The cells beneath the Northern Palace were nothing like the crude dungeons at Crescent Valley—clean, well-lit, almost comfortable. Still, they were prisons.

Maya sat in the last cell, poised and composed. Her blonde hair was perfect, her clothes clean. When we entered, she smiled.

“Well, if it isn’t the happy couple. Come to gloat, cousin?”

“I came for answers,” I said evenly. “Who taught you dark magic?”

“Why would I tell you that?”

Kai stepped forward, the air turning cold. “Because I can make your short life very unpleasant if you don’t.”

Maya laughed. “You think you scare me? I’m already dead. I failed to kill her—my fate’s sealed. But at least I hurt her first.”

“Why?” The word burst out. “We were family. Why did you hate me?”

“Because everything was supposed to be mine!” she screamed, composure cracking. “The Alpha, the respect, the power. But everyone always looked at you—poor, sweet Isla who lost her parents, yet still had people who cared.”

“That’s not true.”

“No. They feared you.” She stepped closer to the bars. “Elder Sarah watched you. Beta Marcus helped when no one saw. Even Damien—under enchantment—sometimes looked at you like he was trying to remember.”

“You enchanted Damien?” Kai’s voice was icy.

“With help. My master taught me. The spell was meant to bind him completely, but his true mate bond with her was too strong.” She laughed bitterly. “Nothing worked. The spell binding her wolf should’ve lasted forever, yet here she stands, ready to shift.”

“Who is your master?” I demanded.

Her eyes turned distant. “Someone who wants the Moon Shadow bloodline erased. Someone who’s planned this for decades.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s all you’ll get.” Her smile was sad. “Kill me, keep me, torture me—it doesn’t matter. My master put protections on me. If I reveal too much, the magic stops my heart.” She tapped her chest. “Go ahead, try to force it.”

I believed her. The certainty in her tone was real.

“Then tell us what you can,” I said quietly. “Please, Maya. If you ever cared about me, help us now.”

Something flickered in her eyes—regret.

“The binding spell on you was cast when you were three,” she whispered. “After your wolf first tried to emerge. Your mother knew the Moon Shadow blood ran true in you. That’s why she had to die.”

“My mother had her killed?” I breathed.

“My master did. Your father too, when he got too close. Beta Thomas was just a pawn. He already hated your father.”

“Why not kill me too?”

“You were a child. My master has rules—twisted ones. You couldn’t be killed until you became a threat. So they bound your wolf and waited.”

“Waited for what?”

“For you to grow, for the spell to weaken, for your wolf to fight free. The rogue attack? That was the opening move. If you’d died, fine. If you survived, it proved you were strong—then my master could destroy you openly.”

“This is insane,” I whispered.

“Someone very old remembers the Moon Shadow Pack and fears its return.”

Kai squeezed my hand. “How do we break the spell?”

“You can’t. Not without my master’s help or…”

“Or what?”

“Or you let your wolf shatter it from the inside. But it could kill you.”

“There has to be another way.”

“There isn’t. I’m sorry, Isla.” Her voice trembled. “I was jealous, angry. My master used that, made me believe you were the enemy. By the time I realized the truth, it was too late.”

“What truth?”

“That we’re not really cousins. We’re—”

Her eyes went wide. She gasped, clutching her chest.

“No—no, I said too much! The spell—”

“Maya!” I ran to the bars, but Kai pulled me back.

She collapsed, convulsing, lips turning blue.

“Help her!” I screamed.

“There’s nothing I can do. The magic’s killing her.”

I watched helplessly as Maya—my cousin, my sister?—died before my eyes. Her final whisper: “Find… Sarah…”

Then she was gone.

I stood frozen until Kai wrapped his arms around me.

“She’s dead,” I whispered. “She tried to help.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What did she mean—we’re not cousins?” I looked up.

“I don’t know. But she said find Sarah—Elder Sarah, the one who gave you the locket.”

I touched the necklace. “We need to go back to Crescent Valley.”

“Too dangerous.”

“She’s the only one with answers. Please, Kai.”

He hesitated, then sighed. “Fine. Extra guards. You stay by my side.”

“Deal.”

Damien waited outside, pale. “What happened? I heard shouting.”

“Maya’s dead,” I said flatly. “The magic killed her when she tried to speak.”

He looked shattered. “She used me… lied to me… but still—”

Marcus placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

Kai turned brisk. “We’re going to Crescent Valley. Elder Sarah knows something.”

“I’ll gather an escort,” Marcus said.

“No need. I’ll bring my own,” Kai replied. “Damien, you’re coming too. You’re Crescent Valley’s future Alpha.”

Damien nodded silently.

We left within the hour—Kai, me, Jett, Cole, Marcus, Damien, and twenty elite guards. Overkill, but after the rogue attack, Kai wasn’t taking chances.

The journey back felt strange. I’d vowed never to return, yet here I was—no longer a victim, but Luna Queen beside the Alpha King.

At sunset, we arrived. The pack gathered in the clearing, wary. Alpha Reed bowed stiffly. “Your Majesty. Luna Isla. We weren’t expecting you.”

“This isn’t social,” Kai said. “We need Elder Sarah.”

Reed hesitated. “I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

“Why not?”

“She’s dead. Found this morning—murdered.”

The world tilted. “No. She was fine three days ago.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “No struggle, no witnesses. Her heart just… stopped.”

Magic. Just like Maya.

“Take us to her home,” I demanded.

Reed led us to her small cottage. The door hung open, yellow tape fluttering.

Kai told the guards to wait, then ducked inside. I followed.

It smelled of lavender and old paper—but beneath it lingered something darker.

“Someone was here,” I said. “Dark magic.”

Kai nodded. “They were searching for something.” He pointed to overturned drawers.

I rifled through the papers. Most were mundane—recipes, letters, records—until I found a folded parchment hidden inside a history book.

It was a family tree.

“Kai,” I whispered, unfolding it.

He came closer, eyes widening.

It showed my mother, Marie Hart—and a twin sister, Miranda. Miranda had a daughter.

Maya.

“We were sisters,” I breathed. “Half-sisters.”

But the real shock was above their names:

Alpha Viktor Moon and Luna Selene Shadow—last rulers of the Moon Shadow Pack.

“That’s impossible,” Kai said. “They died sixty years ago.”

“Everyone was wrong,” I said, pointing at the dates. “They went into hiding. Changed names. Had twin daughters in secret.”

“That means you’re—”

“Their granddaughter. The Moon Shadow heir.” My knees weakened. “No wonder someone wants me dead.”

“There’s more,” Kai said, pointing to a note in Sarah’s handwriting.

The prophecy is true. The white wolf will rise. The bloodline restored. They will come for her, but she must survive. She is the key to everything.

“What prophecy?” I asked.

Before he could answer, a guard burst in. “Alpha! We’re under attack!”

We ran outside to chaos. Wolves poured from the forest—dozens, maybe hundreds—moving with military precision.

An army.

“Protect the Luna!” Kai roared, shifting into his massive black wolf.

Jett and Cole flanked me instantly. Crescent Valley wolves scrambled, unprepared.

Damien shifted, joining the fight; Marcus shouted orders.

But we were outnumbered.

“We need to get you out,” Jett yelled.

“I’m not running.”

“This isn’t optional, Isla. They’re after you.”

He was right—the attackers kept surging toward me.

“The cottage,” I said. “We’ll make a stand there!”

We fought our way back. I swung a broken branch, striking wolves that came too close. My wolf howled inside me, clawing at the seal.

Let me protect us, she begged.

“I don’t know how!” I cried.

A huge grey wolf lunged at me—teeth flashing. Time slowed.

Kai slammed into it midair, both tumbling.

Now! my wolf screamed. Shift or we die!

Something inside me broke.

The binding shattered. Power flooded through me—bones cracking, skin rippling, fur sprouting. Pain consumed me, but beneath it was freedom.

I screamed—and howled.

When the shift ended, I stood on four legs, heart pounding.

My fur was pure white, glowing faintly in the dusk. My eyes—silver. I was enormous, radiant, alive.

Silence fell.

“The white wolf,” someone whispered. “The prophecy…”

Then a voice echoed across the clearing, laced with ancient magic.

“Hello, granddaughter. I’ve been waiting for you.”

A massive wolf stood at the forest’s edge, power radiating from him. He shifted into a silver-haired man with green eyes like mine.

“I am Viktor Moon,” he said. “Your grandfather. And I’ve come to bring you home.”