MOONBOUND LIES

The scream tore through the trees like a jagged blade.

Ren.

Panic shot through me like fire. My breath caught in my throat, and before I even realized it, my legs were moving fast. Trees whipped past, branches slicing across my arms and face, but I didn’t stop.

“Ren!” I shouted into the forest. “I’m coming!”

My wolf surged forward inside me, claws scraping against my bones, senses sharpening. Her panic matched mine,raw, wild, protective.

Behind me, I heard Lyall’s command bark through the air. “Fan out! Search every direction!”

The warriors moved quickly, their feet pounding the forest floor, but I didn’t stop to listen. I trusted no one with him. Not even Lyall.

My feet carried me through the thick trees, across a narrow stream, and up a mossy slope. My heartbeat thundered in my ears.

Then I saw him.

Slumped at the base of a gnarled tree in a small clearing, his tiny frame still, chest barely rising.

“Ren!”

I collapsed beside him, shaking his shoulders, brushing hair out of his damp face. His skin was cool and clammy. Too cool.

“Come on, sweetheart,” I whispered. “Wake up. Please wake up.”

He stirred with a weak groan, eyes fluttering open. “Erica… They touched me.”

I froze.

His eyes were wide, pupils dilated.

“They said… I’m not ready,” he whispered.

Then, suddenly, a flicker of light pulsed in his chest, faint, bluish-white, and gone in a blink.

“What was that?” I gasped.

But he had already passed out again.

Lyall appeared minutes later, breathless. Her sword gleamed with dew, her hair a tangled mess. She dropped to her knees beside me.

“Is he…?”

“He’s alive,” I snapped, pulling Ren closer. “But he said someone touched him. Someone with no scent.”

She paled. “No scent?”

I nodded. “His chest glowed, Lyall. This isn’t normal.”

She looked over her shoulder into the woods. “We have to get back. Now.”

Back at camp, Ren fell into a deep sleep. No fever. No pain. Just silence, as if nothing had happened.

Too silent.

He didn’t toss or turn. He didn’t even murmur. I sat beside him all night, my thoughts tangled with dread.

Lyall took the first watch across the fire, silent, withdrawn.

“What happened to him?” I finally asked.

She didn’t look at me. “I think he’s a Seer.”

I blinked. “That’s not possible.”

She gave me a tight glance. “It’s rare. But not impossible. Seers are born from death. Orphans. Survivors. Touched by something beyond our world. Sometimes the Moon Goddess. Sometimes…”

“Sometimes what?”

She hesitated. “Something older.”

A chill snaked down my spine. “What do they want with him?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But the symbol carved into the tree...”

I nodded. “You recognized it.”

She looked me in the eye. “It’s the mark of the Hollow Order.”

I sucked in a breath. “You’re lying.”

“They were believed to be extinct,” she said. “But the rumors... secret rituals, wolves who reject the Moon Goddess, who practice forbidden magic…”

“I thought they were just legends.”

“They were real, Erica. And they’re back.”

I stood, pacing the edge of the camp. My hands trembled.

“Why would they come after Ren?”

“Because Seers can see them,” Lyall whispered. “Even when they have no scent.”

Later that night, I sat alone beside the fire.

The flames danced. Ren still didn’t stir.

My thoughts spiraled.

What if the Order had framed me?

What if someone had used wolfsbane not to kill the Alphas, but to cover something up?

And what if Ren was the key to exposing it?

A whisper echoed through the trees, faint and strange. I turned but saw nothing.

Then a voice familiar, warm, broken, filled my mind.

“He’s waiting.”

I fell into an uneasy sleep.

In my dreams, I stood in a grand hall of mirrors.

Each reflection of me was different.

In one, I wore a crown. In another, I bled from the chest. In another, I stood behind bars, hands clawed and eyes glowing silver.

And in the very last mirror… Lyall stood behind me, her hand on my shoulder, a dagger at my back.

I woke up gasping.

The fire had gone cold.

And Lyall and Ren were gone.

I tore through the camp, calling their names.

No answer.

My heart thundered as I scanned the trees.

Then I saw it fresh footprints, side by side. Not dragging. Willing.

“What did you do, Lyall?” I growled.

I followed them.

The trail led deeper into the forest, past the boundaries I swore never to cross again. I walked for over an hour before the trees parted into a hollowed clearing.

And that’s when I saw them.

Standing together.

Ren in the center, looking dazed. And beside him

Derek.

I stopped cold.

His back was to me, shoulders broad, his scent familiar even after all this time.

He turned slowly at the sound of my steps.

My breath caught.

He looked older. Tired. His eyes were shadowed. Haunted.

“Erica,” he said, voice rough. “You’re alive.”

I didn’t respond. My body locked up, emotions clashing in my chest rage, hurt, longing.

And then

Lyall stepped forward from behind him.

Smiling.

My stomach twisted.

She wore a silver pendant.

My mother’s pendant.

I remembered it well. She never took it off. It had been buried with her.

“How do you have that?” I demanded.

Lyall’s smile sharpened.

“You said you wanted the truth,” she said. “Here it is.”

She reached into her pocket.

And pulled out a small vial.

Glass.

Half full of silver-tinted liquid.

I staggered back.

Wolfsbane.

The same kind they’d found in the tea that killed Derek’s parents.

The evidence that had damned me.

My eyes locked with hers.

“You set me up.”

She tilted her head mockingly. “Did I?”

Derek watched silently, unreadable.

Ren looked confused, swaying slightly.

Lyall twirled the vial between her fingers like a toy.

“The Order needed a sacrifice,” she said calmly. “A distraction. And you… were perfect.”

“Why?” I asked, voice shaking. “Why betray me?”

“You were weak,” she said simply. “And too close to him.”

She glanced at Derek, and something flickered in her eyes.

Envy.

Possession.

Obsession.

“You’re lying,” I said.

She took a step toward me. “Am I? Who was there the night his parents died? Who brewed the tea? Who had access to the poison?”

My throat dried.

“You… You killed them.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I saved him. From wolves who were going to name you as Luna. Do you think you were worthy of him? Of the Shadow Pack? Of the throne?”

My body trembled.

“Derek,” I whispered, turning to him. “You believe me, don’t you?”

He didn’t move.

His jaw clenched.

But his eyesoh, Goddess, his eyes were full of war.

“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” he said softly.

The pain was worse than claws.

Worse than exile.

Lyall smiled like she’d won.

“Don’t worry,” she purred. “You’ll have time to figure it out.”

Then she threw the vial at my feet.

It shattered.

And silver mist exploded into the air.

I choked as my wolf screamed in agony, my limbs going weak.

Lyall raised her hand.

And behind her, dark shapes moved through the trees.

Rogues.

No.

Not rogues.

Order wolves.

Their eyes glowed crimson.

And they surrounded us in silence.

CHAPTER 5: The Mark of Betrayal

The scream tore through the trees like a jagged blade.

Ren.

Panic shot through me like fire. My breath caught in my throat, and before I even realized it, my legs were moving fast. Trees whipped past, branches slicing across my arms and face, but I didn’t stop.

“Ren!” I shouted into the forest. “I’m coming!”

My wolf surged forward inside me, claws scraping against my bones, senses sharpening. Her panic matched mine,raw, wild, protective.

Behind me, I heard Lyall’s command bark through the air. “Fan out! Search every direction!”

The warriors moved quickly, their feet pounding the forest floor, but I didn’t stop to listen. I trusted no one with him. Not even Lyall.

My feet carried me through the thick trees, across a narrow stream, and up a mossy slope. My heartbeat thundered in my ears.

Then I saw him.

Slumped at the base of a gnarled tree in a small clearing, his tiny frame still, chest barely rising.

“Ren!”

I collapsed beside him, shaking his shoulders, brushing hair out of his damp face. His skin was cool and clammy. Too cool.

“Come on, sweetheart,” I whispered. “Wake up. Please wake up.”

He stirred with a weak groan, eyes fluttering open. “Erica… They touched me.”

I froze.

His eyes were wide, pupils dilated.

“They said… I’m not ready,” he whispered.

Then, suddenly, a flicker of light pulsed in his chest, faint, bluish-white, and gone in a blink.

“What was that?” I gasped.

But he had already passed out again.

Lyall appeared minutes later, breathless. Her sword gleamed with dew, her hair a tangled mess. She dropped to her knees beside me.

“Is he…?”

“He’s alive,” I snapped, pulling Ren closer. “But he said someone touched him. Someone with no scent.”

She paled. “No scent?”

I nodded. “His chest glowed, Lyall. This isn’t normal.”

She looked over her shoulder into the woods. “We have to get back. Now.”

Back at camp, Ren fell into a deep sleep. No fever. No pain. Just silence, as if nothing had happened.

Too silent.

He didn’t toss or turn. He didn’t even murmur. I sat beside him all night, my thoughts tangled with dread.

Lyall took the first watch across the fire, silent, withdrawn.

“What happened to him?” I finally asked.

She didn’t look at me. “I think he’s a Seer.”

I blinked. “That’s not possible.”

She gave me a tight glance. “It’s rare. But not impossible. Seers are born from death. Orphans. Survivors. Touched by something beyond our world. Sometimes the Moon Goddess. Sometimes…”

“Sometimes what?”

She hesitated. “Something older.”

A chill snaked down my spine. “What do they want with him?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But the symbol carved into the tree...”

I nodded. “You recognized it.”

She looked me in the eye. “It’s the mark of the Hollow Order.”

I sucked in a breath. “You’re lying.”

“They were believed to be extinct,” she said. “But the rumors... secret rituals, wolves who reject the Moon Goddess, who practice forbidden magic…”

“I thought they were just legends.”

“They were real, Erica. And they’re back.”

I stood, pacing the edge of the camp. My hands trembled.

“Why would they come after Ren?”

“Because Seers can see them,” Lyall whispered. “Even when they have no scent.”

Later that night, I sat alone beside the fire.

The flames danced. Ren still didn’t stir.

My thoughts spiraled.

What if the Order had framed me?

What if someone had used wolfsbane not to kill the Alphas, but to cover something up?

And what if Ren was the key to exposing it?

A whisper echoed through the trees, faint and strange. I turned but saw nothing.

Then a voice familiar, warm, broken, filled my mind.

“He’s waiting.”

I fell into an uneasy sleep.

In my dreams, I stood in a grand hall of mirrors.

Each reflection of me was different.

In one, I wore a crown. In another, I bled from the chest. In another, I stood behind bars, hands clawed and eyes glowing silver.

And in the very last mirror… Lyall stood behind me, her hand on my shoulder, a dagger at my back.

I woke up gasping.

The fire had gone cold.

And Lyall and Ren were gone.

I tore through the camp, calling their names.

No answer.

My heart thundered as I scanned the trees.

Then I saw it fresh footprints, side by side. Not dragging. Willing.

“What did you do, Lyall?” I growled.

I followed them.

The trail led deeper into the forest, past the boundaries I swore never to cross again. I walked for over an hour before the trees parted into a hollowed clearing.

And that’s when I saw them.

Standing together.

Ren in the center, looking dazed. And beside him

Derek.

I stopped cold.

His back was to me, shoulders broad, his scent familiar even after all this time.

He turned slowly at the sound of my steps.

My breath caught.

He looked older. Tired. His eyes were shadowed. Haunted.

“Erica,” he said, voice rough. “You’re alive.”

I didn’t respond. My body locked up, emotions clashing in my chest rage, hurt, longing.

And then

Lyall stepped forward from behind him.

Smiling.

My stomach twisted.

She wore a silver pendant.

My mother’s pendant.

I remembered it well. She never took it off. It had been buried with her.

“How do you have that?” I demanded.

Lyall’s smile sharpened.

“You said you wanted the truth,” she said. “Here it is.”

She reached into her pocket.

And pulled out a small vial.

Glass.

Half full of silver-tinted liquid.

I staggered back.

Wolfsbane.

The same kind they’d found in the tea that killed Derek’s parents.

The evidence that had damned me.

My eyes locked with hers.

“You set me up.”

She tilted her head mockingly. “Did I?”

Derek watched silently, unreadable.

Ren looked confused, swaying slightly.

Lyall twirled the vial between her fingers like a toy.

“The Order needed a sacrifice,” she said calmly. “A distraction. And you… were perfect.”

“Why?” I asked, voice shaking. “Why betray me?”

“You were weak,” she said simply. “And too close to him.”

She glanced at Derek, and something flickered in her eyes.

Envy.

Possession.

Obsession.

“You’re lying,” I said.

She took a step toward me. “Am I? Who was there the night his parents died? Who brewed the tea? Who had access to the poison?”

My throat dried.

“You… You killed them.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I saved him. From wolves who were going to name you as Luna. Do you think you were worthy of him? Of the Shadow Pack? Of the throne?”

My body trembled.

“Derek,” I whispered, turning to him. “You believe me, don’t you?”

He didn’t move.

His jaw clenched.

But his eyesoh, Goddess, his eyes were full of war.

“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” he said softly.

The pain was worse than claws.

Worse than exile.

Lyall smiled like she’d won.

“Don’t worry,” she purred. “You’ll have time to figure it out.”

Then she threw the vial at my feet.

It shattered.

And silver mist exploded into the air.

I choked as my wolf screamed in agony, my limbs going weak.

Lyall raised her hand.

And behind her, dark shapes moved through the trees.

Rogues.

No.

Not rogues.

Order wolves.

Their eyes glowed crimson.

And they surrounded us in silence.