Two weeks after the Northern Territories delegation's visit, Luna found herself facing one of the most challenging medical situations of her career. A group of border patrol warriors had been ambushed by rogue wolves while investigating reports of territorial violations, and three of them had been brought to her clinic in critical condition.
The main medical facility was overwhelmed with other patients from a separate incident—a construction accident at the pack's new community center—so Luna's clinic had become the primary treatment site for the wounded warriors. Her small space was transformed into a makeshift trauma unit, with Dr. Moonwhisper and two other doctors assisting.
"Luna, we need you on Captain Rodriguez," Dr. Moonwhisper called out urgently. "He's losing too much blood, and the wounds aren't responding to conventional treatment."
Luna hurried to the examination table where the unconscious warrior lay. Captain Miguel Rodriguez was a respected member of the pack's security force, a family man with three young children. The gashes across his chest and arms were deep and jagged, inflicted by claws that had been deliberately poisoned with something that prevented normal werewolf healing.
"What kind of poison are we dealing with?" Luna asked, placing her hands carefully over the worst of the wounds.
"We're not sure," replied Dr. Hassan, the pack's toxicology specialist who had been called in to consult. "The blood work shows traces of wolfsbane, but there's something else mixed in. Something that's actively preventing his healing factor from engaging."
Luna closed her eyes and extended her senses into Captain Rodriguez's body. Immediately, she could feel the foreign substance coursing through his bloodstream like liquid darkness. It was more than poison—it felt malevolent, designed not just to harm but to corrupt the very essence of what made werewolves strong.
"This isn't just wolfsbane," she murmured, her hands beginning to glow with the soft silver light that had become her signature. "There's dark magic woven into this poison. Someone wanted to make sure these wounds would be fatal."
Dr. Moonwhisper looked up sharply. "Dark magic? Luna, are you certain?"
Luna nodded grimly, her concentration focused on the task at hand. She had encountered dark magic once before, during a case involving a cursed pack member, but nothing this sophisticated or vicious. Whoever had created this poison knew exactly how to target werewolf physiology.
"I can neutralize it," Luna said, though she could already feel the drain it would place on her own energy. "But I'll need to draw the corruption out directly. It's going to take everything I have."
"Luna, if this is as dangerous as you're saying—" Dr. Moonwhisper began.
"He'll die if I don't try," Luna interrupted, her hands already working to channel healing energy into the captain's body. "And if this poison is being used by rogue packs, Captain Rodriguez won't be the last victim."
What followed was the most intense healing session of Luna's career. She had to carefully identify each strand of dark magic woven through the poison, then use her own energy to unravel and neutralize it without damaging the captain's natural healing processes. It was like performing surgery with her mind and soul rather than her hands.
The process took nearly two hours, during which Luna remained completely focused on the intricate work of separating poison from blood, corruption from life force. She was dimly aware of the other doctors monitoring her vital signs and the captain's, of Seraphina arriving to help coordinate the chaos, of worried family members gathering in the waiting area.
Finally, as the last traces of dark magic were purged from Captain Rodriguez's system, Luna felt his natural healing begin to engage. The wounds started closing, the blood loss stopped, and his vital signs stabilized.
Luna swayed on her feet as the healing concluded, exhausted beyond anything she had ever experienced. Dr. Moonwhisper caught her before she could collapse, helping her to a chair as the other doctors took over monitoring the captain's recovery.
"That was incredible," Dr. Hassan said in amazement, checking the captain's blood work. "The poison is completely gone, and his healing factor is back to normal levels. I've never seen anything like it."
"Neither have I," came a new voice from the clinic's entrance.
Luna looked up through her exhaustion to see Alpha Marcus Stoneheart standing in the doorway, flanked by two of his senior council members. He was staring at her with an expression of wonder and something that might have been awe.
"Alpha," Dr. Moonwhisper said formally, rising to greet him. "Captain Rodriguez is stable now, thanks to Dr. Nightwood's intervention."
Marcus nodded acknowledgment to Dr. Moonwhisper, but his eyes never left Luna. "Dr. Nightwood, what you just did... I watched the entire procedure. That level of healing ability, the way you identified and neutralized dark magic... it's extraordinary."
Luna straightened in her chair despite her exhaustion. Three years ago, praise from Marcus would have meant everything to her. Now, it felt oddly hollow, like recognition that came far too late to matter.
"I was doing my job, Alpha," she replied politely but coolly. "Captain Rodriguez is a valued member of our pack. I'm glad I could help."
"Luna," Marcus said, and there was something almost pleading in his voice, "could we speak privately? About what just happened, about your abilities—"
"I'm afraid that's not possible right now," Luna interrupted firmly. "I have two other patients to check on, and then I need to rest. This type of healing takes a significant toll."
Marcus looked like he wanted to argue, but Dr. Moonwhisper stepped smoothly between them. "The Alpha is right to be concerned about the implications of this attack," she said diplomatically. "Perhaps we could schedule a proper debriefing once Dr. Nightwood has recovered from her efforts."
"Of course," Marcus agreed, though his disappointment was obvious. "Luna—Dr. Nightwood—thank you. Captain Rodriguez owes you his life."
After Marcus and his entourage left, Luna focused on checking her other two patients. Both were stable and healing normally—their injuries had been severe but without the dark magic component that had made Captain Rodriguez's case so dangerous.
"You should go home and rest," Dr. Moonwhisper advised as Luna finished updating the patient charts. "You've done more than enough for one day."
Luna nodded wearily, gathering her things and preparing to leave. But as she reached the clinic's exit, she found Seraphina waiting for her with a concerned expression and a steaming cup of her favorite recovery tea.
"Thought you might need this," Seraphina said, falling into step beside Luna as they walked toward her apartment. "That was the most intense healing I've ever seen you perform. How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been hit by a truck," Luna admitted, sipping the tea gratefully. "Sera, that poison... it was deliberately crafted to kill werewolves. Someone put a lot of time and magical knowledge into creating something that vicious."
"Which means this wasn't a random rogue attack," Seraphina observed grimly. "Someone is targeting our pack specifically."
Luna nodded, too tired to analyze all the implications but disturbed by what the attack might mean for their community's safety. As they reached her apartment building, Seraphina helped her up the stairs to her door.
"Luna, I have to ask," Seraphina said carefully. "Did Marcus's reaction today... did it affect you at all? Seeing him look at you like that?"
Luna considered the question honestly. Three years ago, having Marcus witness her abilities and show such obvious admiration would have felt like vindication. Now, it mostly just felt uncomfortable.
"It felt like too little, too late," she said finally. "He's seeing what I can do now, but he didn't care enough to see who I was then. I'm not the same person he rejected, Sera. And I don't need his approval anymore."
Seraphina smiled with obvious relief. "Good. Because you deserve someone who sees your worth from the beginning, not someone who only notices when you've become too impressive to ignore."
That night, Luna fell into an exhausted sleep filled with strange dreams. She found herself in a vast medical facility unlike anything she had ever seen, working alongside healers whose abilities rivaled her own. In the dream, she felt a sense of belonging and purpose that went beyond anything she had experienced at Moonridge.
When she woke the next morning, the Northern Territories folder was the first thing she saw on her nightstand. She had been reading through it each night, studying the research opportunities and the detailed descriptions of cases that required supernatural healing intervention.
The attack on Captain Rodriguez had shown her something important—her abilities were still growing, still evolving, and the challenges she was facing were becoming more complex. The dark magic poison had pushed her skills to their limit, and she had barely managed to neutralize it in time.
What would happen when she encountered something even more dangerous? What if the next victim couldn't wait for her to figure out a solution through trial and error?
For the first time since receiving the offer, Luna began to seriously consider that leaving Moonridge might not be abandonment—it might be necessity. If her abilities were meant to help people on a larger scale, if there were threats like dark magic that required specialized knowledge to combat, then maybe her destiny lay beyond the borders of her home pack.
The thought was terrifying and liberating in equal measure. But as Luna prepared for another day at the clinic, she realized that for the first time in three years, she was ready to be afraid of something other than heartbreak.