Celeste's eyes flew open. The cabin ceiling spun above her as pictures from her dream still burned in her mind. A woman with her face, running through dark halls. Blood on marble floors. A baby crying.
"You're awake." Elena pressed a cool cloth to Celeste's face. "You've been out for hours."
Celeste tried to sit up, memories rushing back. The escape. The forest. Orion and Lucien finding them. "What happened? Where are they?" She looked wildly around the small home.
"Gone, for now." Elena helped her sit up. "The auburn-haired man—Lucien—convinced Orion to leave. Said he would help track you himself."
"Why would he do that?"
Elena's face darkened. "Lucien Valehart has his own plans for you. Plans I don't trust."
Outside, thunder boomed. Rain pattered against the roof. "Perfect," Elena muttered. "The storm will wash away any remaining scent."
Celeste grabbed Elena's arm. "You said my mother was killed. Tell me everything."
"Not yet. You're still weak."
"I need to know!" Celeste's voice cracked. The lantern on the table flared suddenly, its flame shooting up. Both women stared at it in shock.
"Your power responds to your emotions," Elena whispered. "You must learn control."
"Then teach me," Celeste ordered. "What am I?"
Elena sighed. "You are the last of the Moon Blessed. A bloodline the Shadow Council has hunted for ages." The words sparked another flash in Celeste's mind—a circle of hooded figures, a woman screaming, a silver knife.
"I see things," Celeste gasped. "Visions. Are they real?"
"Memories," Elena corrected. "Your mother's memories, passed to you through blood."
Rain hammered harder on the roof as Elena described. The Moon Blessed could see things others couldn't—the past, sometimes the future. They could bend things to their will. And they were the only ones who could destroy the Shadow Council.
"That's why they've watched you since birth," Elena said. "Why they made sure you were kept hidden, weak, and ignorant of your power."
"And Seraphina?" Celeste asked. "Was she Moon Blessed too?"
"No. Only one child per family carries the gift." Elena paused. "I think Seraphina found what you were. Maybe she was trying to protect you... or use you."
A crack of lightning lit the cabin. In that flash, Celeste saw someone watching through the window—a man with amber eyes. He was gone when she blinked.
"What is it?" Elena asked, following her eyes.
"Nothing," Celeste lied. "Just jumpy."
---
Miles away, Lyra crouched behind bushes, watching guards walk the Nightshade estate. She had escaped during the chaos of Celeste's breakout, getting away while everyone focused on the bigger prize. Now she needed proof of Celeste's innocence.
Rain drenched her as she waited for the guard shift. Just as they changed posts, she darted across the open grass and through the kitchen door. The house was eerily quiet. Most of the pack had joined the hunt for Celeste.
Lyra crept up the maids' stairs to Seraphina's room. Yellow tape marked the door—a crime scene. Lyra slipped under it. She searched drawers, looked under the bed, checked behind paintings. Nothing seemed odd until she noticed the floorboard under the rug—slightly raised, as if often moved.
Lyra pried it up and found a small leather book. Seraphina's diary. She flipped through pages, skimming notes, until words jumped out at her: "Shadow Council meeting tonight. Must convince them C is not a threat."
Footsteps in the hall made Lyra freeze. She stuffed the book into her pocket and dove into the closet just as the door opened.
"I tell you, Magnus, we must find her before she fully awakens." It was Harold Nightshade, Celeste's father.
"My son will hunt her down," another voice replied. Alpha Magnus Blackwood. "But I'm more concerned about the traitor who helped her escape."
"Could it be the same person who left the note in her cell?" Harold asked.
"Perhaps. But we have bigger problems. The Shadow Council is sending officials. They're not happy about this... situation."
Lyra held her breath as the men moved around the room. "If they discover we've been hiding a Moon Blessed all these years..."
Magnus didn't finish. "It wasn't my choice," Harold snapped. "Her mother insisted. Said Celeste would be safer if no one knew what she was."
"Well, her mother is dead. And now we all might pay the price."
The men left, their voices fading down the hall. Lyra waited five minutes before slipping out. She had to find Celeste.
---
In his father's study, Orion paced like a caged animal. "Sit down," Magnus ordered. "Your restlessness changes nothing."
"She was right there, and I let her go."
"Because Lucien convinced you to. That should tell you something."
Orion stopped walking. "What do you know about him?"
"Enough to be worried. The Valeharts have always had their own plan."
The door burst open. A guard entered, pulling a struggling girl. "Found this one trying to leave the grounds," he stated. "She had this." He tossed Seraphina's book onto the desk.
Lyra glared at Orion. "Your mate was innocent. Seraphina was working with the Shadow Council."
Magnus snatched up the diary. "Take her to the dungeons."
"Wait!" Lyra shouted as they dragged her away. "Ask yourself why Seraphina met someone in the yard that night! Ask who really had something to hide!"
The door slammed behind her. Magnus turned to Orion. "Find Celeste Nightshade. Find her before Lucien does."
"Why? What aren't you telling me?" Orion demanded.
"If she is what I fear, and if Lucien gets to her first..." Magnus looked away. "The world as we know it will end."
---
Deep in the forest, Celeste jerked awake from another image. This one clearer than before—a room with strange symbols carved into the walls, her mother crying, and a baby being marked with blood.
"They're getting stronger," Elena noticed from her chair by the fire.
"I saw a hidden room," Celeste whispered.
"With strange writing."
Elena stiffened. "The Chamber of Moons. It's been lost for decades."
A soft knock at the door made them both jump. "Were you expecting someone?" Celeste whispered.
Elena shook her head, taking a knife from the table. The door swung open before they could reach it. A man with red hair and amber eyes stepped inside, rain dripping from his coat.
"Lucien Valehart," Elena hissed.
He ignored her, his eyes fixed on Celeste. "I've waited a long time to meet you, Moon Blessed."
"How did you find us?" Celeste demanded.
Lucien smiled. "I never lost you. I've been watching you your entire life." He reached into his coat and pulled out a small wooden box made with the same symbols from Celeste's vision. "Your mother wanted you to have this when you were ready." He held it out. "Inside is the truth about who you are—and who really killed your sister."
---