That night, sleep dragged me down like a heavy stone.
At first, it was peaceful. I drifted through familiar dreams—walking the woods behind the house, feeling the grass under my bare feet. The trees whispered my name.
Luciana... Luciana...
But the dream shifted. The trees twisted into black shapes. The ground cracked open. The air grew heavy, thick, almost too thick to breathe.
I tried to turn back, to wake up, but my body would not obey.
A shadow appeared ahead of me. I couldn't see a face, only a shape, cloaked in a pale, shifting light.
Fear gripped me, but I couldn't run.
The shadow spoke—not with a mouth, but with a voice that filled my head.
"You must find her."
The voice was soft but strong.
It was like a river pulling me forward.
"Find who?" I tried to say. But no sound came from my mouth.
Still, somehow, the shadow heard me.
"Your mother.
My heart pounded.
My mother.
The woman who had left us.
The woman Father barely spoke of except with bitterness.
"But why?" I whispered, though the words came out silent.
"Your time is running out."
The trees bent inward, the air pressing tighter against my skin. I struggled to breathe.
"Without her, you will lose the wolf inside you."
I gasped, clutching my chest. "No," I mouthed.
The wolf inside me—small and sleeping now, but growing—was everything. It was who I was supposed to become.
Without it, what would I be?
Nothing but a hollow human.
Empty. Powerless. Forgotten.
The shadow moved closer.
"She holds the key. Only with her can you complete the bond. Only with her can you remain what you were born to be."
I tried to scream. To beg for more answers. But my throat locked up.
The ground beneath me started to crumble, chunks of it falling away into a bottomless pit. I backed away, but the earth gave way under my feet.
"Wait!" I tried to cry out.
The shadow reached toward me as I fell.
"Find her before the final moon. Or be lost forever."
The words echoed through the dark as I tumbled into nothingness.
I woke up with a gasp, my hands clutching the blanket, my body drenched in cold sweat.
The room was dark except for a sliver of moonlight spilling through the window.
For a moment, I just sat there, listening to my own ragged breathing.
A dream, I told myself. Just a dream.
But deep inside, I knew it wasn't.
It had been more than that.
A warning.
I pushed the blanket off and swung my legs out of bed. My feet hit the cold floor. I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering.
"Mother," I whispered.
The word felt strange on my tongue.
Distant.
Broken.
I barely remembered her.
A laugh like bells.
Soft hands brushing my hair.
A song sung in a language I never learned.
Then nothing.
Only Father's cold explanations—that she had run, that she had left us behind because she was weak, or selfish, or afraid.
But what if that wasn't the full story?
What if there was more?
I thought about the shadow's voice. About the warning. About the final moon.
What did that mean?
How long did I have?
A knock at the door startled me. I pulled on my robe and opened it a crack.
Mayla stood there, rubbing her eyes.
"Are you okay?" she mumbled. "I heard you."
I forced a smile. "Bad dream."
She nodded, yawning. "You can go sleep in father's room if you want. So, it won't be only you in a room."
"Thanks," I said. "But I'm alright."
She gave me a sleepy look before padding back down the hall.
I shut the door gently and leaned against it.
I couldn't tell anyone. Not yet.
Not Father.
Not even Mayla.
They would never believe me. They would say it was stress, or fear, or imagination.
But deep down, I knew.
The countdown had begun.
And somehow, I had to find her.
My mother.
Aira.
The next morning, the dream clung to me like a second skin.
At breakfast, I barely touched my food. The dining room buzzed with quiet conversation, but it felt far away.
Father noticed.
"You're quiet today," he said, peering at me over his cup.
"I'm fine," I lied.
He studied me for a moment, his forehead creased. "If this is about yesterday, don't let it weigh on you."
"I know," I said.
But it wasn't about the Alphas. Not anymore.
Later, after the plates were cleared and Mayla dragged me outside to help with the garden, I found myself staring at the sky.
The moon would be full again soon.
Was that the final moon?
Or did I have longer?
I had no idea.
"You're thinking too hard," Mayla said, throwing a handful of seeds into the dirt.
"Maybe," I said.
"You always think too much," she teased.
I smiled weakly. Normally, her teasing would pull me out of my head. Not today.
After the garden, I went for a walk. Alone.
The woods behind Thornridge were quiet, but alive with the smell of pine and damp earth. I breathed it in, trying to steady my racing thoughts.
I needed a plan.
But where would I even start?
I didn't know where my mother was.
I didn't know how to find her.
I kicked a stone across the path.
Maybe I could find someone who did.
A Seer, maybe.
Someone who could read the threads of fate and guide me.
There was one who lived on the far edge of Thornridge—an old woman named Gresha.
People said she was half-crazy, half-wise.
Maybe she could help me.
Or maybe I was truly going crazy myself.
I sank down onto a fallen log and buried my face in my hands.
Everything was changing too fast.
I was supposed to be finding a mate, becoming a Luna, building a new life.
Instead, I was chasing shadows and dreams.
"Mother," I whispered again, my voice cracking.
I didn't even know if she wanted to be found.
Maybe she hated me. Maybe she had forgotten me.
But I couldn't risk it.
The voice in the dream had been clear.
Without her, I would lose everything.
My wolf.
My destiny.
Myself.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
I couldn't fail.
Not this time.