The forest did not sleep.
Moonlight bled through the trees as shadows moved between trunks too many, too coordinated to be rogues. Kael stood at the edge of the clearing his senses stretched outward, every instinct alert.
"They're close," he said quietly.
Maria stepped beside him, her heart steady despite the tension in the air. She could feel them now wolves pressing against the borders of Kael's territory, testing, probing.
"How many?" she asked.
"Enough to make a point," Kael replied. "Not enough to survive a mistake."
The first wolf stepped into the clearing.
Then another.
And another.
They shifted back into human form slowly, deliberately, their movements cautious but proud. At their center stood a tall man with iron-gray hair and a scar running down his cheek.
"Lycan King," the man called out. "I am Alpha Rowan of the Stonefang Pack."
Kael didn't move. "You trespass."
Rowan's gaze slid past him straight to Maria.
"We felt her," Rowan said bluntly. "The awakening. The Moon's call."
Maria lifted her chin. "Then you know why you're here."
Murmurs rippled through the gathered wolves.
Rowan studied her intently, his expression hard to read. "If you are who the Moon claims you to be," he said slowly, "then prove it."
Kael's eyes flashed dangerously. "You do not challenge her."
Maria placed her hand gently against his arm.
"I will," she said softly.
The forest held its breath.
She stepped forward, moonlight responding instantly silver radiance wrapping around her like a living crown. The ground beneath her feet pulsed, ancient runes glowing faintly as her presence expanded.
Rowan stiffened.
"Bow," Maria said not loudly, but with quiet authority that carried.
The command wasn't shouted.
It didn't need to be.
Rowan's wolf slammed forward, overwhelming his human pride. His knees buckled as power crashed into him from all sides.
He hit the ground with a sharp breath.
Around him, his warriors followed one by one dropping to their knees, heads bowed, wolves trembling in submission.
Silence followed.
Maria exhaled slowly, heart pounding not with fear, but with awe.
Kael watched her, pride burning unmistakably in his eyes.
Rowan lifted his head just enough to speak.
"The Stonefang Pack acknowledges the Moon's Luna."
Maria nodded once. "Then rise."
They obeyed instantly.
Before anyone could speak again, a sharp, bitter presence sliced through the clearing familiar and unwelcome.
Alpha Marcus emerged from the shadows.
"You have no right," he snarled, eyes blazing as he stared at Maria. "She is my mate."
The air turned lethal.
Kael stepped forward, power flaring violently. "You will kneel."
Marcus laughed harshly. "Never."
Maria raised her hand.
The ground shook.
Marcus froze mid-step, his body locking as moonlight wrapped around him like chains.
His wolf whimpered, forced into submission against his will.
Maria's voice was calm devastating.
"You rejected me," she said. "You lost me."
Marcus dropped to his knees.
For the first time in his life, an Alpha bowed "not to a king"
But to the Luna he had cast aside.
Kael moved to Maria's side, his presence solid and unyielding.
"The world has chosen," he said. "And so has she."
Marcus lowered his head, defeat burning in his eyes.
And as the wolves of Stonefang bowed in reverence, Maria felt it clearly.
This was only the beginning.