THR SILVER MOON'S CHOSEN

CHAPTER TWO: THE SHIFT

The attack came on a Tuesday.

I had been in the forest on cleanup duty, the job they always gave me, collecting broken weapons and discarded gear after training. The air was quiet until it was not.

Howls ripped through the trees.

They were not Shadowpine voices. They were darker. Crueler.

Bloodfang.

I should have run back to the packhouse. I knew that. Every instinct screamed it.

Instead, I ran toward the sound of battle.

The clearing erupted into chaos. Bloodfang wolves clashed with Shadowpine patrol members, outnumbered nearly two to one. I saw Kieran instantly, a massive black wolf fighting with ruthless precision, holding the line even as three enemies closed in on him. His beta lay bleeding nearby.

They were losing.

Then I saw the child.

A pup, no older than seven, frozen in terror at the edge of the clearing. A scarred brown wolf stalked toward him, teeth bared.

I did not think.

I threw myself between them.

Teeth sank into my shoulder. Pain flared white and then vanished, replaced by heat so intense it stole my breath. Fire tore through my veins. My bones shattered and reformed in a single heartbeat.

Light burst from my skin, blinding and furious.

When it faded, I stood on four legs for the first time in my life.

Silver fur gleamed like solid moonlight. Power thundered through me. My eyes burned with white fire.

The wolf who had attacked me slammed into the trees and did not rise.

Silence fell.

Bloodfang fled.

My legs gave out and the world tilted. The last thing I saw was Kieran racing toward me, his eyes wide with awe and something else I did not yet understand.

Then darkness claimed me.

And I knew nothing would ever be the same again.