Chapter 4 The Elder's Truth

I didn't sleep at all after that.

Every time I shut my eyes, I could feel it! The forest breathing, the moon tugging at something deep within me. My body felt heavier than normal, like it was trying to adapt to a shape it hadn't quite settled into yet. When dawn finally broke, pale and quiet, it felt like a trick. Like the night hadn't really come to an end.

My mom was already up.

I found her in the kitchen, standing by the table with her hands wrapped tightly around a cup that had gone untouched. She looked up as I walked in, relief and fear swirling across her face all at once.

"You're still you," she said softly.

"I think so," I replied.

She exhaled shakily and motioned for me to take a seat. For a moment, we just sat there in silence. It felt so delicate, like one wrong word could shatter it completely.

"The elderly will come," she finally said. "They won't wait."

As if on cue, a knock echoed at the door. Not loud, but not gentle either. It was firm.

Elder Corvin stood outside with two others, their faces serious. They didn't come in until my mother nodded, and even then, they avoided meeting my gaze.

"You felt it last night," Corvin said.

I nodded. "I didn't go into the forest."

His eyes flickered with what looked like relief. "Good. That bought us some time."

"Time for what?" I asked.

He shared a glance with the others before answering. "For truth."

They led us to the council house, a stone building at the edge of the village that had always felt off-limits, even when I was a kid. Inside, symbols were carved into the walls: wolves, moons, circles within circles. I felt a buzz in my chest the moment I stepped through the door.

"This place reacts to you," one of the elders murmured.

Corvin turned to face me fully. "What happened last night wasn't a coincidence. The Moon Stone didn't just choose you. It recognized you."

My stomach twisted. "Recognize me how?"

He sighed. "Your bloodline was once tied to the forest. Guardians. Not hunters. Not monsters. Balance-keepers."

My mom tensed beside me. "You said it was gone."

"We thought it was," Corvin said quietly. "The last carrier disappeared eighteen years ago."

I held my breath. "Disappeared... how?"

No one answered right away.

"Those with your mark," Corvin continued, "don't shift like others do. Not entirely. Not at first. You awaken in stages. Sight. Strength. Instinct."

That explained a lot.

"The wolves you saw," he added, "They're not strangers to you. They've been waiting."

"Waiting for what?" I whispered.

"For you to come of age."

The room suddenly felt too small. "So what happens now?"

Corvin's expression darkened. "Now the forest will test you. And so will they."

"*They?*" I asked.

Before he could respond, a chill swept through the room. Every torch flickered at once.

I sensed it before anyone spoke.

Something had crossed the boundary.

Corvin turned sharply toward the door. "They're early."

My mom grabbed my hand. "You promised time."

"And you have some," he said. "But not much."

Outside, a familiar presence pressed against my senses. Calm. Strong. Watching.

The same eyes I'd seen from my window.

"They won't harm her," Corvin said, more to himself than to us. "Not yet."

"Yet?" I snapped.

His gaze met mine, steady and unwavering. "Because once the bond completes, you won't belong solely to Ebonridge anymore."

A pulse of heat ignited in my chest.

The forest wasn't just calling now.

It was claiming.

And I realized, with sudden clarity, that my life before the Moon Stone was already over.