their bones.
It was the kind of lunar pull that made instincts restless, sharpening emotions that would normally remain buried beneath control. Some wolves would sleep through it. Others would suffer through it. But none could ignore it.
She had learned long ago that ignoring instincts never made
