The New Luna
1672 Words
The room went silent.
Isabella stood at the entrance of the Blackthorn Council Hall, staring at the woman standing beside Adrian.
She had never seen her before.
But she didn't need an introduction.
The woman was wearing a long silver dress embroidered with the Blackthorn crest.
A silver crown rested against her dark hair.
Every member of the Council was looking at her with approval.
Isabella's eyes narrowed.
Adrian looked uncomfortable.
That was interesting.
Very interesting.
The woman smiled.
“Isabella Hart.”
Isabella slowly turned toward her.
“And you are?”
The woman extended her hand.
“Seraphina Vale.”
Isabella looked at the hand but didn't take it.
Seraphina's smile remained.
“I am Adrian's future Luna.”
A few Council members exchanged amused looks.
Isabella finally understood.
This wasn't simply a Council meeting.
It was a message.
Adrian had an arranged mate.
Or at least someone the Council wanted him to claim.
Isabella glanced at Adrian.
He didn't look at Seraphina.
He was looking at Isabella.
She smiled politely.
“Congratulations.”
Adrian's expression tightened.
“Isabella—”
“I didn't realize I was interrupting something.”
“You're not.”
Seraphina laughed softly.
“Of course she isn't.”
She stepped closer to Isabella.
“I've heard quite a lot about you.”
“I'm sure you have.”
“Adrian rarely speaks about the past.”
Isabella raised an eyebrow.
“Then we have something in common.”
Seraphina's smile faded slightly.
Before she could respond, the oldest Council member struck his staff against the floor.
“Enough.”
Everyone turned.
“Alpha Blackthorn, the Council called this meeting because the situation in the Northern Territories is becoming impossible to ignore.”
Adrian took his seat.
Isabella remained standing.
The Elder continued.
“Seven packs have reported a decline in wolf abilities.”
Isabella's attention sharpened.
“Two thousand wolves have been affected,” Adrian added.
One of the Council members looked at Isabella.
“And we have reason to believe your return is connected.”
The room became completely silent.
Isabella looked around.
“My return?”
The Elder nodded.
“You disappeared five years ago.”
“Yes.”
“You returned five years later.”
“Yes.”
“And within weeks, the attacks began.”
Isabella smiled coldly.
“So I'm being blamed?”
“No one is blaming you.”
“That's exactly what you're doing.”
The Elder's expression hardened.
“We are asking questions.”
“Then ask better ones.”
Adrian almost smiled.
Almost.
Seraphina noticed.
Her eyes moved from Adrian to Isabella.
“You seem very confident for someone who has just entered a Council investigation.”
Isabella looked at her.
“I've survived worse.”
Seraphina's expression changed.
“Have you?”
“Yes.”
“Even losing your mate?”
The room went silent again.
Isabella felt the old wound inside her chest.
But it didn't hurt anymore.
Not like it used to.
She looked directly at Seraphina.
“Especially that.”
Seraphina smiled.
“I heard Adrian rejected you publicly.”
“He did.”
“And yet you came back.”
“I came back for answers.”
Seraphina tilted her head.
“About Adrian?”
“No.”
Isabella's eyes hardened.
“About my mother.”
The smile disappeared from Seraphina's face.
It lasted only a second.
But Isabella saw it.
Fear.
Not surprise.
Fear.
Isabella immediately noticed.
“You know her.”
Seraphina's face became expressionless.
“I have never met your mother.”
“That's a lie.”
Adrian stood.
“Isabella.”
She turned toward him.
“What?”
“Leave this alone.”
She stared at him.
“You've said that before.”
“This is different.”
“How?”
Adrian didn't answer.
Isabella looked at Seraphina again.
“Why did you react when I mentioned my mother?”
“I didn't.”
“You did.”
Seraphina's eyes narrowed.
“You're imagining things.”
“Maybe.”
Isabella smiled.
“Or maybe you're nervous.”
Seraphina stepped toward her.
“You should be careful.”
“With what?”
“Some questions have consequences.”
Isabella leaned closer.
“So do secrets.”
The two women stared at each other.
Adrian stepped between them.
“Enough.”
Seraphina looked at him.
“You're defending her?”
“No.”
Adrian's voice was cold.
“I'm preventing this meeting from turning into something else.”
Seraphina smiled.
“Of course.”
But Isabella noticed something.
Seraphina's hands were trembling.
The Council meeting continued for another hour.
Reports appeared on the screens.
Pack after pack.
The same symptoms.
Wolves losing strength.
Wolves losing their ability to shift.
Young wolves being born without supernatural abilities.
And in several territories...
children were disappearing.
Isabella studied every report.
“This isn't random.”
Everyone looked at her.
She stood.
“The attacks are connected.”
The Elder frowned.
“Explain.”
“Every affected territory has a connection to an old Moonborn settlement.”
The room went silent.
Adrian stared at her.
“How do you know that?”
“I did my research.”
One Council member slammed his hand against the table.
“The Moonborn are extinct.”
Isabella looked at him.
“Then why are you afraid of them?”
The man went pale.
Adrian immediately noticed.
So did Isabella.
The Council member quickly looked away.
Interesting.
She had just found another c***k in their story.
The Elder stood.
“This meeting is over.”
“Not for me.”
The Elder looked at her.
“You have no authority here.”
Isabella smiled.
“No.”
She picked up her folder.
“But I own twenty-three percent of Blackthorn Industries.”
Everyone froze.
Adrian's head snapped toward her.
“What?”
Isabella looked at him.
“You didn't read the acquisition documents carefully.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“You bought shares before yesterday's meeting.”
“Correct.”
“You planned this.”
“Of course.”
Adrian stared at her.
“You've been planning your return for years.”
Isabella smiled.
“Now you're finally paying attention.”
She walked toward the doors.
Then stopped.
“Oh, and Adrian?”
He looked at her.
“If you're going to marry Seraphina…”
She glanced at the woman beside him.
“…you should probably ask her what she knows about my mother first.”
Seraphina's face went completely white.
Isabella walked out.
Adrian followed her.
He caught up with her in the corridor.
“Isabella.”
She continued walking.
“Stop.”
She didn't.
Adrian grabbed her arm.
She spun around.
“Don't touch me.”
He immediately released her.
“You're deliberately provoking the Council.”
“They deserve it.”
“You don't know what they're capable of.”
“Neither do you.”
His eyes darkened.
“You're playing with something dangerous.”
“So are you.”
He stepped closer.
“Why are you investigating my family?”
“Because your family is connected to mine.”
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
Adrian looked around the corridor.
“Nobody can know about the Moonborn.”
“Why?”
“Because if they discover you're one of them—”
He stopped.
Isabella's eyes widened.
“You just said it.”
Adrian froze.
She stepped closer.
“Say it again.”
He looked away.
“Isabella…”
“You know what I am.”
“I know what you might be.”
“No.”
Her voice became colder.
“You know.”
Adrian didn't answer.
She shook her head.
“For five years, I thought you rejected me because you hated me.”
His expression softened.
“I never hated you.”
“Then why?”
He looked into her eyes.
“Because your life was in danger.”
She laughed bitterly.
“And you thought breaking my heart would save me?”
“I thought it was the only way.”
“Did it?”
Adrian didn't answer.
Isabella stared at him.
“Exactly.”
She turned away.
“Wait.”
She stopped.
Adrian's voice was quiet.
“I never stopped loving you.”
Her heart skipped.
For one dangerous second, the walls she had built around herself almost cracked.
Then she remembered the ceremony.
The laughter.
The pain.
She turned back.
“That's unfortunate.”
Adrian looked stunned.
Isabella walked away.
But neither of them noticed the woman standing at the end of the corridor.
Seraphina.
She had heard everything.
Her face was no longer calm.
She pulled out her phone.
“I found her.”
A voice answered.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
Seraphina looked toward Isabella.
“She has awakened.”
Silence.
Then the voice said:
“Then kill her before the next full moon.”
Seraphina swallowed.
“And Adrian?”
“He cannot know.”
She lowered her voice.
“What if he protects her?”
The voice became colder.
“Then kill him too.”
The call ended.
Seraphina stared at the phone.
Her hands were shaking.
Because there was one thing the person on the phone didn't know.
Seraphina had already broken one rule.
She had fallen in love with Adrian.
And now she had to choose.
Protect the man she loved...
or obey the people who had controlled her family for generations.
Outside the Council Hall, Isabella stopped walking.
Her necklace suddenly burned against her chest.
She pulled it out.
The crescent moon was glowing brighter than ever.
Then a voice whispered inside her mind.
“The woman beside him is not your enemy.”
Isabella froze.
“What?”
The voice disappeared.
Then came a second message.
“She's the key.”
Isabella slowly turned toward the Council Hall.
Her eyes narrowed.
Seraphina wasn't the enemy.
She was a clue.
And Isabella had just discovered the next secret she needed to uncover.
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