Aria woke to the scent of sage, pine, and something older earth soaked in moonlight. She was no longer in the forest, nor lying in the mud where she'd fallen. Soft furs lined the bed beneath her, and stone walls enclosed the circular room. Flickering candles lit, carvings etched into the walls, wolves dancing beneath the moon, eyes glowing with power.She tried to sit up but groaned, every muscle aching.
"Easy," came a voice.
Yelena stood beside her, pouring something thick and green into a wooden bowl. Her silver eyes shimmered, the same color as the full moon. Though old in presence, her face was unlined, her skin smooth. Power radiated off her like heat from a fire.
"What… where am I?" Aria rasped.
"The Lunar Temple," Yelena replied, handing her the bowl. "Drink this. It will ease the pain."Aria hesitated but drank. It was bitter, but a strange warmth spread through her chest."You should have died," Yelena said calmly, sitting at the foot of the bed. "Your mate severed the bond in the harshest way possible. Most wolves don't survive that kind of rejection."Aria's jaw tightened. "I was stronger than he thought."
"Yes," Yelena nodded. "Because your blood is not ordinary."
"What do you mean?"
Yelena stood and gestured for her to follow. Aria moved slowly, her limbs heavy, but she forced herself to rise.They entered a chamber beneath the main temple, where an ancient mural stretched across the stone wall. It showed a majestic she-wolf surrounded by stars, standing tall above packs of wolves kneeling in reverence. In the center of her chest, a radiant marked half sun, half moon."The First Luna," Yelena said softly. "Queen Seluna. She wasn't just the Alpha's mate. She ruled as a sovereign, chosen by the Moon itself. She wielded magic that kept the packs united."
Aria's breath caught. "This is real?"
Yelena's gaze fixed on her. "You are her blood. A direct descendant. That's why the rejection didn't kill you. Why did your magic, though dormant, surge when you were cast out."I don't have magic, Aria whispered. I've never done anything like this."You will," Yelena said. Your wolf is awakening. The betrayal triggered it. You just need to remember who you are.Aria clenched her fists. "I was the Luna of a pack that threw me away.""No," Yelena corrected. You were mated to an Alpha. That does not make you a Luna. A true Luna does not serve at a male's side, she walks beside him, or above.That struck something deep inside her. A truth she'd always known but buried under tradition and titles.
"Why me?" she asked. "Why now?"
"Because the world is changing," Yelena said. The packs have grown weak under male-dominated rule. The Moon's voice grows distant, But in you, her light stirs again.Aria stared at the mural, her chest tightening with something fierce and unfamiliar.Hope.But I don't want to lead, she whispered. "I just want revenge.''Yelena's lips curved slightly. "Then start there Train, Learn, Grow stronger than anyone has ever allowed you to be. Then choose: vengeance or rebirth."The next months passed in grueling repetition.
Yelena taught her how to read the moon's pull, how to awaken her Luna gifts healing, persuasion, control over the elements tied to the night.Aria trained from dawn to dusk. She ran through forests barefoot, hunted with only her instincts, and fought wolves made of smoke and magic in the temple's deepest chambers. She broke down, rebuilt herself, and learned to listen and not just to Yelena, but to the wolf within her.And slowly, Aria changed,gone was the soft spoken, obedient Luna. In her place rose a woman with sharp eyes, a quick mind, and a fire that refused to die.One night, she stood under the full moon, eyes closed, arms outstretched. Energy coursed through her like lightning, dancing across her skin.
"Luna magic isn't given," Yelena said behind her. "It's claimed. Call it."
Aria opened her eyes. "By what right?"
"By birth. By betrayal. By blood."
She stepped forward and raised her voice to the sky."I am Aria Nightwind. Luna of the old blood. Abandoned, but not broken. I call upon the Moon to awaken what is mine."The moon pulsed. A beam of light struck her chest, and her wolf howled within her loud, proud, and full of power.A crescent-shaped mark glowed on her collarbone. Her magic was no longer dormant.
It was alive.
Later that night, Yelena handed her a bundle wrapped in cloth.You're ready.Aria unwrapped it to find a silver cloak, stitched with runes in lunar thread, and a dagger engraved with her family crest.She held the blade tight. "I'm going back."Yelena nodded. "Good. But remember, vengeance is only the first step. What you do after will define your reign."Aria turned to the woods beyond the temple. The wind whispered her name.Dark Moon Pack had forgotten her.It was time to remind them who she really was.