WHEN THE PAST HUNTS YOU
The morning after the storm, Luna woke to Kael sitting on the edge of the cliff outside his den. The sky behind him was streaked with orange and violet, a sunrise so violent in color it looked like the heavens were burning. She pulled a cloak around her shoulders and joined him, the warmth of the fire still clinging to her skin.
For a moment, they didn't speak.
"I used to think dawn was a curse," she murmured. "Another day of pretending."
Kael turned his head slightly. "And now?"
"Now it feels like something waiting to be written."
He nodded, and they sat in silence until the sun fully broke the horizon.
That day was supposed to be peaceful. A foraging trip. A lesson in carving sigils into bark for protection. But Luna's wolf growled low as they reached the river.
"We're not alone."
Kael stiffened.
From the trees, three wolves emerged—rogues by scent, but not by bearing. They were too clean, too coordinated. Luna knew immediately: these were scouts.
From Silvercrest.
She stepped forward before Kael could speak.
"I know you," she said to the one in the center. "You were one of Asher's guards."
He didn't flinch.
"You need to come home," he said.
"No," she replied. "I don't."
"The Alpha is dying. Your father has called for you."
Luna's heart lurched. "What?"
"They need a Luna. Now."
Kael growled beside her, stepping closer. "She's not your property."
The guard looked at him with disgust. "She's not yours either."
Luna raised a hand. "Enough."
Her voice rang with authority she hadn't used in months.
"I will return," she said, "on my terms."
The guards hesitated, then bowed. Not to her as a Luna—but as something else. Something stronger.
They left in silence.
Kael turned to her, eyes unreadable. "Are you going back?"
She stared at the river. At the reflection of the woman she had become.
"Yes," she said. "But not as their broken daughter."
He didn't try to stop her. "Then I go with you."
The return to Silvercrest was not triumphant. It was like walking into a mausoleum.
The pack house was quiet. The training grounds—once filled with laughter and steel—were now just dust. Her mother embraced her like a woman barely holding on. Her father lay in bed, eyes sunken, spirit flickering like a dying candle.
She knelt beside him. He opened his eyes, and for a moment, the Alpha returned.
"My Luna," he rasped.
"I'm here."
"You came back stronger than I hoped."
Tears threatened. She held his hand.
"There's something you need to know," he whispered. "The rejection... it wasn't fate. It was... sabotage."
"What do you mean?"
He looked past her.
Then he died.
The funeral was held the next day.
And the lies began to unravel.
Asher stood in the shadows of the ceremony. Not as Beta. Not even as a warrior. Just a ghost of a man who once held her heart.
After the rites, he approached.
"I didn't want to do it," he said.
She stared at him. "Then why did you?"
"They threatened my sister. The Council. They said if I took you as mate, they'd destroy us both. Your father knew. He agreed."
Luna's vision blurred.
He continued, "I was weak. I thought I was protecting you."
She shook her head slowly. "You weren't saving me. You were preserving them."
He had no answer.
She turned and walked away. Toward Kael. Toward the future.
A week later, the Council tried to install a new Alpha. A puppet. An outsider.
Luna stood before them in the old hall. Her voice didn't shake.
"I invoke rite of the Luna Ascension."
Gasps filled the room.
"That hasn't been used in—"
"Centuries," she finished. "I know. But I am of royal blood. And I have passed through exile. Pain. Rebirth. I am Luna by birthright, and Alpha by merit."
Kael stood behind her, silent but powerful.
One Council member laughed. "And who supports this claim?"
The doors opened.
Wolves poured in. Rogues. Healers. Forgotten tribes. Wolves who had vanished from the records.
And every single one bowed.
Not to a crown.
To a legacy.
The Council relented.
She was named Alpha-Luna.
Her mate by her side.
The pack reborn.
And in the weeks that followed, Luna Morgan began building a new world.
One not built on obedience.
But on truth.