The forest did not sleep.
Luna felt it as she and Kael moved deeper into the trees, away from the clearing where Eamon and his wolves had vanished. Every branch snap echoed too loudly. Every shadow felt heavier than it should have been.
She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to steady the quiet ache spreading through her chest.
"You shouldn't have said that to him," Kael said at last.
"I know," Luna replied. "But I meant it."
Kael slowed and turned to face her. "Challenging the council, the alphas… it paints a target on you."
"There already is one," Luna said. "I can feel it."
The silver mark pulsed faintly, like a slow heartbeat.
They reached a small clearing near a stream. Moonlight filtered through the branches, pale and distant now that the Blood Moon had passed.
Kael gestured for her to sit. "We rest here."
Luna obeyed, lowering herself onto a smooth rock. The moment she stopped moving, exhaustion crashed into her.
Her hands trembled.
Kael noticed immediately. "You're shaking."
"I'm fine," she lied.
He crouched in front of her, his brow furrowed. "Luna."
She sighed. "Every time I use the power, something feels… missing."
Kael stiffened. "Missing how?"
She searched for the right words. "Like a memory slipping away. Or a piece of me going quiet."
Fear flickered across his face. "That's not supposed to happen."
"According to who?" Luna asked softly.
Kael did not answer.
She looked down at her hands. "When I destroyed that vampire, I didn't feel the moon rise. I didn't feel the forest breathe. It was just… empty."
The truth settled heavily between them.
"The council never told me this," Kael said slowly. "They talk about balance, not cost."
Luna gave a small, tired smile. "There's always a cost."
A sudden chill swept through the clearing.
The stream froze mid-flow, ice spreading unnaturally fast.
Kael sprang to his feet. "Get up."
Luna felt it before she saw it.
Not authority this time.
Judgment.
The air warped, folding in on itself. A single figure stepped forward, wrapped in pale light.
The Lunar Council woman.
But she looked different now. Sharper. Less human.
"You were warned," she said.
Luna stood, forcing her legs to steady. "I saved a life."
"And took one," the woman replied. "The moon remembers."
Kael growled. "She acted in defense."
"The moon does not weigh intent," the councilor said calmly. "Only consequence."
Luna's chest tightened. "Then why give me a choice at all?"
The woman studied her. "To see if you would choose restraint."
"And did I fail?" Luna asked.
Silence.
Then, softly, "No. But you came close."
The councilor raised her hand.
Luna gasped as pain sliced through her head. Images flashed. A warm laugh. A childhood memory of her mother brushing her hair. The sound of her father's voice telling her stories.
Gone.
She screamed, dropping to her knees.
Kael roared, lunging forward, but an invisible force slammed him back.
"Stop!" Luna cried. "Please!"
The pain faded as quickly as it came.
Luna lay gasping, tears streaming down her face.
The councilor lowered her hand. "A warning."
Luna's voice shook. "You took something."
"Yes," the woman said evenly. "So you remember the price."
Kael struggled to his feet, fury burning in his eyes. "You had no right."
"We have every right," the councilor replied. "You exist because of us."
Luna pushed herself upright, her expression hollow. "I don't remember my mother's face."
The councilor paused.
For the first time, uncertainty flickered across her features.
"Each time you kill using lunar authority," she said, more quietly, "the moon will take something from you."
Luna laughed weakly. "Then it's not balanced. It's punishment."
"Call it what you wish," the councilor said. "But the rule stands."
She began to fade.
"One more thing," she added. "If you continue on this path, you will outlive everyone you love."
Then she was gone.
The ice melted. The forest breathed again.
Kael rushed to Luna, pulling her into his arms. "I'm so sorry."
She clutched his shirt, shaking. "I can't remember her. I know she mattered. I know I loved her. But her face… it's blank."
Tears soaked into Kael's shoulder.
"She sacrificed herself for me," Luna whispered. "And the moon just erased her."
Kael held her tighter. "Then we change the rules."
Luna pulled back, meeting his eyes. "Can we?"
"We have to," he said. "Because I won't let you lose yourself piece by piece."
Luna looked up at the sky, at the distant moon that watched without mercy.
Her voice was steady, even as her heart broke.
"Then I will never kill again."
The silver mark dimmed.
Somewhere far above, the moon flickered.
And for the first time, it did not answer.