Chapter 13 - Author's Note

📣 Author's Note – RUN & SHOUTOUT CHALLENGE! 🐺✨

Hey Moonborn Pack!

We've just hit 1,000 readers, and I honestly can't thank you all enough. Whether you've been here from Chapter 1 or you're just joining Rory's journey, you're the reason this story keeps growing. 💛

To celebrate this milestone, I'm launching a RUN & SHOUTOUT CHALLENGE! 🎉

Here's the deal:

👉 The first 5 commenters this week will get a character named after them in an upcoming chapter!

It could be a mysterious ally, a rival, a rebel wolf, or maybe even someone from the Academy 👀

So if you're reading and enjoying the story, now's the perfect time to leave a comment—even a small one helps this book rise, grow, and howl louder in the rankings. 🐾

Tell me what you think of Rory's powers, the Moonborn reveal, or who you trust (or don't!). Let's talk. Let's build this story together.

— With all my moonlight,

Your author 🖤

Sandra_Otuah_Bosu❤️❤️❤️

***

Rory

It wasn't her.

The woman who said she was my mother. The one with the gentle voice and careful eyes, the one who brushed my hair behind my ear like she'd done it a thousand times before—that wasn't my mom.

I hadn't said anything. Not out loud. Not to Aerie. Not to Luna or River or Dad.

But I knew.

I don't even know how. Just—something inside me cracked open when I looked in her eyes. Too steady. Too perfect. Too wrong.

And now I couldn't un-know it. Couldn't un-feel it.

I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the duffel bag like it was a bomb waiting to explode. I hadn't touched it yet.

Aerie was quiet inside my head. That's not normal. Usually, he'd be loud—snarking at me for stalling or making jokes to break the tension. But now? Nothing. Just the low hum of his presence, waiting with me in the silence.

Maybe even he didn't know what to say.

I blinked hard and looked around my room—the curling posters, the half-burnt candle, the socks I never put away.

I thought I'd be relieved to leave. I thought once I knew I was a werewolf—some chosen whatever—I'd be ready to get the hell out of here.

But now? Now all I want is to freeze time, rewind to before everything shattered.

If she's not my real mom... then who is?

Are my real parents even alive?

Or are they gone?

Did someone kill them?

Will I be okay without the academy?

What am I walking into?

Can I trust any of this?

The questions piled up inside me, heavy and suffocating.

Packing felt like moving through molasses.

Hoodie. Toothbrush. Socks.

Last, my sketchbook—the one with frayed edges, where I'd drawn her face once. The fake mom's face.

Before I knew.

I shoved it deep into the bag like burying the memory would erase it.

A soft knock startled me.

Luna stood at the door, her messy braids framing a tired face.

"Need help?" she asked quietly.

I shook my head. "No. I'm okay."

She stepped in anyway, barefoot and careful.

"You've barely left your room since yesterday."

"I know."

"I'm not judging," she said softly, perching on my desk. "But you have to know... we didn't want this for you."

I looked at her, catching the flicker of regret in her eyes.

"We gave up being werewolves. All of us. For you."

The weight of her words slammed into me.

"They left the pack. Their powers. Everything. Because they wanted me safe."

It was a truth I hadn't fully faced before.

"I never asked."

"You didn't have to," Luna said gently. "We chose. To protect you. But it doesn't mean it's easy."

River slid onto the bed, arms crossed, her eyes sharp but tired.

"We're angry you didn't tell us what was happening."

"Because you were trying to protect me," I said quietly.

"We are," Luna said, "but hiding it made it worse."

"I didn't even understand what was real."

"I know," River said. "But now you have to leave. And we have to trust you."

I nodded, swallowing the panic rising in my chest.

Then the words came out before I could stop them.

"I'm sorry," I said, voice cracking. "For everything. For making you give up what you were... who you were. For all the sacrifices you made just to keep me safe."

Luna's eyes softened. "We don't regret it."

River shrugged, but there was a softness in her voice. "You're family. You're worth it."

I let out a shaky breath, the knot in my chest loosening just a little.

"Do you think you'll come back?"

"I don't know," I whispered.

"Whatever happens, you're not alone," Luna said, wrapping an arm around me.

I let myself lean into her, the weight of everything still pressing hard—but maybe, just a little lighter.

Downstairs, the house felt like it was holding its breath.

Dad was at the counter, sipping coffee like it could save him. River sat on the armrest of the couch, flipping through a magazine she didn't care about.

Mom—not my real mom, but the only one I'd ever known—stood by the sink. Her face looked calm. But her hands… her hands trembled.

I walked in with the bag slung over my shoulder like it didn't weigh a hundred pounds.

Nobody said anything.

Then Mom—fake-mom-but-maybe-still-mom—turned and whispered, "You packed snacks, right?"

I nodded.

And that was it. That was all she could say without breaking.

Dad walked over and gripped my shoulder. "You know how to find your way back if you need to."

"I think so."

"Good." His voice cracked just once.

River didn't move, but said without looking up, "This better not turn you into a tragic antihero."

"No promises."

Luna followed me out the door and pressed something folded into my palm.

"What is it?" I whispered.

"Open it when you're alone."

I nodded.

The car waiting at the curb wasn't one I recognized. No one stepped out. Just the engine running. Just the signal that it was time.

Time for what, I still didn't know.

I turned back to my family—my weird, broken, fake-but-real family—and swallowed everything I wanted to scream.

Then I opened the car door and stepped inside.

And didn't look back.