Alaric Dane paced the empty hotel corridor, mind racing. He should be with Victor, helping his Alpha confront the mysterious woman who called herself Elise Blackwood. But something held him back—a growing suspicion too dangerous to ignore.
"It can't be her," he muttered to himself. "Evelyn Royce is dead. I saw her body."
But had he really? The memory felt foggy now, like looking through murky water.
Five years ago, after Evelyn's supposed betrayal, Celeste had shown him the Luna's lifeless body. But Alaric now realized he'd never touched her, never gotten close. Celeste had kept everyone away, claiming disease risk. The next day, she'd had the body cremated—unusually fast, even for pack custom.
A door slammed somewhere down the hall, jolting Alaric from his thoughts. He moved quickly to the service stairwell, needing a quiet place to think.
As Beta, his first duty was to Victor. But he'd failed his Alpha once before by believing Celeste's lies about Evelyn. He wouldn't make that mistake again.
In the stairwell, Alaric pulled out his phone and scrolled to an old photo—the last pack gathering before Evelyn's "death." In it, she stood beside Victor, her dark hair catching the light, her smile radiant.
He zoomed in on her face, then opened a photo he'd secretly taken of Elise Blackwood during the summit. Side by side, the similarities were striking, despite the different hair color and style.
"It's her eyes," he whispered. "They have the same fire."
A noise above made him look up. Two floors up, someone was descending the stairs. Alaric pressed himself against the wall, listening.
"We need to get the twins out now," a male voice said. "If Victor remembers everything—"
"He won't," a female voice cut in. "Not with how much purple potion Celeste has been feeding him."
Alaric's heart pounded. Purple potion?
"But the pendants, Ronan," the woman continued. "He recognized mine. That's old magic—it might break through her spell."
Alaric's hands curled into fists. Ronan Blackthorn—the notorious rogue Alpha. And the woman must be Elise... or rather, Evelyn.
Their footsteps grew closer. Alaric slipped through the door back into the corridor, mind made up. He needed proof—and he knew just where to find it.
Meanwhile, Victor stood outside Elise Blackwood's suite, fist raised to knock again when the door finally opened.
A tall man with dark hair and cold eyes blocked the entrance. Victor recognized him immediately from pack intelligence reports.
"Lucien Royce," Victor growled. "What are you doing here?"
"Protecting my family," Lucien answered, his stance making it clear Victor wasn't welcome.
Family? The word hit Victor like a physical blow.
"Let me talk to her," Victor demanded. "To Evelyn."
From inside the suite came a child's cry of pain. Victor's protective instincts flared instantly. He shoved past Lucien with supernatural strength, bursting into the room.
The scene inside froze him in place. Elise—no, Evelyn—knelt between the twins, her hands glowing with blue light as she pressed them to the children's foreheads. Both kids were shaking, their eyes glowing gold, small claws beginning to extend from their fingertips.
"Their first shift," Victor whispered, suddenly understanding. "The full moon is triggering it."
Evelyn's head snapped up, their eyes meeting. No more pretending.
"Help me," she said simply. "They're fighting the change, and it's hurting them."
Victor didn't hesitate. He knelt beside her, taking Elias's small hands in his.
"Don't fight it, little one," he said softly. "The wolf is part of you. Let it come."
The boy looked up at him with pain-filled eyes—eyes exactly like his own. "It hurts."
"I know. The first time always does. But I'm here now." Victor placed his palm on the boy's chest, sharing his Alpha energy. "Breathe with me."
Across from him, Evelyn was doing the same with Amara. The girl's teeth were fully fanged now, her little body trembling.
"They're too young," Evelyn whispered. "Most wolf children don't shift until they're at least ten."
"They're Alphas," Victor replied, understanding instinctively. "The strongest bloodlines shift earlier."
As they worked together, the door burst open again. Celeste stood there, her face twisted with rage.
"Get away from them!" she shrieked, rushing forward.
But Ronan blocked her path. "The cubs need their father."
Celeste's eyes flashed dangerously. "Those aren't his children! This woman is an impostor!"
Victor didn't even look up, too focused on helping Elias through the pain. The boy's breathing was steadying now, his small body accepting the change instead of fighting it.
"I remember, Celeste," Victor said quietly. "Not everything. But enough."
"Remember what?" she spat.
Victor finally turned to her, his eyes burning with golden fire. "That I never saw Evelyn's body. That you kept pushing those purple drinks on me whenever I started asking questions. That these children are exactly five years old—born after Evelyn supposedly died."
Celeste's hand went to her fake pregnant belly, her last lie exposed. "You don't understand. I did it for us—for the pack!"
"The pack?" Lucien scoffed from the doorway. "You nearly destroyed it with your jealousy."
As they argued, neither noticed Alaric slip into the room, a small purple vial in his hand.
Alaric had moved quickly after overhearing the conversation in the stairwell. While Victor confronted Evelyn, he'd snuck into Victor and Celeste's suite, searching for evidence.
In Celeste's toiletry bag, he'd found what he was looking for—a collection of purple vials identical to the ones she gave Victor for his "headaches." The liquid inside smelled of wolfsbane and other herbs known to affect memory.
Now, watching the scene unfold before him, all the pieces fell into place. Celeste's lies. Evelyn's return. The secret children who were clearly Victor's offspring.
"Victor," Alaric said, stepping forward. "I found this in Celeste's things."
He held up the vial. Celeste lunged for it, but Ronan caught her arms.
"Let go of me!" she shrieked. "You don't understand what she is! What those cubs are!"
Amara, calmer now in her half-shifted form, looked up at Celeste with innocent eyes. "Why are you so mean to my mommy?"
Celeste stopped struggling, her face going pale. "You don't know what they can do. The prophecy—"
"What prophecy?" Victor demanded.
But before Celeste could answer, the hotel room windows shattered inward. Dark figures in black tactical gear swarmed through the opening, weapons raised.
"Nobody move!" one shouted. "We're taking the cubs!"
Evelyn instantly threw herself over her children. Victor moved just as quickly, placing himself between his family and the intruders.
"Who sent you?" Lucien growled, eyes glowing with rage.
The leader of the attackers smiled coldly. "The Council. These cubs are abominations—products of a broken mating bond. They must be studied."
Victor felt rage building inside him. "Get out of here. Now."
"Or what, Alpha?" the man taunted. "Your own Luna informed us of their existence."
All eyes turned to Celeste, who backed away, shaking her head. "No! I only told the Council there might be unusual cubs. I didn't think they'd—"
"Enough talking," the leader snapped. "Sedate them all. We only need the cubs alive."
As the intruders raised their tranquilizer guns, something extraordinary happened. Elias and Amara, half-shifted and frightened, grabbed each other's hands. Their eyes glowed with an unearthly light, and a shimmering blue dome of energy expanded outward from their small bodies.
The attackers fired, but their darts bounced harmlessly off the energy shield.
"That's impossible," Celeste whispered. "They're just cubs!"
The leader of the attack squad stepped back in shock. "What are they?"
Evelyn stood tall within the protective dome her children had created. "They are the future. The prophecy you fear so much? It's already coming true."
Alaric moved to stand beside Victor, his loyalty clear. "Your orders, Alpha?"
Victor looked at the woman he had once loved—still loved—and the children he hadn't known existed until tonight. Something fierce and protective roared to life inside him.
"Protect my family," he commanded. "All of them."
As Victor, Alaric, Ronan, and Lucien prepared to fight, the leader of the attack squad pulled out a communication device.
"Sir, you need to see this. The twins—they have powers we've never seen before." He paused, listening. "Yes, sir. Understood."
He looked up at the group protected inside the blue energy dome. "This isn't over. The Council will have those cubs—one way or another."
The attackers retreated back through the windows as suddenly as they had come, leaving the room in tense silence.
Evelyn knelt beside her children, whose energy shield flickered and faded as exhaustion overtook them. "You were so brave," she whispered, gathering them close.
Victor knelt beside them, a family united for the first time. "We need to leave. Now. The Council won't stop coming."
"Where can we go?" Evelyn asked. "They'll track us anywhere."
Victor's eyes met hers, years of separation and pain between them, but something stronger too—the bond that had never truly broken.
"I know a place," Alaric said suddenly. "In the mountains, beyond pack territories. My grandmother's cabin."
As they rushed to pack essentials, Celeste stood forgotten in the corner, her carefully constructed world crumbling around her. When no one was looking, she slipped out the door.
In the corridor, she pulled out her phone. "It's me. They're leaving the hotel. The twins displayed the power, just as you predicted." She paused, listening. "Yes. I understand what needs to be done."
Celeste's eyes hardened as she hung up. If she couldn't have Victor and the Moonfire Pack, no one would.
Back in the suite, Alaric watched the family preparing to flee. Something nagged at him—a detail from the old pack legends.
"Victor," he said quietly. "There's something you should know about these twins. The prophecy Celeste mentioned... I've heard whispers. Twin cubs born from a true Alpha pair, with powers beyond normal wolves. They're called the Moonchildren."
"What does that mean?" Victor asked, helping Amara with her jacket.
Alaric's expression was grave. "It means everyone will be hunting them. Not just the Council, but every pack that fears their power... or wants to control it."
Evelyn and Victor exchanged worried glances as their children, exhausted from their partial shift and the energy shield, dozed on the couch.
"Then we'll protect them," Evelyn said firmly. "Together."
Victor nodded, then hesitated. "Evelyn, why did you never tell me? About the twins?"
Pain flashed across her face. "How could I, when you looked at me with such hatred? When you believed I betrayed the pack?"
Before Victor could respond, Lucien burst back into the room. "We need to move. Now. Celeste is gone—and she's made a call."
As they gathered the sleeping twins, Victor's phone buzzed with a message. The blood drained from his face as he read it.
"What is it?" Evelyn asked.
Victor showed her the screen—a message from an unknown number:
The Moonchildren belong to the prophecy. Bring them to the ancient stone circle by dawn, or the Moonfire Pack will burn.