AT THE SAME TIME
XAVIER'S POINT OF VIEW:
The tavern was loud, warm, and filled with the usual hum of voices, clinking mugs, and the scent of roasted meat and ale. He sat in the shadowed corner, hood drawn low, boots up on the edge of the bench. He didn't need to be seen. He just needed to listen. And the tavern gave him plenty to hear.
"Did you hear about the Moon Chosen village?" One voice said a few tables over, half drunken curiosity in his tone. "That rogue place. It's not even feral anymore."
"What, the place led by that girl?" Another replied, skeptical. "Isabella or something? Thought she was some lost Luna or runaway."
"No, no, you've got it all wrong." A woman cut in. "She's the one who fixed the rogue village. They say she taught them how to trade, hunt smarter, even preserve food like a proper pack. Heard they're cleaner, better fed than half the midland tribes."
Xavier's fingers tightened around his mug.
"She's got them bowing to her." The man added with a smirk. "Rogues. Bowing. Calling her 'Moon Chosen.' Like she's been hand picked by the goddess or something."
The first speaker leaned closer.
"And you know what I think? If she can tame a place like that... might be worth having her as a Luna."He said.
That last part hit Xavier like a punch to the gut. He didn't show it. Just took a slow sip of ale, eyes narrowing. She was a rogue. A runaway. She was never meant to lead anyone. And yet… the whispers said otherwise. Not just surviving but thriving. And not just leading and being loved. There was something dangerous about a woman like that. Something powerful.
"Pack your gear." He told his beta later that night. "We're riding east."
"That direction-"One of them started.
"To Moon Chosen." Xavier said through clenched teeth. "I want to see this village myself. And I want to see her."
The scent of smoke and pine hit him before the view did. Xavier pulled his hood down, crouching on the hill above the rogue lands. Except… this didn't feel like rogue lands anymore. His beta, Lysar, came up behind him.
"This is it? The rogue village everyone's whispering about?"He asked.
Xavier didn't answer. His eyes were locked on the sight below.
Houses real, solid ones, not the slapped together shacks he expected. Paths were marked and clear. Wolves moved with purpose. Laughter echoed, not snarls. There were watchmen, for Moon's sake. And gardens. Actual gardens.
"Looks more organized than half the allied packs."My beta said.
"She did all this?"I asked.
Then I saw her. Isabella stood near the center, sleeves rolled up, hands smeared with dirt, instructing a group of teens on how to organize the new supplies.
"No, no." She said with a small laugh. "You don't store roots with the dried meats. You'll draw moisture into the wrong barrel."
One of the younger rogues blinked at her.
"How do you know all this, Lady Isabella?"Rogue said.
She paused, then gave a sheepish smile.
"I used to play games about survival as kid. I… I guess it stuck."I said.
"Well, your weird knowledge works."Teen grinned.
"Thanks." She chuckled, brushing her hair back. "Let's label these barrels next. Color coded."
Lysar let out a breath.
"Lady Isabella, huh?"He said.
"Don't call her that." I muttered.
But she was their lady.
The way the others looked at her with respect, awe, hope, I had never seen rogues so… alive. Confident.
"She's not just helping them." Lysar murmured. "She's teaching them. Look."
A group of hunters approached, holding bundles of smoked fish. One held it out to her.
"Leader, we've started using your salt smoking method. Preserves the meat twice as long."He said.
Isabella's eyes lit up.
"That's perfect! We can store more before winter. I'll show you how to vacuum seal next."She said.
A tall rogue with a thick beard approached Isabella next, offering her a carved token shaped like a crescent moon.
"What's this?" She asked softly.
"A charm." He replied. "For our Moon Chosen leader."
Isabella's mouth fell open slightly.
"Moon… Chosen?"She asked.
He nodded.
"You guided us when no one else did. We chose you. The name fits."He said.
She blushed furiously.
"I… I'm just helping."She said.
"No." The man said firmly. "You gave us a future."
My heart thudded.
"She should have been mine. My Luna. My future. She's leading better than I ever did." I whispered, voice tight.
"She's something else now." Lysar said. "She's becoming something else."
"I know." I muttered, eyes darkening.
"She was supposed to be part of my pack. But now... she's building her own."I said.
She was directing a few rogues, talking about dried herbs and supply rotation, her sleeves rolled up, dirt on her cheek and fire in her eyes. She looked alive. More than I'd ever seen her before. I barely got two steps into the open before growls erupted. A line of rogues blocked my path in an instant fierce, fast, loyal.
"State your business." One of them snarled.
I held my hands up, calm, but alert.
"I'm not here to fight."I said.
Another stepped forward, eyes locked on mine.
"You're from a pack."He said.
I didn't deny it.
"Black dawn."I said.
That made them bristle harder. Fangs out. One wrong move and they could leap. Then her voice cut through the tension like lightning.
"Wait."I heard her voice.
I saw her then really saw her as she stepped past the wall of wolves meant to shield her.
"Xavier?" She asked, her voice cautious but curious. "What are you doing here?"
I took a breath.
"I heard rumors." I admitted. "About a rogue village called Moon Chosen. About rogues thriving. About a leader who turned it all around."
"And you came to see if it was true?" Her eyes narrowed, guarded.
I nodded.
'And to see you."I said.
One of the guards growled low behind her. She raised a hand, and he backed down, but not happily. She stepped closer, and gods, she looked so… different. Stronger. Grounded. Her scent was the same, but her energy it was fierce now. She wasn't the girl who left. She was something more.
"I didn't think anyone could do this." I told her honestly. "Not here. Not with them."
Her jaw tightened.
"Them?"She asked.
I winced.
"I meant rogues. I didn't know."I said.
"You didn't care." She corrected, voice flat. "No one does. Until they need something."
"I don't need anything." I said. "I just… I wanted to see if it was really you."
She crossed her arms.
"And what do you think now that you've seen?"She asked.
"I think you were never meant to be anyone's Luna." I said. "You were meant to be a leader. An Alpha in your own right."
Something flickered in her eyes shock, maybe. Or pain. But before I could figure it out, she turned to her people.
"We're busy." She said. "If he's just here to stare, show him the way out."
I took a step forward.
"Isabella-"I started.
She looked over her shoulder, and her voice was ice cold.
"We don't need your approval, Xavier. We never did."She said.
Then she walked away, back to the people who'd protect her without question. And I just stood there, swallowing down something that felt a lot like regret.