The Silver-Eyed Luna's Revenge

Chapter 3

I read the passage three more times, my hands trembling.

A curse on the bloodline. My twenty-fifth birthday. Everything they'd built would fall.

The journal was Austine's father's, his handwriting sharp and aggressive across the yellowed pages. I flipped back to earlier entries, scanning quickly.

"The Northern Pack Alpha confirmed it. His seer had the same vision. A Luna with silver eyes born under the blood moon will either break the curse or strengthen it. If she strengthens it, our bloodline becomes the most powerful in existence. If she breaks it..."

The entry stopped there, torn at the bottom like someone had ripped out pages.

Silver eyes. I rushed to the mirror and stared at my reflection. My eyes were brown. Ordinary, boring brown. I'd never had silver eyes.

But then I remembered something. My mother once mentioned I was born with silver eyes that changed to brown within days. She'd thought it was a trick of the light. Baby eyes changing color wasn't unusual.

The manila envelope was next. Inside were medical records. My medical records, from birth. And there it was, written in the doctor's careful script: "Infant born 2:47 AM, blood moon at its peak. Eye color: silver. Unusual marking on left shoulder blade—crescent moon birthmark."

I pulled down my shirt and twisted to look at my shoulder in the mirror. Nothing. No birthmark.

But there was a scar. Small, almost invisible unless you knew where to look. The kind of scar that came from something being cut away.

My stomach churned. They'd removed my birthmark. When? How young had I been?

The last item was the vial. Dark liquid swirled inside, almost black but with threads of silver when I held it to the light. There was a label, faded but still readable: "Suppressant. Two drops daily in food or drink. Begin at subject age 16."

Age sixteen. When my marriage to Austine was arranged.

They'd been drugging me. For nine years, they'd been drugging me.

I thought about every meal Austine and I had shared. Every drink he'd brought me. My morning coffee that he insisted on making himself because he knew exactly how I liked it.

The bathroom was three steps away. I barely made it before I was violently sick.

When I finally stopped shaking, I sat on the cold tile floor and tried to think. The suppressant was meant to keep something dormant. My wolf? No, she was normal. Weak, but normal. Then what?

My phone rang. Austine.

I let it go to voicemail.

It rang again immediately.

And again.

On the fourth call, I answered.

"Where were you?" His voice was deadly calm.

"Bathroom. I'm sick."

"Don't lie to me, Clara. Your scent was in the east wing."

Margaret's signal jammer hadn't worked after all. Or maybe it had, and this was all part of her plan too.

"I went for a walk," I said. "I needed to think."

"In the sealed wing?"

"It's quiet there. No one to stare at me with pity."

Silence. Then, "The meeting is in eight hours. Be ready."

"Austine—"

"And Clara? If you go near the east wing again, there will be consequences."

He hung up.

I looked at the three items spread on the bathroom floor. I needed to hide them, but where? Austine would tear this room apart if he suspected I had them.

Then I remembered. The hollow tree by the training grounds. James and I used to hide things there as kids. Candy we didn't want our parents to find. Love notes he got from girls. It was perfect.

I wrapped everything in a plastic bag and tucked it inside my hoodie. The window again. This time, I didn't care if anyone saw me. Let them think the rejected Luna was losing her mind.

The training grounds were empty at 3 AM. The hollow tree was exactly as I remembered, though smaller than my childhood memories suggested. I pushed the package deep inside, covering it with leaves and debris.

"Couldn't sleep?"

I spun around. James stood there in training gear, sweat dripping down his face despite the cold night air.

"James! What are you doing up?"

"Extra training." He grinned, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Heard about Austine. And her."

My baby brother wasn't such a baby anymore. At nineteen, he was already one of the strongest young wolves in the pack. He'd make an excellent warrior one day, if he got the chance.

"It's fine," I lied.

"It's not." His hands clenched. "He humiliated you. My sister. Our family."

"James, you can't challenge him. He's the Alpha."

"I wasn't thinking about challenging him." His smile turned sharp. "But his precious true mate? She's not Luna yet. Pack law says any female can challenge for the position until the ceremony is complete."

"You want me to challenge a pregnant wolf? That's forbidden."

"Not you." He pulled out his phone and showed me a message. "Her."

The photo showed a woman I'd never seen before. Tall, muscled, with scars across her neck and arms. A warrior.

"Who is she?"

"Lydia Blackthorne. From the Eastern Pack. She has a claim."

"What claim? She's not even from our pack."

"Her grandmother was supposed to marry Austine's grandfather. The arrangement was broken when he found his true mate. But the contract was never officially dissolved. Technically, her family still has a blood claim to the Alpha line."

This was insane. "How do you even know about this?"

"I've been doing research since Austine started treating you badly. That was two years ago, Clara. I'm not as oblivious as everyone thinks."

Two years. My baby brother had been planning for two years.

"It won't work," I said. "Even if she has a claim, Austine would never accept—"

"He doesn't have to accept. If she challenges publicly, at a pack meeting, with witnesses, he has to allow it. Ancient law. A blood claim supersedes even a true mate bond until the Luna ceremony is complete."

"And what does this Lydia want in return? No one fights for free."

James's expression darkened. "Territory. The Eastern Pack wants access to our northern hunting grounds. If she wins, she'll be Luna for exactly one year. Long enough to negotiate new boundaries. Then she'll step down gracefully, and you can return."

"Return to what? A pack that watched me be humiliated? A mate who betrayed me?"

"Return with power," he said quietly. "Clara, I need to tell you something. About our family. About why Dad really became Beta."

"James—"

"He wasn't the strongest. Wasn't the fastest. But he had something the old Alpha needed. Mom."

"What about Mom?"

"She's not from the Silverclaw Pack like everyone thinks. She's from the Moonstone Pack."

The Moonstone Pack. They'd been destroyed fifteen years ago. Completely wiped out in a single night. No survivors.

"That's impossible. They all died."

"Not all." James looked around, making sure we were alone. "Mom survived because she was visiting Dad. They were secret lovers. When her pack was destroyed, the old Alpha offered her sanctuary in exchange for Dad's absolute loyalty."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because the Moonstone Pack was destroyed for a reason. They knew something. Had something. And I think it's connected to why Austine needs you gone so badly."

The prophecy. The curse. It was all connected.

"James, there's something I need to tell you too." I made a decision. My brother deserved to know. "I found some documents. About a prophecy. About me."

His eyes widened as I explained everything. The journal, the medical records, the suppressant.

When I finished, he was silent for a long moment.

"We need to get you out of here," he finally said. "Tonight. Before the meeting."

"I can't. Sophia threatened you. And Mom and Dad."

"Let her try." His eyes flashed gold. "I'm stronger than she thinks. And I'm not alone. Half the young warriors are loyal to me, not Austine. They're tired of his tyranny."

"James, no. This isn't a rebellion. I won't have the pack torn apart because of me."

"It's already torn apart. You just don't see it because Austine keeps you isolated in that house." He pulled out his phone again and showed me message after message. Pack members complaining about new laws, harsh punishments, resources being diverted to unknown projects.

"When did this start?"

"About six months ago. Right around the time Austine started pulling away from you."

Six months ago. When Sophia would have gotten pregnant.

"There's more," James said. "Three other packs have reported similar things. Their Alphas suddenly changing behavior. Taking new Lunas. All within the last year."

A pattern. This wasn't just about me and Austine.

"James, I need you to do something for me. Contact this Lydia. See if she's really willing to challenge. But don't do anything until I give the signal."

"What signal?"

I thought about the meeting in a few hours. About standing in front of my pack and surrendering everything.

"At the meeting, if I say the words 'I wish the pack well,' that means move forward with the challenge. If I say 'I wish the pack peace,' abort everything and get yourself and our parents out of the territory."

"Clara—"

"Promise me, James. No matter what happens, if I say peace, you run."

He didn't want to agree, I could see it in his eyes. But finally, he nodded.

"I promise. But Clara? I looked at the moon calendar. Your birthday isn't just any blood moon. It's the convergence. Three blood moons in a single year, all aligning on one night. It hasn't happened in over a hundred years."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know. But I think someone does. And they're terrified of what you might become when it happens."

A howl echoed in the distance. The dawn patrol.

"I should get back," I said. "Austine will notice if I'm gone too long."

"Clara?" James caught my arm as I turned to leave. "Whatever happens at that meeting, know that you're not alone. You have more support than you think."

I hugged him tight, maybe for the last time. "Be careful, little brother."

"You too."

I made it back to my room just as the sun began to rise. Four hours until the meeting. Four hours to decide whether to fight or flee.

My phone buzzed. An unknown number.

"Check the morning news. Northern Pack Alpha found dead. Mysterious circumstances. His daughter Sophia is now sole heir to the territory."

I dropped the phone.

Sophia's father was dead. The Alpha who'd made the deal about the prophecy. And now Sophia stood to inherit not just our pack through Austine, but her father's as well.

Another text.

"Still think this is just about a true mate bond? Be very careful at the meeting. Trust no one. Not even family."

Not even family? What did that mean?

I looked at the clock. Three hours and fifty-five minutes.

Three hours and fifty-five minutes to prepare for what might be my last stand.