Moonlit Embrace

Chapter 5:First shift

I didn’t sleep after the Hollow.

Kael wouldn’t let me out of his sight. He set up in my room in the den instead of his own house. “If the elders try anything, they’ll have to go through me,” he said.

I didn’t argue.

But sleep wasn’t the problem.

She was.

My wolf.

She was awake now, curled under my skin like a second heartbeat. Silver. Quiet. Watching.

Every time I closed my eyes I saw her. Lying in moonlight, tail wrapped around her paws, waiting.

_“Let me out,”_ she whispered. Not in words. In feeling.

_“Not yet,”_ I answered back. _“They’re watching.”_

Kael noticed. Of course he did.

“You’re shaking,” he said at dawn. He handed me tea I didn’t drink.

“It’s her,” I admitted. “She wants to run.”

“Then let her.”

“The elders will say it’s not real. That I forced it.”

Kael’s jaw ticked. “Then we’ll show them it’s real.”

---

By midday, the whole pack was gathered in the training field.

Word traveled fast. _The barren Luna survived the Hollow. The barren Luna has a wolf._

They didn’t believe it. Not really.

Elder Rowan stood on the stone platform. Veyra beside him, arms crossed.

“The pack will witness,” Rowan announced. “If the girl truly carries a wolf, let her shift. Now.”

Kael stood behind me. Close enough that I could feel his heat.

“You don’t have to do this,” he murmured.

“Yes, I do.”

I stepped forward. Bare feet in the dirt.

Fifty pairs of eyes on me. Some curious. Most hostile.

I closed my eyes.

_“Okay,”_ I told her. _“Let’s go.”_

Pain.

But not like before. This wasn’t breaking. This was... unfolding.

Bones shifted. Skin prickled. Heat rolled down my spine.

I heard gasps. Someone swore.

When it was over, I was on all fours.

I was small. Smaller than the other wolves. Silver fur, almost white in the sun. My paws were unsteady.

But I was _here_.

A sound broke the silence.

A low whine.

From me.

I lifted my head. The world was sharper. I could smell pine, sweat, fear, blood. I could hear Kael’s breathing from 10 feet away.

And I could see him.

He was staring at me like he’d never seen me before.

Gold eyes. Wide.

“Hey,” he said softly.

I trotted to him. My legs wobbled.

He knelt. Slowly. Like I might spook.

He reached out and touched the top of my head.

“You’re beautiful,” he said.

Behind us, Veyra made a disgusted sound. “A runt. Look at her. That’s not a Luna’s wolf.”

“Then what is it?” Kael stood, and his voice carried. “It’s hers. That’s all that matters.”

Rowan wasn’t smiling. “Shift back.”

I did.

It hurt less this time. Like my body remembered how.

When I stood, I was naked and shaking. Kael immediately pulled his jacket off and wrapped it around me.

It smelled like him. Pine and storm.

“Is that enough proof?” he asked the council.

“One shift means nothing,” Veyra said. “A trick. A blessing from the rogues, maybe.”

“A blessing?” Kael laughed, but it wasn’t funny. “You think rogues blessed her in the Hollow?”

“I think—”

“You think you get to decide what the Goddess does,” Kael cut in. “You don’t.”

The tension snapped.

From the edge of the woods, a howl.

Not ours.

Deeper. Mocking.

Everyone turned.

Three wolves stepped out of the trees. Black. Scarred. Not pack.

Rogues.

And leading them was the one who’d attacked me in Chapter 2. Alive.

The crowd scattered. Guards moved forward.

Kael pulled me behind him instantly.

“What are you doing here?” he growled.

“Come to watch the show,” the lead rogue said. His eyes were on me. “Heard the little Luna finally grew teeth.”

“Leave,” Kael said.

“Or what? You’ll bleed for her again?” The rogue grinned. “We’re not here for her. We’re here for you, Alpha. The King wants to talk.”

“The King is dead,” Kael said.

“The King has a new name now.” The rogue’s smile widened. “And he remembers you.”

Kael went still.

I felt it through the bond. Cold. Rage.

“Get her out of here,” he told two guards without looking at me.

“No,” I said. “I can fight now.”

“You can barely stand,” he said quietly. Only for me. “Please. Let me do this.”

I hated it. But I nodded.

They pulled me back as Kael stepped forward. Shirtless, still bandaged, but fully Alpha.

The rogues didn’t attack. They just watched.

“Message delivered,” the lead said. “Full moon, three nights. Border of the Hollow. Come alone, or we take what we want.”

He looked right at me when he said it.

Then they melted back into the trees.

---

That night, Kael didn’t sleep either.

He paced.

I sat on the bed and watched him.

“They want me,” he said finally.

“Why?”

“Because I killed their old King 6 years ago. And they’ve been waiting to return the favor.”

“And the Hollow?”

“Bait.” He stopped pacing and looked at me. “They knew you’d go in. They knew it would force your wolf out. They’ve been pushing us toward this for months.”

My stomach dropped. “So this is my fault?”

“No.” He crossed the room in two steps and knelt in front of me. Took my hands. “This is my fault. For not killing him properly the first time. For letting them think I’m weak because I care about you.”

I touched his face. “You’re not weak.”

“I am if they can use you to get to me.”

The bond between us pulsed. Warm. Steady.

His mark on my chest tingled.

_“Mine,”_ my wolf whispered again.

Kael leaned his forehead against mine.

“I’m going,” he said.

“I know.”

“Don’t follow me.”

“I won’t.”

“Liar.”

I smiled. Small. “Maybe.”

He kissed me then.

Not soft. Not careful.

Desperate. Like it might be the last time.

His hand came up to my neck, thumb brushing over where my pulse was racing.

When he pulled back, his eyes were gold again.

“Stay here,” he said.

“I will,” I lied.

Because if they wanted him, they’d have to go through me too.

Luna or not. Wolf or not.

Three nights until the full moon.

Three nights until we found out if the Goddess cursed us...

Or saved us.