Vengeance of The Dezan Luna

Scorched Earth

The limestone caves had saved their lives.

For three days, they had huddled in the damp darkness, listening to the rogues prowl outside, sniffing for their scent that the rushing river had washed away. On the fourth day, the howls had faded, and by nightfall, they had dared to venture out.

Now, a week after the m******e, they stood amid the blackened ruins of what had once been home.

"There's nothing left," Sara whispered, kneeling to sift through the ashes of the community hall. Her glasses were cracked, and dark circles shadowed her eyes. None of them had slept properly since that night. None has had an appetite either.

Risanna moved silently through the wreckage, stepping carefully around the charred remains they had been unable to bury. The rogues had been thorough. Not a single building remained standing, not a single pack member had been spared. Except for them.

"Why would rogues do this?" Melody asked, her voice hollow. She hadn't left Thane's side since the attack, as if fearing he too might disappear if she looked away.

"Rogues don't need a reason," Kolton replied bitterly. "They're animals."

But Risanna wasn't so sure. The attack had been too organized, too precise. Rogues were typically lone wolves, driven out of their packs for crimes or instability. They rarely worked together, and never in such large numbers.

She crouched beside what had once been her father's study, digging through the debris until her fingers closed around something metal. Pulling it free, she found herself holding her father's silver pendant. The mark of the Alpha, passed down through generations.

"Someone planned this," she said, clutching the pendant until the edges bit into her palm. "Someone sent them."

The others turned to look at her, their expressions a mix of confusion and dawning realization.

"What do you mean?" Aden asked. "Who would do that?"

Risanna stood, slipping the pendant around her neck. "I don't know, but I intend to find out."

She moved to what remained of the east wall of the compound, where strange symbols had been carved into the stone foundation. Symbols that hadn't been there before.

"Look at this," she called.

The others gathered around, studying the unfamiliar markings.

"Some kind of ritual?" Sara suggested, tracing the lines with her finger. "It's not like any wolven markings I've ever seen."

"Witches," Thane growled, his usual calm demeanor cracking. "Has to be. No wolf could control rogues like that without magic."

Risanna nodded slowly. It made sense. The ancient enmity between werewolves and witches had cooled in recent centuries, but there were still covens that clung to the old hatreds.

"So what do we do?" Aden asked, looking lost. "We can't just.. start over. Six of us can't rebuild a clan."

"We need help," Risanna said firmly.

Melody's head snapped up, her green eyes wide with alarm. "No. Ris, you can't be thinking-"

"The Wraithclaw Clan," Risanna confirmed.

A heavy silence fell over the group.

"They hate us," Kolton stated flatly. "Have for generations."

"And we've hated them right back," Risanna countered. "But they're the closest pack, and they have the numbers we need."

"Their Alpha will kill you on sight," Thane argued. "The stories about Kane Callaghan-"

"Are just stories," Risanna cut him off, though she wasn't entirely convinced of that herself. The tales of Kane Callaghan's ruthlessness were legendary. How he had taken control of his pack at just twenty years old, how he ruled with an iron fist, how enemies who crossed him simply disappeared.

"He might kill me," she acknowledged. "But he might also recognize a common enemy. If witches are controlling rogues, it's only a matter of time before they target other clans."

"Then we'll all go," Aden declared, stepping forward.

Risanna shook her head. "No. I go alone."

"Like hell," Sara snapped, uncharacteristically fierce. "We're not letting you walk into that blackhole by yourself."

"I'm the Alpha's daughter," Risanna said, fingering the pendant at her throat. "With my father gone, I represent what's left of our clan. And.." She hesitated. "If things go wrong, the rest of you need to survive. To remember."

The finality in her tone silenced their protests, though she could see the arguments burning in their eyes.

"Three days," she told them. "I'll go to the Wraithclaw territory and seek an audience with Kane. If I'm not back in three days, assume the worst and head south to the neutral territories."

"And if he refuses to help?" Melody asked softly.

Risanna's gaze hardened, her blue-grey eyes turning to ice. "Then I'll find another way. But someone will pay for what happened here. I swear it on our blood."

She looked around at the five faces that were all she had left of her world. They were no longer the carefree teenagers who had snuck into the forbidden zone for a thrill. That innocence had burned along with their home.

"We leave at first light," she decided. "There's nothing more for us here."

As night fell over the ruins of the Dezan Clan, Risanna stood apart from the others, staring at the diminishing moon. Tomorrow she would walk willingly into the territory of her people's oldest enemy and beg for help from a man known for his cruelty.

And if the stories about Kane Callaghan were true, she might very well be walking to her death.