Moonlit betrayal

CHAPTER 5: REVEALING THE PAST

Luna curled back on her porch, rubbing her enlarged tummy softly. Her garden was golden in the late afternoon sunlight, and a gentle breeze danced the flowers. She felt a soft movement from within and started to grin.

"You're growing stronger every day," Luna said, a mixture of delight and dread coursing over her. "I'm excited to meet you."

Luna had learned to accept her pregnancy bit by bit over time. She had decided that this child belonged to her to protect, and she would do all necessary to guarantee their protection. Still, something else had been bothering her even with her attention on the baby.

Peculiar events now occur often. Her senses were sharpened; she could see even in low light, hear birdsong from large distances, and sense approaching rain before it fell. Still, that was only one aspect. Her power had also grown shockingly slowly. She had lately accidentally broken a glass by holding it too tightly.

"What's happening to me?" Luna asked aloud, anxiety wrinkling across her forehead. She got up and walked into her house, uncomfortable. She had kept these modifications under wraps, even from Selene, not wanting to stir trouble. Ignoring them becomes more difficult with time, though.

Luna observed another change her nails had gotten longer and sharper while cleaning in the kitchen. She looked at them, shocked. She said, "This isn't right," her heart pounding.

Luna understood she needed responses. These developments must have a reason. Still, where should one start? Though she couldn't ignore it anymore, the idea seemed overwhelming.

Luna headed for the Silverwood library the next day. < Comprising dusty tomes and old records, it was an old construction. Luna had always loved to read, and she hoped she might find some explanations somewhere within these pages.

Luna walked among the books, her fingers just brushing the spines. She came into an older part where the books were faded and aged, their pages yellow with time.

Quietly picking up a book, Luna whispered, "Old records... might find something here". Cover reading Legends of Silverwood: Tales of the Werewolves. She stopped, her heart pounding.

Curious but terrified, Luna said, "Werewolves?" She brought the book to a still area and delicately opened it.

The book related tales about werewolves from Silverwood, their powers, packs, and relationships. Luna studied the relationship between two souls for life—the fated mate bond. Her reading helped things to make sense.

Luna's eyes wide, she asked, "Could this be happening to me?" Her unusual transformations, and her relationship to Ryder even after he drove her away all fit.

If such was the case, though, what implications followed for her? Luna closed the book, perplexed even more. "Who am I?" she asked. "Why is this occurring?"

Luna walked to get her head clear that evening. As she descended further into the woodland, the sun was setting and creating lengthy shadows.

Something felt strange, though. The air seemed weighty, and strange energy pulsed about her. Luna was suddenly rather afraid as her heart accelerated.

Her body started to alter even before she could act. Her muscles tensed, her senses sharpened, and an odd, terrible sensation shot through her. She gasped, stooped in agony, and clutching her stomach.

Luna asked, "What's happening to me?" her voice quivering.

Her eyesight fogged suddenly, and she felt her bones moving. Her body started to change, her skin tingled. Luna lost herself in a moment. She has become a wolf.

Terrified, Luna glanced at her paws while her head whirled. Feeling disoriented, "This cannot be real... I am a werewolf?" she asked. Every sound in the forest leaves moving, animals calling. Too much of it.

Luna's thoughts flew with inquiries. How could this have occurred? Was it owing to her pregnancy? Alternatively had this always been her, just waiting to surface? Once so familiar, the woodland all about her now felt alien and overpowering.

She tried to move, but her new body felt odd and ungainly. Every action presented a difficulty, every sound a possible danger. Luna's wolf instincts fought with her human ideas, whirlpooling her mental landscape.

Luna experienced both terror and wonder as the truth of her circumstances sank in. She had only read about in books—a werewolf, a beast. This meant what for her going forward? For her offspring?

Heart thumping, Luna ran into the forest in panic. She had no agenda or destination. Her main concern was getting away and hiding until she could gather her thoughts.

Luna dashed for what appeared to be decades before falling close to a bubbling brook. Weary and terrified, she gradually returned to her human shape. Her body quivering from the shock of her metamorphosis, she lay on the woodland floor.

Luna said, her voice faltering, "I'm... I'm a werewolf." "But why? why now?"

She struggled to make sense of it all and tears flowed. Though she had always felt different, this was beyond her greatest dream. It meant what for her going forward. And about her unborn child?

Ryder was staring out the window in his study at his estate. Though the evening was quiet, something felt odd. He felt an unusual vitality in the atmosphere, as though something important had lately happened.

Ryder's chest hurt suddenly, and his connection with Luna grew stronger than it had ever been. He seemed to be able to sense her emotions—her uncertainty, anxiety, and something else. something wild.

"Luna," Ryder said, eyes widening. He knew without a question that she had experienced something significant. He felt their tie dragging him toward her; it had become more powerful, more intense.

Ryder got up right away and yelled out to Marcus just across. "Marcus, get the car ready. We're leaving now."

Marcus was startled, but he didn't challenge Ryder's haste. "Where would Alpha?"

"To find Luna," Ryder said decisively. "Something's happened to her; I can't explain it but I need to know what it is".

Marcus nodded, quickly getting everything ready. Ryder moved the room while his mind flew. His protective instincts kicked in as he could get rid of the impression that Luna was at risk. He had to locate her so he might guarantee her safety.

Ryder's thoughts were absorbed with Luna as they left the estate and headed into the woodland. Though he knew one thing for sure he had to face her to learn the truth about what, he couldn't fathom why their relationship was strengthening.