The Banished Luna's Awakening

My Birthmark

LARA

Nina and I were having fun in the kitchen, chopping vegetables and chatting about random things, when the doors suddenly burst open.

A group of pack guards stormed inside.

Their sharp eyes swept across the room before locking onto me.

My heart instantly dropped to my stomach.

I didn’t know why, but a terrible feeling washed over me so suddenly that my fingers went cold.

The guards marched farther into the kitchen while the staff hurried out of their path, too frightened to interfere. My breathing turned uneven as panic clawed at my chest. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for rough hands, a slap, or for them to drag me away like before.

But none of that came.

The silence felt strange.

Slowly, I opened my eyes again—only to freeze in confusion.

Every single guard was kneeling before me with their heads lowered respectfully.

My brows pulled together as I stared at them, unable to understand what was happening.

“I apologize for the sudden disturbance,” one of the guards said gently, his tone surprisingly careful, almost as though he were afraid of scaring me. “The pack elders wish to meet with you. We hope you will cooperate with us. We were given strict orders not to hurt or disrespect you in any way.”

Fear still held my body hostage, but I forced myself to swallow the lump in my throat before speaking.

My voice came out weaker than I had intended.

“…The elders?” I repeated slowly, as if saying it again might make it make sense.

The guard nodded without lifting his head.

“Yes. They are waiting.”

Nina grabbed my arm instantly.

“No,” she said sharply, stepping between them and me. “This doesn’t make sense. Why are the elders suddenly—why her? She is just an ordinary kitchen staff!”

Her voice cracked slightly at the end, but she didn’t back down.

I felt my chest tighten again.

Because I wanted to ask the same question.

The kneeling guard didn’t rise.

He only spoke again, carefully choosing every word.

“We are not permitted to explain. Only to bring her.”

Silence fell hard.

My fingers trembled where they still held the knife.

I slowly placed it down.

Nina turned to me immediately, panic written all over her face. “Lara, don’t just—don’t go with them alone! Something is wrong.”

I didn’t answer right away.

Because I knew she was right.

Something was wrong.

But the problem was… I didn’t feel like I had a choice.

Not when every guard in the room was still kneeling like I was something they were afraid to look at directly.

I swallowed again, forcing my voice to steady.

“…If I refuse?”

The guard finally lifted his head slightly—not enough to meet my eyes fully, just enough for me to see the seriousness in his expression.

“Then they will still come for you,” he said quietly. “But it might no longer be gentle.”

My breath caught.

Nina tightened her grip on me. “That’s not an answer—you're threatening her.”

“It is a warning,” he corrected calmly.

For a moment, I just stood there, my mind spinning too fast to hold onto a single thought.

Then I exhaled shakily.

“…I’ll go.”

Nina immediately turned to me. “Lara—!”

I squeezed her hand quickly before she could stop me.

“It’s okay,” I lied softly, even though my heart was pounding so hard it hurt. “I’ll just… find out what they want.”

The guards rose instantly, but still with an unsettling restraint, as if they were careful not to step too close.

“No, no, no…” she muttered, stepping forward like she might argue anyway.

But she stopped herself. Because even she understood the boundaries now.

You can't go against the elders.

Not here.

Not ever.

Her hands clenched into fists at her sides as she turned back to me, panic breaking through her voice.

“Then I’m walking you there,” she said quickly. “At least that much I can do.”

The guard did not object. That small allowance made Nina exhale shakily, as if she was barely holding herself together.

She grabbed my hand tightly. “Don’t let go of me,” she whispered.

I nodded.

And just like that, we started walking. Behind us, I could hear whispers erupting the moment we left.

Nina didn’t speak again until we reached the corridor. Then she leaned closer, voice trembling. “Lara… whatever this is… just don’t panic, okay? Just know that they won't hurt you.”

I nodded, my throat tight, and watched as the guards escorted her back to the kitchen. My legs felt heavier with every step as we continued down the dim corridor. By the time we reached the secluded room, my hands were already shaking. The guard gave me a gentle nudge on my right shoulder.

I drew in a shaky breath, the air thin and insufficient, and forced myself to step inside.

The moment I entered, the conversation between the three elderly men and the elderly woman died instantly. All four heads turned toward me. Their eyes widened, sharp and assessing, raking over me.

A cold wave crashed over me. I stumbled back a step, my palms instantly slick with sweat. My chest tightened painfully, each breath shallow and ragged. Not again. Not again.

I stood there, frozen, as if my feet had been nailed to the floor. My heart hammered so violently I could hear it in my ears. The room seemed to tilt, and for a terrifying second, I wasn’t here anymore—I was back in the Red Moon Pack, standing before their council, small and filthy and worthless while their eyes stripped me bare with disgust.

These elders had the same look.

The same cold judgment. The same silent contempt.

My stomach churned. Bile rose in my throat. Every instinct screamed at me to run, to bolt from the room and never stop. But I couldn’t move. My body had locked down, the way it always did when the memories came rushing back—when the old shame wrapped its claws around my throat and squeezed.

They were all the same.

A warm hand came to rest gently against my back, offering a touch of comfort that felt entirely foreign at that moment.

“Child,” a soft voice murmured close by, “Are you alright? Please, don't be afraid. We really don’t mean you any harm.”

Slowly, I forced myself to raise my head. A woman was standing right beside me, her expression painted with a genuine kindness. She offered a gentle smile—the rare kind that actually reached her eyes and carried a hint of real warmth.

“We only want to ask you a few questions,” she continued, keeping her tone calm and steady, like she was trying to soothe a startled animal. “If you just answer them honestly, I promise you’ll be completely free to return to your duties with no trouble at all.”

Her gentle aura managed to ease the tension in my shoulders just a fraction, though it wasn't nearly enough to quiet the raw fear still clawing at the inside of my chest.

“I…” My voice failed me at first, coming out as nothing more than a shaky whisper. “What questions?”

The female elder’s gaze softened even further at my distress. “To start, what is your name, child?”

“Lara,” I answered.

“And your parents? Where are they?”

The moment the question left her lips, my fingers curled tightly into the fabric of my apron, seeking some kind of anchor. “They're dead,” I answered quietly, looking down. “At least… that’s what I’ve always been told.”

Instantly, a heavy silence fell over the room as the elders exchanged meaningful glances.

One of the older men stepped forward, closing the distance between us. His sharp eyes fixed onto me with an intense, probing scrutiny that made me incredibly uncomfortable—so much so that I instinctively took a step back. But as I moved, his gaze dropped, landing squarely on the side of my neck.

In an instant, his entire expression fractured.

“Impossible…” he breathed, the word barely slipping past his lips.

The female elder frowned, looking between him and me. “What is it? What do you see?”

Without a word of warning, the man reached out. His movements were careful but firm as he brushed the collar of my uniform slightly aside. There, resting just beneath my collarbone, was the strange, silver birthmark I had carried with me since childhood—a wide, irregular shape that looked like spilled ink.

The elder stared down at it as if he were looking at a ghost.

“That mark…” another elder muttered from the shadows, his voice thick with sudden disbelief. “It’s the Alpha bloodline crest.”

My breath caught in my throat, freezing the air in my lungs. “What?”

The female elder leaned in, her own eyes widening in shock as she took in the silver birthmark etched into my skin.

“In this pack,” she explained, her voice dropping to a whisper, “members born directly from the Alpha bloodline carry this exact mark from birth. It is an extremely rare occurrence.”

I could only stare at her blankly, my mind spinning too fast to actually process a single word she was saying. “What do you mean…”

“Once the wolf awakens,” the elder continued, her eyes locked onto mine, “the mark transforms, shifting fully into the shape of a crescent moon.”

A heavy, suffocating silence settled over the room.

Finally, the oldest elder among them spoke, his words cutting through the quiet. “If this child truly bears the Alpha mark…” He paused, his gaze darkening with a sudden, grave intensity. “…then she may be the lost daughter of Alpha Katherine.”

Lost… daughter?

The words echoed mindlessly in my head. No. It made absolutely no sense. I was wolfless. I was weak. I was the one everyone rejected. There was no mathematical or spiritual universe where I could possibly belong to an Alpha bloodline.

“That’s completely impossible,” another elder snapped, shattering the tension.

Unlike the others, his face remained hardened with deep skepticism and cold disdain. “Birthmarks aren't entirely unique,” he argued, dismissively waving a hand. “Anyone could happen to have a similar shape on their skin.” His eyes narrowed to slits as he looked at me. “Besides, she is already an adult and completely wolfless. That fact alone contradicts this ridiculous theory.”

The room fell quiet again. Nobody spoke up, because deep down, they knew he was right. A wolfless adult originating from a pure Alpha bloodline was entirely unheard of. It was a genetic contradiction.

The female elder remained thoughtful, her eyes distant for a moment before she finally broke the silence. “There is still one way to confirm it for certain.”

Every head in the room turned toward her instantly.

“If she joins the pack and officially forms a bond with it, the mark will react—assuming she truly belongs to the bloodline.”

The skeptical elder’s brow furrowed. “You mean—”

“The crescent transformation,” she finished calmly, her voice steady. “If the mark changes after the bond is established, then her identity will be undeniable.”

My heart began to hammer violently against my ribs, loud enough that I was certain they could all hear it. But before I could even begin to digest what that meant for me, the heavy thud of footsteps suddenly echoed from the corridor behind the elders.

They were heavy and immensely powerful.

Without a word, every single wolf in the room immediately lowered their head in absolute respect.

I turned around slowly, my chest tightening.

Three men were walking into the room.