CHAPTER 15: THE GHOSTS OF THE PAST
1116 Words
The words carved into the destroyed watchtower remained visible even after sunrise.
THE LUNA RETURNS.
Three simple words.
Yet they carried the weight of a threat.
Silver Moon Pack had faced enemies before.
But this was different.
This enemy wasn't trying to conquer territory.
They were trying to remind Nova that no matter how powerful she had become, someone from her past still knew how to reach her.
And that terrified Kade more than any army could.
Because for the first time, he saw something he never expected to see in Nova Blackwood.
Fear.
Not weakness.
Never weakness.
But recognition.
---
KADE
The emergency council meeting lasted until midnight.
Every possible explanation had been discussed.
A rival pack.
A rogue faction.
An old enemy seeking revenge.
None of them fit.
Because whoever left that message knew Nova personally.
And that meant they weren't attacking Silver Moon.
They were attacking her.
Kade stood beside the window of the council chamber, staring at the mountains beyond the territory.
"Who are they?"
Nova remained seated across from him.
Silent.
That silence was beginning to frustrate him.
But this time, he understood it wasn't arrogance.
She was calculating.
Deciding what truth to reveal.
"You don't have to protect me from the truth," Kade said.
Nova looked up.
A faint, humorless smile touched her lips.
"That's the first time you've ever said that."
The words struck deeper than he expected.
Because they were true.
Five years ago, Kade had decided everything for her.
Her strength.
Her worth.
Her future.
He had never asked what she wanted.
Never asked what she was capable of becoming.
He looked away.
"Tell me."
Nova studied him.
Then finally spoke.
"Before I came to Northern Black, I wasn't alone."
The room became quieter.
"There were others like me."
Kade frowned.
"Rejected wolves?"
"No."
A pause.
"Wolves who were discarded."
Her voice remained calm, but something colder entered it.
"Every pack has its perfect image. Strong Alphas. Powerful bloodlines. Beautiful Lunas."
She looked down briefly.
"But behind those images are the wolves nobody wants to talk about."
Kade listened.
"Those who are considered weak. Those who don't fit expectations. Those who are abandoned."
A silence.
"And someone gathered them."
Kade's expression darkened.
"Who?"
Nova's eyes lifted.
"A group called The Crimson Circle."
The name meant nothing to him.
But the way she said it made him understand.
It was not just a name.
It was a wound.
---
NOVA
Five years ago, after leaving Silver Moon, Nova had not immediately found Lucien.
She had wandered.
Lost.
Angry.
Broken.
She had believed the worst thing that could happen was being rejected by her mate.
She was wrong.
The world beyond Silver Moon had shown her something worse.
Cruelty without rules.
Power without mercy.
The Crimson Circle had found abandoned wolves and promised them revenge.
They took the wounded.
They trained the angry.
They turned pain into a weapon.
And Nova had been one of their targets.
Until Lucien found her.
Until he pulled her away before she became exactly what they wanted.
But they never forgot her.
And now...
They had found her again.
"What do they want?" Kade asked.
Nova's expression hardened.
"Me."
---
KADE
Something inside him reacted instantly.
Not as an Alpha.
Not as a leader.
As something far more dangerous.
Possessive.
Protective.
The feeling annoyed him.
Nova was not his to protect.
He had lost that right years ago.
Yet his wolf didn't care about rights.
It only recognized danger.
"Then they won't touch you."
Nova looked at him.
A strange expression crossed her face.
Almost disbelief.
"You still say things like that."
Kade frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means you still think being powerful means you can control everything."
Her voice softened slightly.
"You couldn't even protect me from yourself."
The words were quiet.
But they hurt more because she wasn't angry.
She was simply stating a fact.
Kade had no response.
Because there was none.
---
THE ATTACK
The warning came before sunset.
Not from the guards.
From the wolves.
Every wolf in Silver Moon felt it.
A presence.
A pressure.
A threat approaching.
The border alarms sounded.
Warriors rushed into position.
Kade and Nova arrived at the eastern gate together.
Neither commented on it.
They simply stood side by side.
Like they had done this a thousand times.
Like their wolves remembered something their minds had forgotten.
Beyond the gate, figures stood among the trees.
Not an army.
A message.
Five wolves.
All wearing crimson marks across their armor.
The Crimson Circle.
Kade stepped forward.
"State your purpose."
The wolf in front smiled.
"We came to see if the rumors were true."
His eyes moved toward Nova.
"That the broken little wolf from Silver Moon became something worth fearing."
The entire courtyard went silent.
Kade's expression changed instantly.
But Nova remained still.
The insult didn't hurt.
Not anymore.
The wolf continued.
"Come home, Nova."
A cold smile appeared on his face.
"Your creator wants to see you."
Kade's eyes narrowed.
"Creator?"
Nova's expression darkened.
The wolf laughed softly.
"You really don't know, do you?"
He looked at Kade.
"The Moon Goddess didn't create her fate."
A pause.
"She was created by pain."
The air shifted.
Nova's wolf reacted violently.
Kade felt it.
Everyone felt it.
The connection between them surged.
But this time it wasn't confusion.
It was anger.
Pure anger.
Because someone had touched a wound Nova had buried for years.
Kade stepped forward.
"Leave."
The Crimson Circle wolves smiled.
"Protecting her now, Alpha?"
The words carried mockery.
"Where was that protection when you broke her?"
Silence.
Even Nova froze for a moment.
Because they had said the one thing no enemy had ever dared say.
The truth.
Kade's face hardened.
But Nova moved first.
She stepped past him.
Her eyes were cold.
"Tell your leader something."
The enemy smiled.
"What?"
Nova's voice dropped.
"The girl he wanted to destroy is dead."
A pause.
"What stands here now..."
Her aura exploded outward.
Making even trained warriors step back.
"...is the reason he should have been afraid."
The Crimson Circle wolves stopped smiling.
For the first time—
They looked uncertain.
Nova turned away.
"Now leave."
And they did.
Not because they wanted to.
Because they understood.
The woman they came looking for was no longer their victim.
She was their enemy.
---
That night, Kade stood outside Nova's door.
For several minutes, he didn't knock.
Because for the first time in years...
He wasn't afraid of an enemy.
He was afraid of the truth.
The truth that the woman he destroyed had survived without him.
And the terrifying possibility that he might have to watch her walk away forever.
- Writer
