True Luna's Revenge

Episodes 13: Blood and Bond

Ember glow pulsed in the dark, the fire now just a whisper of what it once was. Leaning on a dead tree trunk, I stayed close to Lucas, his arm resting like a quiet promise over me. Heat moved through layers, fighting off cold air that crept between us. Thoughts spun without pause, tangled and sharp. Inside my head, Jax kept speaking each word heavier than the flame sound Pick one. Blood you were born with or the bonds you made? Vengeance first, or care?

Stepping slowly, I got to my feet. Silence hung while they looked on. Head low, Rachel avoided gaze. Alex stiffened. Emily stayed still, yet watching closely. Up came Lucas, yet he kept his distance. Blue eyes met mine, full of wait, though I’d given little reason for it.

“I have to figure things out,” I said, so quiet it almost vanished. By myself

Lucas nodded once. “Take all the time you need. But stay close to the clearing. Ethan’s still out there.”

Into the trees I went, surrounded by the smell of pine, thick and comforting. Beneath my feet, a quiet crush of needles mixed with moss. Memories moved with each stride, childhood sprints through these shadows, laughter shared with Lucas, dodging responsibilities meant for others. After that came deception. Banishment followed close behind. Years passed, spent honing anger so sharp it began to hold me upright when nothing else would.

Back there, a snap of wood made me whirl fast, fingers ready with nails out. Just Lucas stood still at some steps off, arms up like he meant no harm.

“I couldn’t let you go alone,” he admitted. “Not tonight.”

Something sharp rose in my throat, ready to lash out just like before. My arms stayed still this time. "Tell me the real reason you made me leave, Lucas. None of those almost lies anymore."

Closer now, silver light traced the edge of his face. His dad had worried about their kind, the ones tied to the moon’s pull, not because they were strong, yet because of how steady they stayed. That steadiness seemed dangerous, like it might shake up who led first. Rumors started then, lies saying her father turned against them all. Back then, he was small, scared not of space between towns but never seeing her again. Running away turns out to be the safest choice for you. Each time I looked, hoping to find a trace, you were already gone.

My chest tightened. “And now? With Jax back?”

His eyes grew quiet. That man shares your blood. Yet something deeper ties us too. My wolf knows it when you're close, as if a long empty space has just filled. You decide what happens next, Scarlett. Should you pick the Velvet Claw, I will set you free. That choice might ruin me still, I’d make it.

The honesty in his voice cracked something inside me. I reached out, fingers brushing the dried blood on his arm from the earlier fight. “I spent five years planning how to destroy you. Now all I can think about is how right it feels when we fight side by side.”

A small smile tugged at his lips. “You were always the better fighter when we were kids. Still are.”

Out of nowhere, I let out a small laugh caught off guard by how it slipped out. A little less tightness held on my back. Side by side, we moved further under the branches, not needing words like we hadn’t in ages.

Out of nowhere, screams ripped through the silence nearer now, raw and sharp. Then came Ethan shouting into the dark. “Scarlett! That deal from your brother? It’s slipping.”

A shiver ran down Lucas’s spine as he stiffened next to me, muscles twitching under a ripple of tawny hair across his forearms. My pulse answered, claws pricking just below the surface, dark fur straining against my skin like smoke through cracks. Green sparks flared behind my eyelids, heat pooling where bones began to shift. His breath hitched silently, but I caught the low growl building in his chest before it broke into air.

Back we ran, heading straight for the open field. Weapons drawn, claws out, the group stood ready. From the far tree line came Jax, calm and towering, three Velvet Claw wolves at his sides. Like looking into a glass, his green eyes matched my own, and they stayed fixed on me.

“Time’s up, sister,” Jax called. “The Velvet Claw alpha-female belongs with her true family. Not with the ones who tried to erase us.”

Out came Ethan, battered yet grinning, shadows of rogue figures behind him. Beside him, he stood, voice low but clear. "You’re not alone in wanting change," he said. Lucas wouldn’t lead past this night, that much felt certain. What waited ahead was something else claimed by force, shaped by those tired of answering to one man. Scarlett hesitated, the air thick, choices shifting like sand under boots.

Pulse racing. That draw to Jax wasn’t made up like roots reaching through dirt, like secrets rising where silence once sat. Yet Lucas stayed close, not moving, just being there like ground underfoot. The connection between us glowed low and sure, outshining the icy tug of what bloodline claimed me.

I stepped forward, voice steady despite the storm inside. “I’ve spent too long letting hate decide for me. Jax… you’re my brother. I want to know our history. But not like this. Not through more blood and betrayal.”

Jax’s expression darkened. “They poisoned you against us.”

“No,” I said, glancing at Lucas. “They saved me from becoming something worse. I chose this pack. I choose to rebuild instead of destroy. As Luna.”

A hush moved among the wolves standing close. Light from the Luna touched my skin once more, quiet but sure, filling the open space with a calm shine. Some of the group bowed their faces slightly, eyes down.

Ethan charged forward with a growl, yet Lucas intercepted him halfway, bodies crashing together, fur flying, jaws snapping. Jax stared my way, eyes heavy with letdown, then gave a quiet nod and slipped back into darkness, others following close behind. His voice trailed off like wind through cracks: Blood has its own echo. You’ll hear it again

Fast, then rough, that's how it went with Ethan. Lucas had him down before anyone could blink, the others crowding close behind. Nobody ended up dead this time around, strange, considering what I would’ve done just a few weeks back.

Fleeing in every direction, the thieves left Ethan tied tight when I faced Lucas. Back in human form now, he panted, a red line carved along his face. My hand moved before my mind could stop it, brushing the stain from his skin.

“I’m staying,” I whispered. “We face whatever comes Ethan, Jax, the old wounds together.”

Warmth wrapped around me as Lucas pulled me near. Against his chest, a rhythm pulsed strong, unshaken. Home, I heard him say not just the word, but the breath behind it.

Rachel moved closer, her gaze bright with expectation. Could it be…? She waited, breath held

I nodded. “We will all start earning our place again. No more secrets.”

Emily smiled from the edge of the circle. “The elderly will listen now. The Luna light doesn’t lie.”