Chapter 16: The Luna Question
307 Words
“You don’t belong here.”
That was the first thing said.
And it wasn’t whispered.
It was shouted.
By a wolf named Mara — one of the oldest warriors in the Ridge, scarred and bitter and loyal to no one but tradition.
“She’s not marked. She’s not one of us. And you expect us to bow to her?”
Kade’s growl vibrated through the ground.
But Elara stepped forward first.
“I’m not asking for your loyalty,” she said, voice steady. “I’ll earn it.”
The ring cleared. The challenge was made.
She didn’t flinch.
⸻
The fight started fast.
Mara was brutal — trained, unrelenting, larger than Elara by a full head. She came in swinging.
Elara ducked, blocked, countered.
Fell.
Got up.
Fell again.
Blood dripped from her lip. Her knees shook. Her shoulder screamed from a bad hit. She was down, breath ragged, head pounding.
And still…
She stood.
Something shifted.
Deep inside.
Her wolf — dormant for so long — howled.
Not with fear.
With fury.
With power.
A second wind hit her like fire through her veins.
She raised her head. Eyes glowing.
Not afraid.
Not broken.
Not less.
Luna.
⸻
The crowd went silent.
Even Mara paused.
Then Elara struck.
Fast. Precise. Wild.
She moved like lightning, like vengeance wrapped in grace. She flipped Mara, pinned her, and with one arm locked her down — a clear, decisive, dominant win.
Elara didn’t roar.
She stood.
Turned.
Faced the pack.
And howled.
A sound that shook the trees and the bones of every wolf present.
The pack joined her — one by one — until the whole Ridge sang.
And Kade?
He dropped to one knee.
Head bowed.
“Luna,” he whispered.
Elara stared at him, chest heaving.
She wasn’t his shadow anymore.
She was his equal.
- Writer
