LUNA REBORN ; HOW I MET MY MATE

THE FIRST CHANGE

I barely slept after reading the message.

It remained on my desk throughout the night, the six words staring back at me whenever I opened my eyes. You were not supposed to come back. Whoever had written them knew something impossible. They knew about my second chance, and that meant the danger surrounding me had begun much earlier than I had remembered.

By morning, I had stopped asking myself whether the message was real. The more important question was who had sent it.

I folded the paper carefully and slipped it beneath the lining of my jewelry box before leaving my room. I couldn't risk my parents finding it, not until I understood what was happening. My father had already hidden information from me once, and after what I had discovered in the archive, I couldn't dismiss the possibility that he knew more about my birth than he had admitted.

At breakfast, however, everything appeared normal.

My mother talked about an upcoming gathering at the eastern border while my father read through a report from one of the pack scouts. I watched them quietly, looking for any sign that either of them knew someone had entered the archive.

Neither did.

Or they were very good at pretending.

My father eventually lowered the report. "The Blackwoods have invited several young wolves from neighboring packs to the training grounds next week."

I looked up immediately.

"Why?"

"It's an annual gathering," he replied. "Kael will be there."

My appetite disappeared.

My mother noticed. "You don't have to attend if you don't want to."

I glanced at my father. "I thought these gatherings were important for the alliance."

"They are."

"Then I'll go."

My father looked surprised.

Perhaps he expected me to refuse after our conversation about the Blackwoods.

I wasn't going because I wanted to see Kael. I was going because I needed answers. If someone had known about my return, then staying inside the Ashford estate wouldn't keep me safe. I needed to understand what had changed and whether the events of my first life were already moving in a different direction.

The training grounds were crowded when we arrived several days later. Young wolves from different packs were gathered across the wide field, practicing combat and tracking under the supervision of experienced warriors. I stayed near my father's group at first, watching carefully.

Then I noticed Kael.

He was standing at the edge of the forest with two Blackwood warriors. He looked serious, but his attention wasn't on the training.

It was on me.

Our eyes met.

He excused himself from the warriors and walked toward me.

I immediately felt my guard rise.

"You came."

"I was invited."

A faint smile touched his lips. "You sound disappointed."

"I'm not."

He stopped in front of me.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then he said, "I had another dream."

My expression remained calm, though my heart began racing.

"What happened?"

"You were there."

I looked away.

"What was I doing?"

"Running."

His voice was quieter now.

"From something in the forest."

I forced myself to meet his gaze. "Did you see the woman's face?"

"No."

"Did you see anything else?"

He hesitated.

"A necklace."

My blood ran cold.

"What did it look like?"

"A crescent."

I waited.

"And a broken crown."

The noise of the training grounds seemed to disappear.

Kael studied my face.

"You've seen it too."

I said nothing.

He stepped closer. "Luna, what aren't you telling me?"

I wanted to answer.

I wanted to tell him everything.

But the memory of my final night stopped me. I remembered asking him to tell me the truth while he stood silently beside the woman who had destroyed me.

Until I knew what had happened, trust was impossible.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

His eyes narrowed.

"You lied."

Before I could respond, a loud cry came from the training field.

Everyone turned.

One of the young wolves had collapsed.

The warriors rushed toward him.

Kael immediately ran across the field.

I followed.

The boy was conscious but pale, clutching his arm. There was a strange mark on his skin, a thin crescent surrounding what looked like a broken line.

I recognized it instantly.

The same symbol.

Kael noticed it too.

"Where did you get this?" he asked.

The boy shook his head.

"I don't know."

One of the warriors examined the mark.

"It wasn't there this morning."

A murmur spread through the crowd.

My father arrived moments later and ordered everyone away from the boy.

Kael looked at me.

Neither of us spoke.

We didn't need to.

The symbol had appeared again.

And this time, it wasn't hidden in an old record or attached to a stranger's necklace.

It had appeared on someone living.

That night, the elders held an emergency meeting.

I wasn't invited.

I should have been relieved.

Instead, I found myself standing outside the council chamber, listening through the partially closed doors.

"We cannot allow panic to spread."

"The mark hasn't appeared in sixteen years."

"Then you know exactly what it means."

A silence followed.

Someone spoke in a low voice.

"The heir."

My breath caught.

Another elder answered.

"The heir is dead."

"No."

The voice sounded frightened.

"The heir was never confirmed dead."

I stepped closer.

"Then where is she?"

My heart began pounding.

A chair scraped against the floor.

Someone inside said, "We need to find her before the others do."

I moved away from the door just as it opened.

Kael stepped into the corridor.

He stared at me.

"You heard."

I didn't deny it.

"Who are they talking about?"

He glanced toward the council chamber.

"I don't know."

"You're lying."

His expression tightened.

"I heard the same thing you did."

"Then why aren't you surprised?"

"Because I am."

For once, I believed him.

Kael looked toward the dark windows at the end of the corridor.

"Sixteen years ago, something happened between the major packs. My father refuses to discuss it. Every time I ask, I'm told it's an old matter that should remain buried."

I remembered my father's journal.

The child must remain hidden.

I swallowed.

"Maybe someone doesn't want it buried anymore."

Kael looked at me.

For several seconds, neither of us moved.

Then his expression changed.

"Luna."

"What?"

"There's something behind you."

I turned.

Nothing.

The corridor was empty.

When I faced him again, Kael was staring at the floor.

A small piece of black fabric lay near my feet.

I picked it up.

There was a silver thread woven into it, forming the same crescent and broken crown.

My fingers tightened around the fabric.

Someone had been standing behind me.

Someone had been close enough to leave this behind.

And they had wanted me to find it.

Kael reached for it, but I pulled my hand away.

"Don't."

He stopped.

I looked toward the corridor.

For the first time since my return, I understood that hiding from my past wouldn't save me.

My past had already found me.

And somewhere in the shadows of the castle, someone was waiting for me to discover why.