Saphira did not sleep.
Every time she closed her eyes, the forest came rushing back—the snap of branches, the glow of hungry eyes, the way the moon had watched as though it knew her name.
And him.
Alpha Kael.
She sat upright on her bed as dawn bled pale light through the high windows of the Silverlight stronghold. Her heart still raced, her wolf restless beneath her skin, pacing like it had finally been awakened and did not know how to settle again.
She pressed a hand to her chest.
Something had changed.
When she returned from the Moonbound Hunt, the pack had gone quiet around her. Not respectful—uneasy. Survival was rare for first-time prey, especially prey that had fallen.
Whispers followed her through the halls.
She lived.
The Redmoon Alpha intervened.
Why her?
Saphira kept her head high. Princesses did not shrink. Her mother had taught her that much.
Elara.
The thought of her mother came unbidden, as it always did when Saphira felt unmoored. She remembered Elara's hands glowing softly in the dark, the warmth that followed pain, the lullabies whispered while wounds closed.
"Healing is not weakness," her mother had once said. "It is power that chooses not to destroy."
Saphira swallowed.
If the pack knew what she was, they would never look at her the same way again. They would either fear her… or demand her.
Her father summoned her before midday.
Alpha Roderick stood at the great windows of the hall, his broad back to her, silver banners of the Silverlight Pack stirring behind him. He looked older today, she thought—wearier.
"You survived," he said without turning.
"Yes, Father."
A pause.
"The Redmoon Alpha interfered."
Her breath caught. "I didn't know who he was.
Roderick turned then, his eyes sharp, storm-dark. "You should know this, Saphira. Kael of Redmoon is not a savior. He is the reason your mother never came home."
The words landed like a wound reopening.
She nodded, because that was what daughters did when truth was spoken by fathers.
But inside, doubt bloomed—dangerous and bright.
Because the man she had seen in the forest had not looked like a monster.
He had not looked at her like prey.
Later, alone in the training yard, Saphira tried to shift.
She had tried before—countless times—but this time was different. The air felt closer. The ground hummed beneath her feet. Pain flared, sharp and blinding—
Then warmth.
Silver light flickered beneath her skin.
She gasped, collapsing to her knees as energy surged through her, wild and new. Her wolf stirred, not fully formed, but present—aware.
Alive.
Tears stung her eyes.
She had not been ready last night.
But she was becoming ready now.
As the sun dipped low, Saphira felt it again—that strange sensation of being watched. She turned toward the forest's edge, toward the invisible line separating Silverlight from Redmoon.
Her heart betrayed her, beating faster.
Why had Kael saved her?
Why had the moon felt… closer when he stood near?
And why, for the first time since her mother's death, did Saphira feel like the story she had been told was missing something vital?
She lifted her chin.
Princess or not. Healer or not.
She had survived the Hunt.
And survival meant questions.
The moon rose again that night, silent and knowing.
Somewhere beyond the trees, Alpha Kael felt the shift in the world—and smiled, just once.
The bond had noticed her too.