The Injured Luna

Anna

Chapter 10 – Anna

“Well, well,” he purred. “The lost princess finally awakens.”

The man from the vision.

The traitor.

Before I could move, something surged in me. Hot. Bright. Untamable.

I didn't think—I reacted.

Power burst from my core, a crackling white light exploding from my fingertips. The chains around my wrists snapped with a hiss as if they'd never been strong enough to hold me. My arm flung outward on instinct, and the man—the one who had haunted my visions—flew across the chamber like a rag doll, slamming into the wall with a satisfying crack.

Silence followed. He groaned, stunned.

I stood, breath ragged, glowing faintly as silver light pulsed beneath my skin. I stared at my hands.

What am I becoming?

My feet moved before I could decide where to go. I ran—down dark corridors, through narrow halls of cold stone and rusted metal. My senses expanded with every step. I could feel the vibrations of boots echoing above me. I could smell the fear of guards in distant wings. The earth welcomed me, mapping itself in my mind like it had always been mine to command.

Something ancient had awakened.

I reached a sealed gate reinforced with silver—meant to stop anyone like me. I didn’t hesitate.

I touched the metal, whispered, “Let me go.”

A wave of light rippled from my hand, and the silver groaned, screamed—then exploded outward in a roar of fire and splinters.

And I ran into the woods.

I don’t know how long I was running. Hours? Days? My feet were bleeding, my body bruised, but the forest gave me strength. The trees bent protectively, guiding me. The moon kept pace above me like a sentry in the sky.

When I finally collapsed in a clearing, it wasn’t from exhaustion.

It was from transformation.

I could feel it happening beneath my skin. My soul was stretching, reshaping. The pieces of me that had been broken were reforging, stronger than before.

Then… the air shifted.

I knew before I even opened my eyes.

She was coming.

A soft glow lit the clearing. The scent of jasmine and starlight filled my lungs.

The Moon Goddess appeared before me in a shimmer of violet and silver. Her eyes glowed with light and sorrow.

“You are awakening,” she said, her voice like a thousand winds. “But the world you return to is not the one you left.”

“What’s happening to me?” I asked. My voice shook.

“You were born with more than blood,” she whispered. “The power of the moon pulses through your soul. You were hidden… not to protect you, but to protect them. Your destiny was veiled, Anna, until the time came to rise.”

She reached out, touching my forehead with one finger. A rush of images filled my mind—my mother weeping, a golden crown buried in snow, a flame dancing atop water.

“But I don’t understand what it means.”

“You will. In time. But beware, child—power reveals truth… and not everyone who stands beside you will stand with you.”

Her voice turned grim.

“Beware the wolf in sheep’s clothing. He will smile as he cuts. He waits at the gate of your future.”

I tried to speak, to ask who she meant—but she was already fading.

“Wait—please—”

“Choose love, Anna. Even when it’s hard.”

And I woke.

The clearing was silent. My body ached with the weight of the vision. My heart thudded.

Then I felt him.

The mate bond was a lightning bolt in my chest.

I turned.

And there he was.

“Anna,” Richard breathed.

His hair was wild, his eyes rimmed red like he hadn’t slept. He dropped to his knees in front of me and cupped my face as though touching something sacred.

“I thought I lost you.”

“You didn’t,” I whispered. “I found myself.”

Tears welled in his eyes, and he pressed his forehead to mine. “You’ve changed…”

I nodded. “So have you.”

His lips met mine in a kiss that was less about passion and more about home. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me close, grounding me in him. My fingers fisted in his shirt as I kissed him back, fierce and hungry.

I needed him. Every part of me screamed for him.

He pulled back just enough to look at me. “Are you sure?”

Instead of answering, I pushed his jacket from his shoulders and pressed my mouth to his neck. “I want you.”

That was all it took.

He growled low in his throat and lifted me effortlessly into his arms, laying me down in the soft moss. His hands traced the new curves of my power-soaked body as if memorizing every change.

When he entered me, it wasn’t just physical.

It was everything.

Our bond snapped into place like lightning between souls. I gasped his name as he moved inside me, each thrust setting my skin aflame with need, with love, with belonging.

He worshiped me—every inch, every sound, every sigh.

And I gave myself to him with every breath.

When I shattered in his arms, it was with a cry that echoed through the trees, followed seconds later by his groan as he buried himself in me, pulsing with heat and reverence.

He collapsed beside me, pulling me into his chest. His hand smoothed my hair.

“I love you,” he said into the hush. “More than anything.”

I rested my hand over his heart. “I love you too.”

And for the first time in my life, I wasn’t afraid.

Chapter 11 – Richard

The engine purred low beneath us, the only sound competing with the wind threading through the open windows. I kept one hand on the wheel, the other resting gently on Anna's thigh. Her fingers were intertwined with mine, but her gaze was distant—fixed on something only she could see.

She’d barely spoken since the forest.

I didn’t blame her. She’d just ripped through silver like it was thread. Lit up like a damn star. Woke from a dream sent by the Moon Goddess herself.

She wasn’t the same girl I found bruised and broken in that dungeon.

No, Anna was something more now. Something ancient. Powerful. And I… I didn’t know how to protect her from what came next.

"What did she say again?" I asked, gently, not wanting to break the silence but needing to understand. "The Moon Goddess. In the dream."

Anna turned her head, her eyes shadowed by memory. "She said I wasn’t hidden to protect me, but to protect them. She didn’t say who. She showed me my mother… crying. A crown buried in snow. Fire floating on water."

I frowned. "That sounds like a riddle. Or a prophecy."

Anna nodded. "She also said there was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. That he would smile as he cuts. That he waits at the gate of my future."

A chill slid down my spine.

The steering wheel creaked beneath my tightening grip. “He smiles as he cuts?” I repeated, my voice low, dark. “That’s not a warning. That’s a threat.”

“She said the wolf wouldn’t come with teeth,” Anna whispered. “He’ll come with trust.”

Her words hung in the air like frost. I slowed the truck slightly, glancing at her. The wind tousled strands of her hair, and the setting sun painted gold across her cheeks—but none of it could mask the unease riding her features. Something had shifted in her since she woke up. She was still Anna… but older, wiser somehow. Like she carried not just her own memories now, but generations of power behind her eyes.

“You think he’s already close?” I asked.

Her nod was almost imperceptible. “I feel him. Watching.”

That was enough for my wolf to growl under the surface. Protect. Destroy. Eliminate threats. The instincts were strong, primal. But this wasn’t a battle I could win with claws or teeth. This was something deeper. Older.

The Moon Goddess didn’t just bless her—she warned her.

And if Anna was the gate… then this wolf was already trying to slip through.

We drove in silence for a while after that, the road winding through forest-lined hills. The trees blurred by