"Look beyond the glass, Freya."

Lucien's voice cut through the silence of the massive silver chamber.

I pushed myself off the mattress, testing my weight on my right leg. Zero pain. I walked to the arched window and stared out.

Below us stretched a city of white stone and gleaming spires, nestled within a colossal mountain crater. Thousands of wolves moved through the illuminated streets, their movements sharp and purposeful.

"This is the Federation Sanctuary," Lucien said. He stood a respectful distance away, his hands clasped behind his back. "The world you knew is merely a fraction of our kind."

"Why bring me here?" I asked, gripping the cold stone sill. "You called me the Moon Maiden. What does that mean?"

"It means you are our only salvation." He turned to face me, his ice-blue eyes dead serious. "Our race is dying, Freya. A curse plagues every pack. We call it the Wolf Madness."

I frowned, turning away from the window. "Madness?"

"Every few years, the affliction takes hold. Wolves lose their minds, twisting into mindless monsters that slaughter their own families. No one is immune." He stepped closer, his imposing frame casting a long shadow across the marble floor. "The prophecy stated only the sole descendant of the Moon Goddess possessed the power to purify the rot in our blood. That child went missing over twenty years ago."

"Me," I whispered.

"Yes."

A sharp knock on the heavy oak doors interrupted us. An older man carrying a leather medical bag entered.

"Doctor Thorne," Lucien commanded. "Examine her."

Thorne gestured for me to sit on the edge of the bed. He rolled up my pant leg, his fingers pressing along the smooth skin where jagged scars used to be.

"Fascinating," Thorne muttered, adjusting his glasses. "The goddess's healing is absolute. But tell me, Luna Freya... who treated this injury initially?"

"Pack healers," I replied, my chest tightening at the memory. "Damian brought them in. They said the tissue was necrotic. Irreparable."

Thorne stopped. He looked up, his expression grim. "That is a lie."

"What?"

"Your leg never died," Thorne stated flatly, his fingers tracing the phantom lines of my old injury. "The bone was fractured, yes. A clean break. But the golden recovery period was intentionally delayed. They bound it wrong. They fed you suppressants disguised as painkillers."

"Suppressants?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Wolfsbane derivatives," Thorne explained, packing his tools away. "Just enough to stunt the natural healing process. A simple splint and basic wolf healing would have fixed this in a month. Whoever treated you made sure you remained crippled."

The room spun. Damian. He didn't just ignore my pain. He orchestrated it. He wanted me weak, dependent, a pathetic excuse to discard me.

"I will kill him," I said. The words tasted like ash and iron.

Lucien's gaze darkened. "You will have your chance. Thorne, assemble the best medical team in the Sanctuary. She begins physical conditioning immediately."

"Yes, Supreme Alpha," Thorne bowed and hurried out.

Lucien looked at me. "I will personally oversee your training. You have a goddess's power, but your muscles have atrophied for five years. We fix that today."

Hours blurred into a grueling cycle of movement. Under the vaulted ceiling of the training hall, Lucien pushed me to my absolute limits.

"Stand up," Lucien ordered.

I pushed off the mat, my chest heaving. "I've been walking for an hour. Can we take a break?"

"No." He paced around me, a predator evaluating his prey. "Your enemies will not give you a break. Damian did not give you a break when he left you under a burning beam."

I flinched. The mention of his name sent a hot spike of anger through my chest.

"Use that," Lucien said, catching my reaction. "Anger is fuel. You spent five years swallowing your pride to please a man who poisoned you. Stop swallowing it. Let it burn."

"He was my mate," I countered, defending a past I already hated. "I thought I was doing the right thing."

"You were surviving," Lucien corrected. "Now, you will conquer. Again. Walk the length of the hall."

I gritted my teeth and forced my legs forward. The muscles in my right thigh burned, screaming from the sudden exertion after years of neglect. But the pain was different now. It wasn't the dull, hopeless ache of permanent damage. It was the sharp, alive burn of growth.

"Again," he barked, catching my arm as I stumbled on the polished stone floor.

"My legs are shaking," I snapped, wiping sweat from my forehead.

"Your mind is shaking. Your body is perfect." He released my arm and stepped back. "Call her forward, Freya. Stop treating your wolf like an intruder. She is you."

"I don't know how!" I yelled, frustration boiling over.

"You do." Lucien crossed his arms. "Stop thinking like a broken Luna. Start thinking like a god."

Night had fallen, painting the high arched windows in shades of deep indigo.

I closed my eyes. I reached into the void in my mind, searching for the massive white wolf I had seen hours ago.

Come to me, I told her silently.

A low rumble vibrated through my chest. The untamed energy spiked, hot and demanding. I didn't fight it this time. I let the dam break completely.

Silver light exploded from my skin, blindingly bright. The marble floor cracked beneath my bare feet.

I opened my eyes. I wasn't just standing in the hall anymore. The massive white wolf materialized beside me, her luminescent fur glowing like a fallen star. She stood eight feet tall at the shoulder, radiating an aura so heavy the air in the room grew thick.

The white wolf stepped forward, her massive paws making no sound on the cracked stone. She nudged her large head against my shoulder. I reached out, burying my fingers in her glowing fur. The connection was instantaneous. I felt her ancient power, her righteous fury, and her absolute loyalty.

A loud thud echoed through the hall.

I turned.

The guards stationed at the doors were on their knees, their heads bowed low to the cracked marble.

I looked at Lucien. The Supreme Alpha, the myth who bowed to no one, lowered himself to one knee. He placed a hand over his heart, his ice-blue eyes fixed on the floor.

"Hail the Moon Maiden," Lucien rumbled, his voice echoing with absolute submission.

As the silver aura pulsed through the room, a sharp, violent tug yanked at the back of my skull. The dormant mate bond flaring to life.

Because my wolf was finally awake, the bond worked both ways.

A sudden vision slammed into my sight, overlaying the silver hall with the charred remnants of the Blackwood pack grounds.

Damian stood on a makeshift wooden stage, holding Ivy's hand high in the air.

"I present your new Luna!" Damian shouted to the cheering crowd.

But as the words left his mouth, I felt the exact moment panic struck him. Through the tether, his absolute terror flooded my veins. The bond connecting us began to fray, snapping strand by strand. He dropped Ivy's hand, clutching his chest, his eyes widening as he realized the connection to his dead mate was not only alive, but growing monstrously powerful.

I didn't sever the bond.

I grabbed the final, fraying thread of our connection with my mind, and I squeezed.

Damian collapsed to his knees on the wooden stage, vomiting black blood onto Ivy's pristine shoes.

"Pin his shoulders to the floor!" Lucien barked, his voice echoing off the sterile metal walls of the medical wing.

Two Federation guards struggled to hold down a snarling, foaming rogue. The wolf's eyes were pitch black, consumed entirely by the Wolf Madness.

"He is tearing his own core apart," Doctor Thorne yelled over the beast's frantic snapping. "We have seconds before his heart gives out."

"Freya," Lucien said, locking his ice-blue eyes on mine. "Now."

I didn't hesitate. I dragged a silver blade across my palm. Warm blood welled up instantly, glowing with a faint, iridescent light.

I dropped to my knees beside the thrashing wolf and shoved my bleeding hand directly against his muzzle.

The reaction was explosive.

A shockwave of pure silver energy blasted through the room, knocking the guards backward. The rogue went entirely rigid. Black veins protruding along his neck rapidly faded into a healthy pink.

The wolf whimpered, his eyes snapping back to a clear, lucid amber. He shifted back into a young, trembling boy.

"My head," the boy whispered, touching his face. "The screaming stopped."

Doctor Thorne dropped his scanner, his jaw slack. "The toxin is completely eradicated. His wolf core is not only repaired, it is stronger."

Lucien handed me a towel. "Your blood is the cure. You are ready."

He turned and tapped a button on the wall console. A holographic display flared to life in the center of the room, broadcasting a live feed from the High Council's amphitheater.

"The annual Luna Trial commences today," Lucien stated, crossing his arms. "The Blackwood pack just submitted their candidate."

On the screen, Damian stood proudly at the center of the ancient stone arena. Ivy clung to his arm, wearing a custom white gown that looked entirely out of place for a blood trial.

"My mate, Ivy, will undertake the Trial," Damian announced to the seated Elders. "She will prove her worth to lead our pack."

An Elder leaned forward. "This trial is perilous. Your previous mate, Freya, possessed the resilience required. Is this one prepared?"

Damian sneered, a look of pure arrogance twisting his features. "Without Freya, she will definitely succeed. Ivy is twice the wolf that cripple ever was."

I squeezed the bloody towel in my fist. The skin on my palm had already knit itself back together.

"He sounds very confident for a man standing on a foundation of ashes," I said.

Lucien stepped into my line of sight, blocking the projection. "Let us go show him what a true Luna looks like."

The roar of the Federation airship engines drowned out the murmurs of the crowd gathered at the Trial grounds.

I stood on the lowered ramp, the wind whipping my hair across my face. Below us, thousands of wolves shielded their eyes from the downdraft.

"Stay close," Lucien murmured, resting a hand on the small of my back as we descended into the amphitheater.

The moment my feet hit the sacred dirt of the arena, the ambient chatter died. Absolute silence swallowed the stadium.

Damian stood ten feet away. His smug expression dissolved into slack-jawed horror.

"Freya?" Damian choked out. He took a step back, bumping into Ivy.

Ivy stared at my legs. "You are walking. That is impossible. You burned."

I ignored them. I let the dormant energy in my chest rise to the surface. My wolf pushed forward, projecting a crushing, suffocating Alpha aura outward.

Damian's knees buckled. He fought to stay standing, his face turning a mottled red as my pressure forced him downward.

"You have no wolf," Damian grunted, sweat beading on his forehead. "Stop this trickery!"

"I have a god," I corrected, stepping closer to him.

A collective gasp rippled through the stands. I didn't need a mirror to know what they saw. A brilliant, silver crescent moon symbol had materialized on my forehead, glowing with undeniable divine authority.

The High Elder scrambled out of his seat. He threw himself onto the dirt, pressing his forehead against the ground.

"The Moon Mark," the Elder cried out, his voice trembling with reverence.

Around the arena, thousands of wolves dropped to their knees. A wave of submission washed over the crowd until only Damian, Ivy, Lucien, and I remained standing.

"Get up!" Ivy hissed, yanking on Damian's sleeve. "She is a fake! Attack her!"

Damian couldn't move. My aura pinned his feet to the earth.

"High Elder," Lucien's voice carried across the silent arena, cold and absolute. "Proceed with the ceremony."

The Elder scrambled to his feet, clutching a heavy, leather-bound book. He flipped the ancient pages frantically.

"According to the ancient codex, the one who bears the true Moon Mark has priority to enter the Luna Trial," the Elder announced, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "All other candidates are immediately disqualified."

Ivy's face drained of all color. She lunged forward, pointing a trembling finger at me.

"No!" Ivy shrieked. "I registered! I am the Luna of the Blackwood pack! She is a rogue!"

"You are a placeholder," I said, throwing her own words back at her.

Ivy whipped her head toward Damian. "Do something! Tell them I am your chosen mate!"

Damian opened his mouth to speak, but the words died in his throat. His eyes darted from the glowing mark on my forehead to the towering, imposing figure of the Supreme Alpha standing at my shoulder.

"The Trial requires a blood sacrifice on the altar," the Elder continued, stepping down from the podium with a ceremonial obsidian dagger in his hands.

He bypassed Ivy completely and extended the blade toward me, bowing his head.

Ivy let out a guttural scream of rage.

She shoved the Elder aside, snatched the obsidian dagger from his hands, and drove the cursed blade straight toward my chest.