The Silver-Eyed Luna's Revenge

Chapter 2

The house was too quiet.

I pressed my ear against the bedroom door, listening for footsteps. Nothing. Austine had posted guards, I was sure of it. He didn't trust me to stay put like a good little rejected Luna.

My phone showed 11:47 PM. Thirteen minutes to get to the old oak tree by the lake. It was at least a ten-minute run in wolf form, longer if I had to stay human to avoid detection.

I grabbed a dark hoodie and pulled it on. If anyone saw me, I'd say I needed fresh air. That the room felt suffocating. It wouldn't even be a lie.

The window. It was my only option.

I pushed it open slowly, cringing at every small creak. We were on the second floor, but there was a trellis covered in ivy that reached almost to the window. I'd never tried climbing it before, but desperate times...

My foot had barely touched the trellis when a voice behind me said, "Going somewhere?"

I spun around. A woman stood in my doorway—tall, elegant, with striking green eyes and silver-streaked hair pulled into a perfect bun. She wore the simple black dress of a pack elder's wife, but something about her screamed power.

"I don't believe we've met," I said carefully.

She smiled, and it didn't reach her eyes. "Margaret Winters. Elder Thomas's mate. And you're about to make a very stupid mistake."

My heart pounded. "I don't know what you mean."

"The meeting at the oak tree." She walked into the room, closing the door behind her. "You think you're going to meet an ally. Someone who'll help you fight back against Austine and his new mate."

"How do you—"

"Because I sent the message."

I stepped back, my hip hitting the window sill. "You're the friend?"

"Hardly." Her laugh was bitter. "But I am someone who knows what it's like to be replaced. And I'm someone who can help you survive what's coming."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because in about ten minutes, Austine is going to discover you're gone. He has motion sensors throughout the house now—installed them yesterday. The moment you climb out that window, he'll know." She pulled out a small device from her pocket. "Unless you have this signal jammer."

I stared at the device. "Why would you help me?"

"Because twenty years ago, I was you." Her voice softened slightly. "Thomas found his true mate five years into our marriage. I was young, in love, and completely unprepared for the politics of pack rejection."

"But you're still here. Still his mate."

Her smile turned sharp. "His true mate died. Mysterious circumstances. A rogue attack, they said. Very tragic."

The implication hung between us like a blade.

"I'm not saying you should kill anyone," she added quickly. "But you should know what you're up against. Sophia isn't just some random she-wolf who happened to be Austine's true mate. She's been specifically placed here."

"Placed? By who?"

"That's what you need to find out." She handed me the device. "The real meeting isn't at the oak tree. That was to see if you'd take the bait. If you were desperate enough to risk everything for answers."

"So this was a test?"

"Everything in pack politics is a test." She moved to the window and looked out. "The real information you need is in Austine's father's study. The old Alpha kept records of everything. Including the deal he made with the Northern Pack fifteen years ago."

"What deal?"

"The one that involved you. And Austine. And a certain prophecy about a Luna who would either save or destroy the pack bloodlines."

My blood ran cold. "Prophecy?"

"You never wondered why your marriage was arranged so specifically? Why it had to be you, and not any other Beta's daughter?"

I hadn't. I'd been sixteen and flattered that the future Alpha wanted me. How stupid I'd been.

"The study is warded," Margaret continued. "But tonight, during the new moon, the wards are weakest. You have maybe an hour before they reset."

"Why are you telling me this?"

She turned to face me fully, and for the first time, I saw real emotion in her eyes. Pain. "Because I spent twenty years playing by their rules. Being the good, rejected wife. Watching my replacement raise her children in my house. And when she died, you know what Thomas said to me?"

I shook my head.

"He said he wished it had been me instead."

The cruelty of it took my breath away.

"Don't make my mistakes, Clara. Don't accept their version of the story. Find out the truth. All of it. And then decide what you want to do." She headed for the door. "The study is in the east wing basement. Third door on the left. The combination to the safe is your wedding date."

"Margaret, wait—"

But she was gone, moving with the silent grace of an experienced pack member who'd learned to be invisible.

I looked at the signal jammer in my hand, then at the clock. 11:54 PM.

The east wing basement. Austine's father had died two years ago, and that wing had been sealed off. No one went there anymore. It was the perfect place to hide secrets.

I activated the jammer and slipped out the window. The trellis held my weight, barely. When my feet hit the ground, I stayed human and kept to the shadows. The guards would expect me to shift, to run as a wolf. Sometimes the unexpected was the best camouflage.

The new moon made everything darker, but also easier to hide. I reached the east wing without seeing anyone, though twice I could have sworn I heard footsteps behind me.

The basement door was locked, but the key was exactly where the old Alpha used to hide it—under the third flowerpot on the left. Some things never changed.

The stairs down were covered in dust. No one had been here in months. My footprints would be obvious, but it was too late to worry about that now.

Third door on the left. The study.

It was exactly as I remembered from the few times I'd been allowed in as a new Luna. Dark wood paneling, leather chairs, and shelf after shelf of old pack records. The safe was hidden behind a portrait of the first pack Alpha.

My wedding date. I punched in the numbers with shaking fingers.

The safe opened with a soft click.

Inside were three things: a leather journal, a manila envelope, and a small glass vial filled with something dark.

I grabbed all three and stuffed them into my hoodie pocket. Whatever they were, I could examine them later. Right now, I needed to—

"I knew you'd come here."

I froze. That wasn't Austine's voice.

I turned slowly. A woman stood in the doorway, and even in the darkness, she was stunning. Long black hair, delicate features, and yes, obviously pregnant.

Sophia.

"You must be Clara," she said, stepping into the room. "I've heard so much about you."

"All bad, I'm sure."

She laughed, and it was musical. Perfect. Everything about her was perfect. "Actually, no. Austine speaks quite highly of your organizational skills. Says the pack events have never run smoother."

Organizational skills. Three years of marriage reduced to organizational skills.

"What do you want, Sophia?"

"To talk. Woman to woman. Mate to mate." She moved closer, one hand on her pregnant belly. "I know this must be hard for you."

"Hard?" I laughed, but it came out broken. "You stole my husband, my position, my life. Hard doesn't begin to cover it."

"I didn't steal anything." Her voice hardened. "He's my true mate. The Moon Goddess chose us for each other. You were just... a mistake."

A mistake. There it was.

"If I'm such a mistake, why are you here? Why follow me?"

"Because Austine is worried you'll do something stupid. Like run to another pack and spread lies about us. Or worse, challenge me for the Luna position."

"Can't challenge a pregnant wolf. Pack law."

"Pack law can be bent. We both know that." She stepped even closer, and I caught her scent. Roses and something else. Something chemical. "That's why I'm here with an offer."

"I don't want anything from you."

"Not even your family's safety?"

My hands clenched. "Austine already threatened them."

"Austine threatens. I deliver." Her smile was sweet poison. "Your brother James. He's training with the warriors right now, isn't he? Night exercise in the forest. So many things can go wrong in the dark. Accidents happen."

"You wouldn't dare."

"I'm carrying the future Alpha. I can dare anything." She pulled out her phone and showed me a video. James, laughing with his training partners, completely unaware he was being watched. "One word from me, and those rogues we've been tracking suddenly appear right where the trainees are practicing."

"You're insane."

"I'm practical. Leave tonight. Go to your aunt's pack in the South. Never come back. Never contact anyone here. And your family stays safe."

"And if I refuse?"

Her eyes flashed gold, her wolf close to the surface. "Then you'll learn what it really means to be replaced. Your father will lose his Beta position. Your mother's clinic will burn down—such a tragedy, all those medical supplies lost. And James... well, let's hope he's as strong as he thinks he is."

This wasn't just about Austine wanting a new Luna. This was orchestrated. Planned.

"Why?" I asked. "Why go to all this trouble? If you're his true mate, why do you need me gone so badly?"

For just a second, something flickered across her face. Fear?

"Because as long as you're here, the bond isn't complete," she admitted. "Your mark might be fading, but it's still there. Still interfering. I need you gone for the new bond to fully form."

So I still had power. Small, fading, but still there.

"Give me three days," I said suddenly.

"What?"

"Three days to say goodbye. To pack properly. To make it look like I'm leaving willingly. Less suspicious that way. Better for everyone."

She considered this. "Twenty-four hours."

"Forty-eight. Or I make a scene at tomorrow's meeting that'll have the whole pack talking for years."

Her jaw clenched. "Forty-eight hours. But if you're not gone by midnight two days from now, your brother pays the price. And Clara?" She turned to leave. "Don't think about running with those items you took from the safe. I know exactly what's in there. And if any of it goes missing, our deal is off."

She left, her footsteps echoing up the stairs.

I looked down at my pocket where the journal, envelope, and vial sat heavy against my side. She knew what they were. Which meant she'd been in this study before. Which meant...

This went deeper than just a true mate bond.

I had forty-eight hours to figure out what was really going on. Forty-eight hours to protect my family. Forty-eight hours to decide if I was going to run like a coward or fight like the Luna I was supposed to be.

My phone buzzed. Margaret again.

"Did you find them?"

I typed back, "Yes. But Sophia knows."

"Then you need to read them tonight. Before she tells Austine. Start with the journal. Page 73."

Page 73? Specific.

Another text. "And Clara? Whatever you decide to do, don't drink anything Austine gives you tomorrow. Nothing."

"Why?"

But she didn't respond.

I made my way back to the house, my mind racing. The guards were still absent, which meant either the signal jammer was working perfectly, or this was all part of some bigger plan.

Back in my room, I locked the door and pulled out the journal. My hands shook as I opened it to page 73.

The first line made my blood run cold:

"The prophecy speaks of a Luna born under the blood moon, marked by betrayal, who will carry the power to break the curse that binds our bloodline. She must be eliminated before her twenty-fifth birthday, or everything we've built will fall."

I checked the date at the top of the page. It was written three months before my marriage to Austine.

My twenty-fifth birthday was in six days.