Lucian eyelids fluttered open, but the world around him remained a cloud spinning in a haze. Dimlight coming in through the room pierced his eyes like shards of glass, waves of discomfort radiating through his skull. For a few drawn-out moments, he could focus only on a little—his head was heavy. A throb of pressure behind his eyes reminded him that hewas far from well. His limbs wentleaden, too heavy to move, too stiff to heed.

Gradually, as the fog of unconsciousness began to part, the worldaround him moved into sharper focus. And then suddenly his senses slowly came alive again, but evenas they did so there was a strange and unsettling feeling, something more than his.

Lucian's breath hitched painfully in his chest as he struggled to lift himself from the bed but his bodyrelentlessly ignored his command. It felt to him like the very fatigue of weariness was pinning him down with some unseenweight. His hands grabbed around helplessly forthe creases of the sheets and skimmed them tightly, shaking to stable himself. There was a low, rasping groan; his mind leapt between jumbled thoughts, struggling to makesense of the broken thoughts in his head.

"Lucian." A voicenext to him shouted. It was the same voice he was hearing in his dream, he knew that voice all toowell.

He blinked, his eyesa strain as he struggled to make out the silhouette of the woman standing near him.

" You're awake!" She exclaimed and sprinted to theside. You couldhear the excitement in her voice. Lucian groaned in pain when he attemptedto sit up again, only this time Serena was there to assist him.

"Serena..” His voice came out of him in a strained, rasping whisper, audible just up until the next word, as though every single thing he saidtook effort. His throat was dry, tight, and he hadto force out the words.

"What happened? Where… where is everyone?" The questions spilled out ofhim in a jumble, his mind efforting to recombine the shattered fragments of his existence. He felt a deep blur come over theconfusion, wrestled with his thoughts. It was a plea, and he would have taken it as such, a prayer, if only his mind hadn’t gone blank as hesearched her face for any form of explanation.

“Do you knowhow long you were unconscious, Lucian? I was scared." Her face softened a bit, but there was a fire behind her eyesthat he hadn’t seen before. She was stronger, neveragain would he see the fear in her eyes.

His browfurrowed, remembering—attack, fight, loss of strength, sudden. He had failed,failed his pack and failed her. He was meant to protect her.

"Where’s Dorian?" he said, struggling and shoving the blankets aside, toleave the bed, despite the jabbing pain that coursed through his limbs.

Serena narrowed her eyes at theeffort, concern etched all over her face. “He’samong the pack, coordinating defenses. Wehave more serious issues than we suspected but you don't need to be worried."

" I am theAlfa, so worry I must” As he threw the blanket aside Serena saw a white glowing mark onhis wrist.

" I know, Lucian. But you also need to rest."

" What problem do we have?"

“ Lucian… I…” Serena stammered.. She also knew that telling him aboutSilver Ridge and Mira would get him worked up.

" Listen, you haveto be honest with me. He said, so muchauthority. It was likehis voice demanded something from within her, she could not lie to him.

“ It is Mira and the Sliverridge pack. Mira betrayed us, she'stheir Luna now."

The words were like a knife through him, andLucian’s chest sank as the heaviness of her words landed in his heart. Mira, the one person who hadalways stood by him, the one person he had trusted more than anything else… A traitor.

"How is that possible?" His voice, filledwith disbelief, was barely audible. "Mira... she was my closest ally."

“We believe she was working with Elias allalong. The SilverRidge Pack… they’ve been scheming against us. Theywant the.....Onyx wolf and now we’re in the cross of a war we didn’t pick."

Lucian’s fists clenched, refusing to remain still, his entire body vibrating with the desire to rise, to fight, but his bodywasn’t listening. He wasn’t able to fightthe way he wanted. It wasthe most helpless he had ever felt.

“Lucian,” Serena said,her voice firm, the feeling behind it real. "You’re not alone in this. We’ve prepared the pack. We’ll fight together."

Her voice crashed over him, an anchor snatched fromthe sea. He turned and looked at Serena, really looked at her forthe first time since waking. There was nohesitation in her eyes, no fear. Only determination. She had risenand taken charge,

“ They can never win, thewar” Lucian whispered “ And don’t worry, they can't have you because you are mine."

" How do you know this?" Serena gasped. Dorian had said so butshe'd been so distracted, she hadn't cared.

" The moon goddess, when I was unconscious." He paused for a minute searching her face for a reaction. " She gave us as mate. You both will know peace in each other under the blood red moon and you will quell the darkness inyourselves.” Lucian, its exact words the moon goddess hadspoken to him.

" How is this possible?" Serena asked.

” I alsodo not get that.”

She moved closer, reached out and placed a hand lightly but firmly on hisarm. “We’ll figure out that later. Together. First concentrate onthe war.”

"What’s the plan?" Lucian asked.

“We strike first,”Serena said in a voice that sliced through the air like steel. “We cannot afford towait for Silver Ridge to move. The pack is ready. Dorian iscollecting the warriors.”

The fire of purpose was beginning to flickerto life in Lucian’s veins once again, and he nodded. He was weak, but he wasnot helpless. And he wasn’t alone. Serena had stood up. The pack had ralliedaround her. And he would stand with them.

His voicewas rough, yet it carried the weight of authority. “I might not be all the way 100 percent,but I can still lead. But let'stake the fight to them and…

A light of approval glimmered in Serena’seyes. "We will, Lucian. Together."

“ There is one thing I thinkwe also need to do.”

" What is that?" Serena frownedin confusion.

“ Youwill become the Luna of Night Fang pack,you would be my Luna."