Elara woke with a start, heart pounding. Something was wrong. The place was too quiet.
She jumped out of bed and ran to the window. Outside, the forest was still and quiet. No birds sang. No wind rustled the leaves.
"Kael?" she called, but no one answered.
Fear crept up her spine as she remembered his last words before she fell asleep: I'm sorry, Elara. I hope someday you'll forgive me for what I have to do.
Had he left her here alone? Or worse—had he given her over to the North Pack?
The door suddenly burst open. Elara screamed and grabbed a nearby lamp, ready to fight.
"Easy!" Kael said, stepping inside with his hands up. "It's just me."
Relief rushed through her, followed quickly by anger. "Where were you?"
"Checking the perimeter," he said, closing the door behind him. "Making sure we're safe."
"I thought..." Elara put the lamp down, ashamed. "Never mind."
Kael's eyes softened. "You thought I abandoned you?"
"Can you blame me? Everyone keeps telling me different stories about who I am and what they want from me."
Kael sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. "I know. And I'm sorry."
Over the next three days, they stayed at the cabin. Kael taught Elara about her Luna Wolf abilities—how to sense other wolves' feelings, how to calm an angry pack with just her presence.
On the fourth day, Kael announced they needed to return to the pack.
"Is it safe?" Elara asked.
"Not completely," Kael admitted. "But I can't stay away much longer without causing trouble. And you need to start learning how to handle your powers around others."
Back at the pack house, everyone stared at them. Whispers followed Elara everywhere she went.
"That's her—the one Alpha Kael rescued." "He's never shown so much interest in one wolf before." "Maybe she's his true mate?"
Zane found her in the yard on the second day back. His face still had a healed cut from the fight with the North Pack.
"You okay?" he asked, sitting beside her on a wooden seat.
"I don't know," Elara said honestly. "Everything's changing so fast."
Zane gave her a sad smile. "I always knew you were special, you know. Even when we were kids."
"You did?"
"Why do you think I stuck by you all these years?"
Elara bumped his shoulder with hers. "Because you're a good friend?"
"That too," Zane laughed. Then his face turned serious. "Be careful with Kael. He's not telling you everything."
Before Elara could ask what he meant, a shadow fell across them.
"Elara," Kael's deep voice made her jump. "I need you."
Zane stood, nodding respectfully to his Alpha before walking away. But Elara didn't miss the warning look he sent her way.
Every day that week, Kael sought Elara out. In the morning, he'd ask her to join him for breakfast. In the afternoon, he'd take her to the training grounds to practice her new powers. In the evening, they'd walk through the forest, talking about everything and nothing.
Never before had the Alpha shown so much attention to one wolf. The pack noticed, and the talk spread like wildfire.
"Do you think she's using some kind of magic on him?" one wolf whispered too loudly as Elara passed.
"Maybe he just feels sorry for her," another answered.
The words stung, but Elara tried to ignore them. What mattered was that Kael seemed to care about her—really care—for the first time in her life.
One night, as they sat by the lake watching the moon's image on the water, Kael took her hand. That familiar electric feeling zipped up her arm.
"You're getting stronger," he said. "I can feel your power growing."
"Is that a good thing?"
Kael paused, then nodded. "It means you're accepting who you are."
"And who am I?" Elara asked, looking into his bright eyes.
"You're..." Kael started, then looked away. "You're important to me."
It wasn't exactly a statement of love, but it made Elara's heart race anyway. Could she really be special to him?
The next morning, Elara was helping in the pack kitchen when a commotion broke out in the main hall. Curious, she peeked through the opening.
A tall woman with flowing red hair stood in the middle of the room. She wore expensive clothes and carried herself like royalty.
"Where is he?" the woman asked.
"The Alpha is busy," a beta wolf answered.
"I don't care!" the woman snapped. "Tell Kael his fiancée is here!"
Elara's heart dropped to her stomach. Fiancée? Kael was engaged?
Before she could process this news, Kael himself walked into the hall. His face showed no surprise at seeing the red-haired woman.
"Luna," he said coldly. "You're early."
The woman—Luna—smiled and walked to him, putting a hand on his chest. "I couldn't wait to see you, my love."
Elara felt sick. She backed away from the door, knocking over a stack of plates with a crash.
Everyone turned to look at her. Including Kael, whose face drained of color.
"Elara—" he started, but she was already running.
She ran blindly through the pack house and out into the bush, tears streaming down her face. How could she have been so stupid? Thinking she might be special to the Alpha, when all along he was promised to another.
A hand grabbed her arm, stopping her mid-flight. She spun around, expecting Kael, but found Zane instead.
"I tried to warn you," he said softly.
"You knew?" Elara cried. "You knew he was engaged?"
Zane nodded sadly. "The partnership with Luna Lyra's pack has been planned for months. Her father is a powerful Alpha. The marriage will strengthen Kael's position."
"Then why did he—" Elara couldn't finish the sentence. Why did he make her hope?
"Elara!" Kael's voice called from behind them. "Wait!"
"Go," Zane whispered quickly. "I'll stop him. Find Calla. She can help you understand what's really going on."
"How do I find her?"
"Take the north trail until you reach the split tree. She has a house there." Zane squeezed her arm. "Be careful. And remember—not everything is as it seems."
Elara nodded and turned to run deeper into the trees. As she disappeared among the woods, she heard Kael confronting Zane.
"Where is she going?" Kael demanded.
"I don't know, Alpha," Zane lied. "Maybe she just needed some space."
"You're lying," Kael growled.
The last thing Elara heard was the sound of a person hitting the ground.
She ran faster, her heart breaking with every step. She had to find Calla. Had to learn the truth.
The moon rose high as Elara finally reached the split oak. Beyond it stood a small house, light glowing in its windows.
She approached carefully and knocked on the door.
It swung open to show Calla, looking unsurprised to see her.
"I've been expecting you," the older woman said. "Come in before they find you."
Elara stepped inside, exhausted and sad.
"I need the truth," she said. "All of it."
Calla's eyes glowed in the dim light. "The truth is more dangerous than you know." She motioned to a chair. "Sit. What I'm about to tell you will change everything."
Elara sat down, unknowing that at that very moment, a pair of eyes watched the cabin from the darkness of the trees—eyes that belonged to neither Kael nor his pack.