(Luna's POV)
I don't remember the last time I dreamed of her.
My mother.
When I was little, her voice was the first thing I woke up to and the last thing I heard before falling asleep. She used to hum to me while brushing my hair, her hands soft, her smile warm. Even after she died, I would hear that voice in my sleep sometimes, reminding me to be strong, to never bow my head, even when the world pushed me down.
But lately, I hadn't heard her at all. Not until tonight.
The forest was cold, the night pressing down heavy on me, but when I closed my eyes, I heard her again, faint but clear, as if she were leaning close.
Luna… my little star…
My heart tightened at the sound. The fire I had built had burned down to dying embers, casting shadows across the clearing. I pulled my knees to my chest, curling into myself as the ache in my chest returned, sharp and unbearable.
The bond with Damien throbbed like an open wound. It had been days since I last saw him, days since I heard his voice when he pushed me away, telling me I was nothing. But no matter how far I went, the pain followed me like a shadow.
"Why can't it end?" I whispered, my voice breaking. "Why can't he just let me go?"
The night answered with silence, but my wolf stirred inside me. Her sadness mirrored mine, but there was no comfort in it. She wanted what I wanted: release. Freedom. Peace.
And yet… even in rejection, the bond held us.
I thought about my mother again, about how she looked at me the day before she died. Her face had been pale, her strength failing, but her eyes… her eyes had burned with fire.
"Luna," she had whispered, clutching my hand with what little strength she had left. "No matter what the world takes from you, never let it take you. Promise me."
"I promise," I had said, though I hadn't understood what it meant then.
She smiled faintly, tears slipping down her cheeks. "You are stronger than you know. You carry my blood, my will. Don't forget that."
That was the last memory I had of her. That was the vow she made me swear. And tonight, with the Blood Moon rising and shadows whispering in the dark, her words came back like a wound torn open.
Don't let it take you.
My throat tightened as tears slid down my face. I wrapped my arms tighter around myself, rocking gently, trying to breathe through the ache in my chest.
I had lost her.
I had lost Damien.
I had lost my place in the pack.
What was left of me now?
The answer came from deep inside me, quiet but steady.
Me.
I was still here. Broken, yes. Rejected, yes. But alive. And as long as I was alive, I couldn't give up. Not when she had trusted me with her last breath.
I wiped my tears and looked up at the sky. The moon hung heavy above the trees, bleeding red around the edges, its light strange and unsteady. The Blood Moon. The omen that marked curses and truths.
Maybe this was her way of reminding me. Maybe the Blood Moon wasn't just an omen of doom, but a warning, a sign that I had to be ready for what was coming.
"I won't give up, Mama," I whispered into the night. "Even if my heart breaks, even if fate drags me back to him, I won't lose myself. I swear it."
The forest stirred around me, the wind sighing through the branches as if carrying my vow into the sky.
For a moment, I almost felt her again. A warmth brushing against me, like the ghost of her hand smoothing my hair. My wolf lifted her head inside me, her eyes glowing bright in the dark.
And then, the feeling was gone.
I got to my feet, brushing dirt from my cloak. My body was weak, my stomach empty, but something inside me felt steadier. The whispers in the forest hadn't left me. I could still sense the presence watching from the shadows, the danger that had been stalking me since the night the Blood Moon rose. But fear wasn't the only thing I felt anymore.
There was fire now.
I thought of Damien again, his face flashing through my mind, his rejection tearing me apart all over again. A sob rose in my throat, but I swallowed it down.
He could break me. He could curse me. He could run from me.
But I wouldn't run from myself.
That was my vow.
I tightened my cloak and began walking deeper into the forest. Each step hurt, but I didn't stop. The night pressed close, the trees whispering, the bond aching, but I kept moving forward. My mother hadn't raised me to surrender.
And if fate thought it could crush me, it had chosen the wrong wolf.
Because even broken, I would fight.
I didn't know where the path ahead would lead. To freedom. To death. Or back to Damien.
But one thing I knew with certainty.
I would never stop fighting for the girl my mother believed in.
For myself.
And when the Blood Moon revealed its secrets, I would face them head-on.
No matter the cost.