THE BADDIE LUNA

FLAMES OF DESTINY

I woke to the cold earth beneath my palms, moonlight spilling over my face. The fire inside me still throbbed, faint and insistent, like a heartbeat out of sync with my own. The forest around me was silent, but the scent of ash lingered, sharp and metallic.

Ronan knelt beside me, his golden eyes scanning me like a predator trying not to show concern. “You’re alive,” he said, his voice quiet, almost reverent. “But that fire… it’s not natural. Not for any wolf I’ve ever known.”

I flexed my fingers, feeling the faint warmth of the ember scars that hadn’t faded. My chest tightened. “It obeys me,” I admitted softly. “Whether I want it to or not.”

He didn’t flinch, didn’t look away. Instead, his jaw tightened. “Then we have a problem,” he said. “Kael will see this as proof you’re dangerous beyond measure. And now I do too… but…” His gaze softened ever so slightly. “…I can’t leave you to face it alone.”

The words should’ve made me feel safer. Instead, they made my heart pound, a conflicted fire hotter than the one under my skin.

Before I could respond, a howl split the night different from Kael’s. This one was urgent, terrifying. The pack stirred nervously, tension rippling through the trees.

Ronan’s hand shot to his blade. “We’re not alone,” he muttered.

A figure emerged from the shadows, tall, cloaked, moving with an unnatural grace. The moment their face came into the moonlight, my stomach twisted: silver hair, green eyes, a grin that didn’t reach their eyes.

“The baddie Luna,” the stranger said, voice smooth and deadly. “Finally awake.”

I backed up instinctively. Ronan moved in front of me, blade drawn, muscles coiled. “Who are you?”

The figure tilted their head, examining me like prey. “Someone who knows your destiny better than you do. And someone who intends to make sure it burns… whether you like it or not.”

A shiver ran through me. My wolf growled low in my chest. Something about this stranger felt familiar. Too familiar.

Without warning, the stranger lunged. Their speed was supernatural. I barely dodged, the fire in my veins surging instinctively. Flames erupted from my palms, singeing the stranger’s cloak.

Ronan struck at them at the same time. The clash of metal and fire lit the clearing in bursts of gold and red. Every motion was a dance of survival, the stranger circling, testing us, pushing me to use more of the fire I barely controlled.

“You can’t hold it back forever,” the stranger hissed, eyes glowing. “Your fire will consume everything including him.”

Ronan’s eyes widened at the words. “What did you say?”

I didn’t answer. The flames inside me burned too brightly to speak. My wolf surged, urging me to strike harder, to unleash all of it. But fear clawed at the edges,fear of losing control, fear of hurting him, fear of what I truly was.

A deafening roar echoed from the trees. More Bloodspawn were approaching, drawn to the fire like moths to flame. The stranger smirked, stepping back. “Let’s see how the baddie Luna handles destiny…”

Ronan grabbed my arm. “We fight together. No matter what.”

I met his eyes, the storm between us unspoken but undeniable. My fire flared brighter in response.

And then the Bloodspawn surged from the shadows.

The world erupted into chaos.

Flames, claws, and teeth collided in a storm of survival and I realized, with a cold certainty, that nothing would ever be the same again.