The forest swallowed sound.
No wind. No birds. Just silence and the claw marks burned into the bark outside the cabin.
Luna must ascend. Or die.
Mira stared at the message, her pulse thunderous in her ears. The blood used to write it still smoked, like it had been carved with molten fury. Her father was gone.
Again.
"Tracks," Liam said, crouching low. "Fresh. But not full wolf. Controlled."
Grey paced behind him, eyes scanning the perimeter. "Someone masked their scent. Just like the Howlers. Could be them."
"Could be him," Mira said softly.
They all looked up.
"You think your father…?" Liam asked, hesitant.
"I think Valda didn't just tether him," she said. "She changed something in him. Left a trigger we didn't see."
Behind her, Ash chuckled from the doorway. "Now you're getting it."
Liam stepped toward him, blade flashing, but Grey held him back.
"No," Mira said. "He's right. This isn't just about control anymore. It's about activation."
Ash leaned casually against the doorway, silver threads still tight around his wrists. "The Midwife doesn't waste resources. If she let your father live, it was for one reason; he's part of your ascension."
"What does that mean?" Grey growled.
Ash met Mira's eyes. "It means this isn't about choosing if you become Luna anymore. It's about surviving it."
The words sank deep.
Mira turned back to the forest. "If they want a Luna to ascend or die… then I'll show them what happens when a Luna fights back."
She didn't wait for a vote. She started moving.
"Where are we going?" Liam asked, hurrying to catch up.
"To the high ridge," she said. "There's a beacon point there. If Dad's being manipulated, he'll circle back to high ground."
Grey followed. "You think he left the message himself?"
"No," Mira said, voice tight. "I think he was made to leave it. And I want to know who was watching."
They moved fast, the cold night air pressing against their lungs. Mira's body ached from the earlier shift, but her wolf paced inside her with purpose now. Alert. Ready.
When they reached the ridge, they stopped.
Smoke curled from a torch wedged in a tree trunk.
At its base – a bag.
Ash's voice behind them. "That's a Drop."
"What's inside?" Mira asked.
Liam knelt to open it.
Inside: a folded parchment, a clawed pendant, and a vial filled with shimmering red liquid.
Mira picked up the vial. "Blood?"
"Yours," Ash said. "Or close enough."
Liam handed her the note.
Mira Lane, Luna-13:We gave you power. You refuse the path. Choose again.Ascend under the Blood Moon… or your family will fall.—The Circle
Grey stepped beside her. "They're escalating. Faster than we planned."
"Because something's changing," she murmured. "Something they can't control."
She turned back to Ash. "Why tell me now?"
He shrugged. "Because I was number fourteen. And the others… are waking up."
Her breath hitched. "Others?"
He nodded once. "Scattered. Bound by silence. But now that you've shifted? They're feeling it. A resonance. You're the spark."
Liam looked horrified. "So this isn't just about you anymore."
"No," Mira whispered. "It's about all of us."
A crack of lightning split the sky.
No storm. No clouds.
Just a burst of raw power that made her wolf flinch.
She looked toward the eastern sky.
The Blood Moon was rising.
Early.
Way too early.
Ash's face paled. "That's not supposed to happen."
Mira stared as red light spilled across the trees.
The prophecy was speeding up.
She was out of time.
But before anyone could speak, another howl echoed across the ridge.
It wasn't her father this time.
It was a child's voice.
High-pitched. Distant. Crying.
Mira froze. "What the hell was that?"
Ash's expression darkened. "That… wasn't part of any plan."
Grey reached for his weapon. "Mira…"
But she was already running toward the sound.
Through the trees. Over roots. Down the slope.
Until she reached the clearing at the edge of the old burial site.
And saw her.
A girl.
Barefoot. Shivering.
Eyes glowing silver.
She looked up at Mira and whispered one word.
"Mother?"
End of Chapter Sixteen
...….
The Blood Moon is rising ahead of schedule. Mira is out of time and now a child with her eyes and her scent stands in the dark, calling her mother. But how can that be… unless her future has already begun unraveling into the present?