Marked by The Moon

Beneath The Crown

Damon’s POV

She fell asleep again with her hands curled into the blanket, her breathing uneven but slowly settling. Whatever the Moon Goddess had shown her, it had rattled her deeper than she understood yet.

But I knew.

I’d read the old texts. The ones the other packs had burned. The ones I’d hidden in the locked drawer she hadn’t discovered—yet.

She was beginning to wake.

And everything was about to change.

I sat in the chair beside the cot, elbows on my knees, hands clasped in front of me, watching her. The fire cast soft shadows across her face, and I tried to commit the shape of her features to memory. As if I’d ever be able to forget.

She looked peaceful now.

But peace was fleeting.

Especially for someone like her.

Silver-blooded. Moon-marked. Chosen.

The old lines whispered back to me:

“When the silver flame rises, all wolves will bow or burn.”

“Born of prophecy, guided by moonlight—she will wear the crown born of blood and fire.”

“Two shall rise. One forged by the moon. One bound by the heart. Together, they shall unmake the old ways.”

It had always sounded like myth. A fable. A warning scrawled by fearful men.

But now she was here.

Sleeping beside me.

And every line I’d ever read felt like it had been written for her.

I leaned back and closed my eyes, letting Thorne rise close to the surface.

She saw the Goddess, he said, voice low and satisfied. It’s starting.

I know.

She’s going to change everything.

I know that too.

There was a beat of silence between us, then—

You’ve read the old line. You know what it means. The silver line rises to rule. Alpha and Luna no longer matter when a queen is born of moonlight.

I exhaled slowly.

It said she would rise alongside her equal. A king.

And are you afraid it isn’t you?

No.

Yes.

I am not a silver wolf. My blood was Alpha, yes, but born of steel and fire, not stars and prophecy. My father ruled with fists. My mother ruled in silence. They carved me into something sharp and unbending. A weapon dressed in human skin.

And yet—I’d known Ayla was mine before I even knew what she was.

The pull had been instant. Agonizing. Beautiful.

I could never give her up.

But what if I wasn’t meant to stand beside her?

What if she rose alone?

I pushed up from the chair and paced quietly across the room, running a hand over my face. The texts had always been vague. They prophesied her ascension, not what came after. Not who remained at her side. Only that the silver line would rise, crowned in starlight, and change the world.

I thought of the last books that taught us of the marked ones of the Moon Goddess. These books I protected and have hidden. Inside the books it contains their lineage and who had been hunted. Burned. There are not many copies left since half of the wolf packs want this history erased. Same for the bloodline.

I moved to the window, pressing my palm against the glass. The moon hung high and cold, framed by branches. Silent. Waiting.

Kade and Ava were out there, keeping watch. My best friend and my Gamma—loyal beyond measure. They didn’t question why I’d brought Ayla here. Not once. Because they’d seen the signs too. They knew what it meant.

And they knew I would protect her with everything I had.

Even if that meant standing in the shadow of her destiny.

Even if it meant she became queen—and I became her blade.

She stirred softly in the cot behind me, murmuring something I couldn’t make out. Her brow furrowed, then smoothed again.

I turned back toward her, crossing the room in three quiet steps.

I didn’t touch her. I wanted to. Gods I don’t know how I’ve restrained myself this long.

The bond between us thrummed low and steady, warm beneath my skin. It wasn’t screaming. Not now. It had settled into something else. Something that felt like gravity.

She may be their queen.

But she is mine.

And no prophecy, no bloodline, no ancient verse could ever make me let her go.

The link flared suddenly in my mind—sharp, urgent.

Alpha, Kade’s voice came through like a blade, clipped and steady. We've picked up a scent.

Where?

East ridge. Three wolves. Moving fast. Not ours.

How close?

Inside the border now. They crossed ten minutes ago. They'll be at the cabin in less than fifteen.

Ava’s voice joined his, calm but cold.

We’re circling behind to intercept if needed. But if they're looking for her—

I didn’t let her finish.

Stay hidden. Don’t engage unless they breach the clearing. I’m moving her now.

I turned back to the cot.

Ayla slept on, unaware of the danger fast approaching.

The prophecy could wait.

Now it was time to run.