MOONBOUND LIES

I couldn’t breathe.

The silver mist clawed down my throat, setting my lungs on fire. My knees buckled, and I hit the forest floor hard. The world spun, colors twisting in and out of focus. My wolf thrashed inside me, wild with pain.

All I could hear was Lyall’s voice, calm and cruel.

“You were never supposed to come back, Erica.”

The Order wolves circled closer,silent, eerie, their crimson eyes watching me like I was prey. Ren clung to Derek, dazed and swaying. Derek didn’t move. His jaw clenched, eyes torn between fury and confusion.

And Lyall…

She looked triumphant.

“I was always meant to be Luna,” she hissed. “Not you. Never you.”

“You killed his parents,” I coughed, dragging myself upright.

Lyall smirked. “I saved the pack. You were a threat to his throne,weak, naive, too soft-hearted. You were easy to frame.”

“You poisoned them.”

“I sacrificed them,” she corrected, stepping closer. “For power. For him. But you… you never stay dead, do you?”

I met her eyes. “Maybe because the Goddess still has plans for me.”

Lyall froze, her lips twitching with something close to fear, just for a second.

Then she laughed. “Then let her save you now.”

She raised her hand.

The Order wolves lunged.

My wolf screamed again, barely breaking free of the wolfsbane’s grip. I twisted at the last second, claws slashing across the face of the first wolf. Blood splattered the leaves, dark and hot.

The others closed in.

I fought like a storm, every breath fire, every movement pain. But they were too many. Claws raked my back. Teeth snapped at my shoulder. One leapt and pinned me to the ground.

“Erica!” Ren cried.

Something inside me broke.

Not from pain.

From the sound of his voice, so full of fear. Of desperation.

And then, everything changed.

Time slowed.

A heartbeat.

A hum deep in my chest, warm and ancient.

The silver in the air shimmered, then… shattered like glass.

A wind exploded outward from my body.

The Order wolves were flung back like rag dolls, howling in pain. Lyall stumbled, shielding her face. Even Derek staggered.

I rose to my feet.

Every inch of my body glowed faintly pale gold.

My wolf stepped forward inside me. Her eyes burned white. Her fur shimmered like moonlight.

We are not weak.

We are chosen.

We are the Moon’s wrath.

The wolves stayed down.

Even Lyall.

I turned to her.

She backed away. “What are you?”

I walked closer, voice steady. “What you feared I’d become.”

She snarled, reaching for her dagger.

But Derek stepped between us.

“Enough.”

We both froze.

His voice was steel. His eyes were locked on Lyall.

“You lied to me.”

She went pale. “Derek…”

“You used me. Framed her. Killed my parents.”

“I did it for us!”

“There is no us,” he said.

He turned to me.

And gods, the way he looked at me, like he was seeing me for the first time.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

It was almost enough.

Almost.

But I didn’t have time to answer because Ren suddenly screamed.

We turned.

He had fallen to his knees, clutching his head.

“No!” I rushed toward him, dropping beside him. “Ren, what’s happening?”

His body trembled violently. His eyes glowed silver now, brighter than before.

A voice,not his spoke from his lips.

“The veil is torn. The beast is coming. He walks with blood and wears a crown of lies.”

The clearing went silent.

And then

Ren collapsed.

Unconscious.

Derek was at my side in a flash. “Is he…?”

“He’s alive,” I said, checking his pulse. “But something’s wrong.”

I turned to Lyall.

“Tell me what you did to him.”

She laughed bitterly. “You think I did this? No. You did.”

“What are you talking about?”

She tilted her head. “He’s your blood, Erica. The child of the cursed line. The Hollow Order didn’t come for him… They came for you.”

I stared at her.

“What do you mean, my blood?”

She smirked. “Didn’t your mother ever tell you who your father was?”

I blinked. “My father died before I was born.”

“Is that what she told you?” Lyall’s grin widened. “Poor thing. You really don’t know.”

Derek stepped forward. “Say it.”

Lyall’s eyes glittered. “Her father was one of us.”

I froze.

“No,” I whispered.

“Oh yes,” she hissed. “A defector. A traitor to the Hollow Order. He ran with your mother and tried to live a ‘normal’ life. But blood doesn’t lie.”

She pointed at Ren. “That boy is the living proof. A Seer. Born from the forbidden bloodline. That’s why the Order wants him, wants you.”

My head spun.

It couldn’t be true.

Could it?

I looked at Derek, but he said nothing. His silence was heavy.

I clutched Ren tighter.

Lyall’s voice was soft now, almost kind. “You don’t belong with them, Erica. You never did. You were born for more. You were born for power.”

I looked her dead in the eye. “I was born for truth. For justice. You were born for lies.”

She smiled one last time.

And then she ran.

Derek moved to chase her, but I stopped him.

“No,” I said. “Let her go.”

He hesitated. “She’ll come back.”

I nodded. “Let her.”

We returned to camp that night, silent and bruised.

Ren still hadn’t woken up.

I sat beside his bedroll, staring at the stars.

Derek sat across the fire, watching me.

“I owe you an apology,” he said at last.

I didn’t answer.

“I should have believed you.”

“You didn’t,” I said. “And people died because of it.”

He nodded slowly. “I know. And I will carry that forever.”

A pause.

Then he stood, walked to me, and sat beside me in the dirt.

“I didn’t know how to love you,” he admitted. “Not then.”

“You didn’t try.”

“I was afraid of what I felt,” he whispered. “You weren’t what I expected in a Luna. You were too kind. Too quiet. Too real.”

He turned to face me.

“But now I see what you are. You are strong. Fierce. And you’re still everything I don’t deserve.”

I blinked hard.

Part of me wanted to lean into him.

Another part still ached with betrayal.

“Don’t say those words unless you mean them, Derek,” I whispered.

He looked at me, and I saw it, regret. Pain. Longing.

“I mean every one.”

But before I could respond

Ren screamed again.

We rushed to his side.

He sat up, eyes wide.

“I saw it,” he gasped.

“Ren?”

His hands trembled as he clutched mine. “The Hollow Order, they’re not just coming.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“They’re already here,” he whispered.

His voice dropped, barely a breath.

“They’re inside the Shadow Pack.”