Luna Everleigh's POV
***
Rhydian had been watching me differently since I woke up.
His protectiveness hadn't changed—if anything, it had intensified—but there was something else beneath it now. A wariness, like he was afraid of what I was becoming.
I could feel the tension coiling between us, thick as a thundercloud, as we walked along the forest's edge.
"You're hiding something from me," he finally said, his voice low.
I flinched. "I don't know what you mean."
His jaw clenched. "Yes, you do." He stepped closer, his presence a force of gravity I couldn't ignore. "I can smell the change in you, Luna. I can feel it."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
Before I could answer—
A rustle in the trees.
A figure emerging from the shadows.
My breath caught.
Damian.
For a moment, I couldn't move. His golden-brown eyes locked onto mine, his face unreadable, his presence a ghost from a life I'd left behind.
"What the hell is this?" Rhydian's voice was sharp, edged with barely concealed aggression.
Damian's gaze flickered to him, then back to me. "I should be asking you that." His voice was smooth, but laced with something darker. "I've been looking for you, Luna."
Rhydian stepped in front of me, his stance dangerous. "She's not yours to find."
Tension crackled between them, the kind that could snap into violence at any moment.
I opened my mouth—to say what, I wasn't sure—but then—
A sharp pain tore through my chest.
The air around me shifted.
And suddenly, an unseen force exploded outward from me, a wave of raw energy crashing into the trees, the earth, them.
Rhydian staggered back. Damian hit the ground.
And every wolf within range—every single one of them—fell to their knees.
The forest fell silent.
I stood at the center of it all, breath shaking, power pulsing from me in waves.
Rhydian's wide eyes locked onto mine.
Damian, still on his knees, looked up, his expression stunned.
I knew, in that moment, that something inside me had woken up.
And there was no going back.
***
(To be continued…)