Chapter 3 Return of the Pack

Chaos exploded in the clearing. Luna's body moved with a fluid ease as her wolf rose to the forefront, her senses honed to almost supernatural proportions. She didn't have time to think, only react, as this rogue wolf dove at her, fangs bared, claws extended.

The world around her seemed to slow, every movement around her amplified. The rogue wolf leaped, his jump calculated, but Luna was faster. In a fluid motion, she sidestepped and raked her claws across his side. He howled in pain but recovered nimbly, whirled, and struck again.

But Luna wasn't alone.

Ethan moved with lethal precision, his wolf form bursting forth in a surge of energy. The two of them, strangers only a moment before, now allies in their struggle for survival, shifted as one seamless force. Ethan countered the rogue's next move with his teeth sinking deep into the wolf's flank. Luna took immediate advantage of the distraction and launched herself at the rogue's throat in a savage snarl.

It was over in an instant. The rogue, outnumbered and caught off guard by the force of both Luna and Ethan, fell to the ground, his body twitching before it lay still.

Luna was panting, her body shaking with a massive amount of adrenaline as she stood over the fallen wolf. The scent of blood filled the air, and her wolf screamed for more. But she held back, and this strange sense of power coursed through her veins. She wasn't just surviving anymore; she was fighting for something bigger. For her pack. For her past.

Ethan's wolf stood beside her, his golden eyes flashing with approval. He shifted back to human form, his body rippling with muscle. "You're stronger than I thought," he said, breathing heavily.

Luna didn't know what to say. She felt powerful, yes, but empty, too. The more she fought, the more the pieces of her past came together-but so much was still missing. And the rogue's words would not leave her mind: You should have stayed hidden.

She shook her head, determined to push those thoughts away. "We're not done yet," she said, her voice hoarse. "We need to keep moving."

Ethan nodded, his expression serious. "You're right. This is just the beginning."

The fight was far from over, and Luna could feel it in the air-something darker, something much more dangerous, was coming. But now, at least, she wasn't alone in the fight. And for the first time in years, Luna felt a flicker of hope.

The Lost Luna was no longer lost.

The night after the battle was endless. Though they had won against the rogue wolf, Luna's mind just wouldn't quiet down. The clearing where they had fought was silent now, save for the wind rustling the trees above them. The blood-stained earth beneath her feet seemed to pulse with an unspoken tension, as if the land itself was holding its breath, waiting for what came next. Luna sat before the fire Ethan had lit, staring into the flames as they winked and fluttered in the breeze.

Her wolf half was still restless, her senses tuned in and alive, but deep inside, there was an emptiness gnawing away. The fight had been brutal, but she had survived. She had fought like she was born for this. She should have felt stronger, more in control, but with each more piece of herself she let loose, the more questions arose.

She cast a sideways glance at Ethan. He sharpened his blade-meticulous, silent, and expressionless. Every action he performed was so calculated, careful. He hadn't said much since the fight, but Luna knew his mind worked just as fast as hers, piecing together fragments of information, searching for answers in the silence between them.

"I never thought I'd see the day when one of those traitor wolves would fall," Ethan said suddenly, his voice low but laced with something dangerous. He slid the blade back into its sheath with a sharp click, turning his gaze to her then. "You're stronger than you know, Luna. You've got the blood of the Moonheart Clan in you. There's more in you than just this body and these claws."

Luna swallowed as the weight of his words pressed down on her. She wasn't quite sure she believed him yet. This power he spoke of-this ancient, untapped strength-was beyond her comprehension. Barely mastering her wolf form, let alone understanding what was different about her from the rest of the werewolves roaming forests. But deep inside, buried, was that part of her that felt the truth of what he said: that hunger for power, the gnawing need for answers.

She met his gaze, her voice steady but laced with doubt. "But I don't know what to do with it. I don't know how to use it."

Ethan's eyes gentled, his lips pressing into a tight line. "You will. But first, we need to go to the old pack grounds. There's something there you need to see, something that might help you understand just how powerful you really are.

Luna nodded. She was ready to keep moving, to find answers, even if she didn't quite get what that entailed yet. If the rogue wolves were after her, if they were hunting her because of her bloodline, she couldn't hide forever.

She did so with a quick brush of the dirt from her pant and then looked around the clearing. The firelight cast long shadows, stretching out across the landscape and distorting it so that all seemed somehow unrecognizable and alien. She felt a tug in her chest, like something-someone-was calling from within the depths of the woods, from the heart of the pack grounds.

"We need to leave now," Luna said, her voice slicing through the silence.

Ethan raised an eyebrow but didn't argue. Standing, he gathered his stuff quickly and efficiently. "It's not far, but we have to be very careful. There's a reason the rogue wolves are still out here. They'll be watching." With that, they plunged into the night, directed. The cold night air seemed to creep up on them as they journeyed deeper into the forest; trees were becoming taller, their branches twisting in the moonlight, their gnarled fingers reaching for the sky like a clearing of ancient giants. Luna's heart quickened with an unusual mix of dread and anticipation building in her chest.

The deeper they ventured, the more she felt something-someone-waiting for her. She did not know who, but the feeling of being watched could not be mistaken.

After hours and hours of walking in complete silence, the forest began to break up, and the land gave way to open. She could make out forms of old stone ruins beyond: half-destroyed walls, crumbling columns, the remains of what had once been a grand fortress. This was it. The old pack grounds.

She stepped forward, her gaze sweeping the ruin, her senses tuned high. Wind whined through the breaks in the stone, raising a chill in her bones. Still, there was more. Something here. Something familiar. A memory that nipped at her consciousness and pulled her to the heart of the ruin.

Ethan stopped beside her, his voice barely above a whisper. "This is where it all began. The Heart of the Crescent Pack. Your family."

Luna nodded, swallowing hard. She took a step forward, the sound of her boots crunching on the gravel beneath her feet filling the silence. As she moved, she could feel the tug of something deep within the earth. The energy here was different-charged, as if the land itself was alive with old magic.

They reached a large clearing in the center of the ruins, wherein lay a big stone altar, covered by moss and vines. The image sent a flood of memories running back to her mind-image after image of her family around the altar, her mother and father proud and strong, and the wolves of the Crescent Pack howling as a chorus in the full moon.

Luna's throat went tight. Almost, she could have sworn she heard their voices, their laughter, the warmth of their presence. Then the images began to distort, twisting into memories of blood and fire. The screams of her pack as the traitors tore through the stronghold, the rage in her father's eyes as he fought to protect them all. And then-nothing. A void. A broken memory.

Ethan stepped forward, breaking the silence. "Do you remember it now?"

Luna shook her head, her body trembling as she took in the sight of the altar. She placed her hands on the stone, feeling the cold of it seeping into her palms. The memories were too fragmented, too painful to hold on to. "I remember pieces. But they're not... They're not real. They don't make sense."

You were hidden for a reason," Ethan said quietly. "Your parents knew what was coming. They knew your bloodline was the key to something greater. But they also knew the cost."

Luna turned to face him, her eyes narrowing. "What do you mean by that?

Ethan's eyes turned hard. "The Alpha who betrayed your family wasn't looking for just the Crescent Pack. He wanted you because of the power inside you. But it wasn't just the pack's future he was after-it was the future of all the werewolf clans."

Luna's heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean? What does my bloodline have to do with all the clans?

Ethan stepped back, his voice tinged with a dark gravity. "The Moonheart Clan, the one you're descended from, is one of the oldest lines of werewolves. And with it comes an ancient power that could unite the fractured clans-or destroy them entirely. Your blood is the key to breaking the cycle of war between the packs-or bringing about their downfall."

Luna's mind reeled as she processed the implications of what he was saying. The power inside her, the one that had been stirring constantly since she started remembering who she was, wasn't just about reclaiming her pack or avenging her family. It was something much bigger. It had to do with changing the entire werewolf world.

But what if she wasn't strong enough to control it?

Suddenly, a loud crack of branches breaking snapped her from her thoughts. Her heart lurched in her chest as she spun around, eyes searching the shadows of the ruins.

Ethan immediately dropped into a defensive stance, his eyes scanning the darkness. "We're not alone."

Luna's body was already shifting, her claws extending, her senses racing. No. She wasn't ready for this. Not here, not now.

A voice, deep and cold, rang out from the shadows. "You should have stayed hidden, Luna. Your power is a threat to us all."