The night deepened around Ever night as Julia stepped out of the small college library, hugging her books close to her chest. It was late—later than she intended. The moon sat heavy in the sky, a glowing, watchful eye that made her wolf stir restlessly beneath her skin.
Her boots clicked softly against the path, echoing in the quiet. The small town slept early, but the woods surrounding the streets never did. Crickets sang; branches rustled; somewhere far off, a wolf howled into the silver night.
Julia inhaled the cool air. Her senses sharpened, expanding outward like invisible threads. She could smell pine, damp earth, and faintly—very faintly—the scent of a familiar Alpha.
Alan.The bond tugged, gentle but persistent, brushing against her heart with a mix of warmth and warning.
"Not tonight," she whispered to herself, shaking her head. The connection was always strongest on full moons. It made her nervous—made her wolf too aware, too alert, too hungry for someone she wasn't ready to accept.
But tonight, something else moved beneath the surface of her instincts. A prickling. A signal. A warning.
Danger.
Julia slowed, her eyes narrowing as she reached the narrow lane leading toward the forest shortcut. Her wolf bristled, ears perking inwardly, claws pressing beneath her fingertips though she remained in human form.
A sound—small, frightened.A whimper.
Her brows drew together. Then she heard it clearly—the harsh laughter of grown men, the shifting of feet, the sharp intake of breath from someone small.
Julia's heart slammed against her ribs.
Without thinking, she dropped her books and bolted.
The smell hit her first—sweat, alcohol, aggression—and then she saw them. Three hulking men cornering a tiny girl who couldn't have been older than ten. The child shook violently, her thin arms trying to cover her head while one of the men grabbed her wrist.
"You little brat," he hissed. "Think you can hide? Think we won't find you?"
Julia's blood boiled. A roar threatened to tear from her throat. Every instinct inside her—the wolf, the protector, the Luna she didn't yet know she would become—flared like wildfire.
"Hey!" she shouted, her voice slicing through the night. "Let her go!"
The men whipped around. The tallest sneered. "Look what we have here, boys. Another one."
Julia didn't wait for them to come closer.
She grabbed the long wooden stick lying by the roadside—probably fallen from a fence—and tightened her grip. Her heart pounded, breath fast, but her mind locked into focus. Her wolf surged, muscles tightening, senses sharpening.
"Step away from her," she warned, her voice deeper, edged with a growl she couldn't hide.
The men laughed.
Then one lunged.
Julia swung the stick with full force—fueled by panic, instinct, and the need to protect. Time stretched thin. Her eyes locked on the attacker, her aim meant for his arm—
—but the girl moved.
A blur of small motion. A shift. A step she wasn't supposed to take.
The stick connected with a sickening crack.
Not with the man.But with the girl.
The child let out a strangled cry before collapsing to the ground.
Julia's entire world stopped.
"No. No, no, no…" She dropped the stick, falling to her knees beside the girl. "Please, open your eyes. Please—"
The child didn't move.
The hooligans, realizing trouble was bigger than they wanted, cursed under their breath and scattered into the trees.
Julia didn't even glance at them.
Her trembling hands hovered uselessly over the unconscious girl's shoulder. She didn't dare touch her. Tears blurred her vision.
"I didn't mean to… I was trying to help…"
Her voice cracked.
A growl broke through the forest.Deep. Dangerous. Alpha-deep.
Julia froze.
The scent hit her first: power, authority, fury simmering hot enough to burn the night itself.
Alan.
He emerged from the trees like a creature carved from shadow and moonlight. His amber eyes glowed—literally glowed—with rage and fear. His wolf was right beneath the surface, barely restrained.
And then he saw the small body on the ground.
His world stopped.Just as hers had.
"Mary…" His voice shattered. He dropped to his knees, lifting the unconscious girl—his sister—into his arms.
Julia's breath hitched.
Mary.The innocent child she had been trying to save.The one she had struck.
Alan's trembling fingers brushed Mary's hair back. His entire body shook with something that made the air vibrate.
Then his eyes slowly, dangerously, lifted to Julia.
"Explain," he growled, voice deepened by his wolf, vibrating with raw fury.
Julia's own wolf whimpered inside her. Her throat tightened painfully.
"I—I didn't mean to. Alan, listen to me, please. Some men were attacking her. I was trying to protect her, I swear—"
But Alan stood.And his fury rose like a storm.
"You hurt her."His voice dropped to a deadly whisper."You touched my sister."
"I didn't mean to," she pleaded, stepping forward. "Please just—"
"Don't take another step," he snarled. The ground itself seemed to vibrate. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"
His aura exploded outward—Alpha dominance so sharp it stole her breath. Julia staggered back, knees nearly buckling.
She reached out instinctively. "Alan, she needs help. Let me—"
"Touch her," he growled, "and I'll break your hands."
Julia recoiled as though burned.
Alan's wolf was raging. His scent was fury and heartbreak blended into something animalistic. Something terrifying. His jaw clenched so tight she thought it might crack.
"You were supposed to be her Luna," he whispered, voice shaking. "Her protector. My mate."
Julia's heart cracked at the pain in his tone.
"Alan, please. I—"
"Enough."The word thundered.The air stilled.
He cradled Mary closer, his arms trembling. His expression hardened into stone, into something colder than she had ever seen in him.
"I swear to the moon, Julia," he said, voice low, deadly calm, "I will make you feel every ounce of the pain you caused tonight."
Tears streamed down her cheeks. "Alan, please—"
"You're finished," he spat. "Your clan. Your family. Your life."
Julia's stomach dropped.
"Don't say that," she whispered. "You know I would never hurt her."
But Alan had already turned.His wolf surged beneath his skin.His mind closed off.
His heartbreak had already turned to vengeance.
He walked away with Mary in his arms, his aura ripping through the air like a blade. The shadows swallowed him whole.
Julia remained frozen, the moon staring down at her like a judge.
Her hands trembled.Her wolf cried inside her chest.Her heart felt like it had collapsed into dust.
Her fate as a Luna…just died.
And something darker began to rise in its place.