Moonfall woke slowly.
Not with peace—but with preparation.
The packhouse corridors filled with low voices, hurried footsteps, the metallic scent of sharpened steel, burning herbs, and fear masked as duty. Warriors trained in the courtyard before sunrise. Mages drew warding circles into the earth. Scouts shifted and vanished into the forest in silent waves.
War was no longer a possibility.
It was inevitable.
And at the center of it all, in the Alpha's room, Evelyn slept.
Ronan hadn't moved.
Not when the sun began to rise.Not when warriors passed his door.Not when Ash knocked and thought better of it.Not even when Cassian whispered reports through the doorframe.
He sat on the edge of the bed, forearms resting on his knees, eyes locked on her face like the world might end if he looked away.
Her breathing was steady now.Her color had returned.The shadows were quiet.
But the mark still glowed faintly beneath her skin.
A reminder.
A warning.
A promise.
*************************************
Evelyn's Dream
She dreamed of a forest that wasn't Moonfall.
The trees were black.The sky was silver.The moon was broken in half.
Wolves knelt in a circle around a stone throne.
And on the throne—
She sat.
Crowned in shadow.Wrapped in darkness.Eyes glowing with silver fire.
But she wasn't alone.
A figure stood behind her.
Tall.Ancient.Faceless.
A voice whispered:
You will be loved.You will be feared.You will be worshipped.And you will be hunted.
Then another voice—familiar, warm, human—
Come back to me.
************************************
She Wakes
Evelyn gasped awake.
Her eyes flew open.
The first thing she saw was Ronan.
Not the Alpha.Not the wolf.Not the warrior.
Just him.
Exhausted.Unshaven.Eyes red-rimmed.Still wearing bloodstained clothes from the night before.
And still watching her like she was the only thing keeping him alive.
"Hey," she whispered.
Ronan inhaled sharply.
A breath he'd been holding for hours.
"Hey," he answered quietly.
She sat up slowly. He moved instantly to support her, one hand steady at her back.
"I dreamed," she said.
"I know," he replied. "Your pulse spiked. Your shadows twitched."
She blinked. "You were monitoring me?"
"I was guarding you," he corrected.
Her heart softened painfully.
********************
The Bond Speaks
Silence settled between them.
Not awkward.
Not tense.
Intimate.
Real.
Evelyn looked down at her hands. "Ronan… do you feel it too?"
"The pull?" he asked.
"The change."
He nodded once. "Yeah."
She swallowed. "It's like something inside me is waking up."
His jaw tightened. "And I don't like that it's not something I can fight."
She reached for his hand.
When their fingers intertwined, the mark on her shoulder warmed.
Not violently.
Not dangerously.
Just… responsive.
Ronan felt it.
His breath stuttered. "The bond is reacting to it."
"Is that bad?"
He met her eyes. "No."
Then, quieter:
"It means whatever you're becoming… it's tied to us. To this."
She didn't pull away.
She leaned closer.
******************************
A knock echoed.
Not Ash this time.
Cassian's voice, serious:"Alpha. Council is assembled."
Ronan closed his eyes briefly.
Duty.
Always duty.
He kissed Evelyn's forehead gently.
"I'll be right back. Don't move."
She smirked faintly. "You say that like I'm not the most dangerous thing in this territory."
He huffed a quiet laugh. "Yeah. But you're my dangerous thing."
He stood.
The room immediately felt colder.
Before leaving, he paused at the door and looked back at her.
"Evie?"
"Yes?"
His voice softened.
"Whatever happens… you don't face it alone."
Then he left.
*********************************
At The Council Chamber
The atmosphere was heavy.
Alpha leaders.Betas.Mages.Scouts.War commanders.
Maps covered the table. Red markings everywhere.
Bloodmoon territory.
Border breaches.
Supply lines.
Ancient sites.
Ley lines.
Shadow convergence zones.
Cassian spoke first.
"Bloodmoon is mobilizing every war pack. They're not hiding it."
Ash added, "Ironfang remnants are aligning with them."
A mage whispered, "The shadow currents are shifting."
Ronan slammed his hand on the table.
"This isn't just a war."
Silence.
"This is a hunt," he said coldly. "And Evelyn is the target."
A murmur spread through the chamber.
One elder spoke carefully:"Alpha… the prophecy—"
"Doesn't matter," Ronan snapped. "She's not a weapon. She's not an offering. She's not a symbol."
His eyes burned.
"She's a person."
Silence followed.
Then Cassian said quietly:
"Bloodmoon believes if they control her, they control the region."
Ronan's voice dropped to something lethal.
"Then they die trying."
*******************************
Evelyn sat on the bed, staring at the sunlight filtering through the curtains.
For the first time in her life, she didn't feel small.
She felt dangerous.
Power stirred in her veins—quiet, coiled, waiting.
She touched her mark.
It pulsed gently.
Not demanding.
Not claiming.
Listening.
She whispered:
"I'm not your weapon."
The shadows didn't argue.
They curled closer.
Like guardians.
The door opened.
Ronan returned.
But his face had changed.
Not fear.
Not rage.
Resolve.
"They're coming," he said.
Her heartbeat didn't spike.
It steadied.
"When?" she asked.
"Soon."
She stood.
Walked to him.
Looked him in the eyes.
Then said the words that would change everything:
"Then stop protecting me."
Ronan froze.
"Fight with me instead."
Silence.
He searched her face.
Her eyes.
Her soul.
Then slowly…
He nodded.
"Okay," he said.
And for the first time—
The Shadowbornand the Alphastood side by side
Not protector and protected.
Not leader and weapon.
But partners.
Equals.
And the war for the prophecyofficially began.