Chapter 2 Thoughtful gifts.

The air had settled again in Liana's room, but Elira's nerves hadn't. Something felt different now, and it wasn't just a weird trance.

While Liana stepped into the adjacent washroom to splash water on her face, Elira's gaze drifted toward the desk covered in pages-half-finished sketches, scribbled notes, and aged books with cracked spines and worn leather covers. A half-finished diagram sat open in the center, glowing faintly under a shard of sunlight. Something about it tugged at her.

"Elira," Seraphine said cautiously, eyeing her as she stepped toward the desk. "What are you doing?"

"I just want to see," she murmured, picking up the top sheet.

The sketch was rough but clearly intentional-a symbol of two crescent moons mirroring each other, surrounding a faceless figure cloaked in shadow. Below it was an unfinished phrase in Old Howlean, the ancient script of their kind. Elira had only seen it once, in a book her father used to keep locked away.

"Liana drew this?" she asked aloud.

"She's always scribbling weird things," Seraphine said with a shrug, arms crossed.

Elira flipped through a few more pages. A full moon drawn in perfect symmetry, flanked by figures kneeling before it. Another of a girl with a long braid, standing on a cliff, her silhouette marked with the words Luna veritas, non electio.

The truth of the Luna... not selection?

"'Luna veritas, non electio,'" Elira repeated quietly. "What does that mean?"

Just then, Liana reappeared, towel in hand, drying her face. She paused mid-step when she saw what Elira was holding.

"Hey," she said cautiously. "You're not supposed to be looking through those."

Elira looked up, her expression firm but curious. "Why not? You drew them, didn't you?"

Liana sighed, walking slowly over and setting the towel aside. "Yeah, but they're... personal."

Seraphine raised a brow. "You drew a faceless werewolf queen and wrote ancient spells. That's not exactly a diary entry."

Elira didn't back down. "Liana, this one here-'Luna veritas, non electio.' It's saying something about the Luna Queen not being chosen, right? What does that mean?"

Liana hesitated. Her hand hovered above the parchment, fingers trembling slightly.

"It's a theory," she said finally. "One my grandmother whispered about once, back when she was still lucid."

Elira tilted her head. "What kind of theory?"

"That the Luna Queen... isn't picked from among the noble bloodlines. Not really. That's just tradition. Politics. What the council wants people to believe."

She met Elira's eyes now, serious and unflinching.

"But the true Luna Queen? She's marked by the moon herself. Chosen by something older than the council. Older than the Aetherclaw line."

Seraphine let out a scoff. "Come on. That sounds like a bedtime story."

Liana shook her head. "It's not. The Aetherclaws have always claimed the Luna Queen must come from their bloodline-noble, pure, tied to the first Alpha. But that's a lie rooted in control. The prophecy says that when darkness threatens the balance of the realms, the moon will call her true queen-marked not by blood, but by fate."

Elira stared at the sketch again. Her heart was racing, her skin tingling.

"And you think... I'm connected to this?"

"I didn't," Liana admitted. "Not until today."

"Because I triggered your trance," Elira said slowly.

"And because of this." Liana reached up and lightly touched the pendant resting above Elira's collarbone. "Where did you get this, Elira?"

"My dad gave it to me before he passed," she replied, a little more quietly now. "Said it belonged to my birth mother. That I should only wear it after my first shift but unfortunately I thought I'll shift this mo."

Liana's lips parted slightly. "That symbol on the pendant... it's the mark of the lunar bound. It only appears once every few centuries. It means you were born under a blood eclipse-the rarest moon phase."

Seraphine let out a dry laugh. "So what-you're saying Elira's some kind of moon-blessed goddess now?"

"I'm saying," Liana cut in, sharp now, "that if the real Luna Queen is chosen, not selected... and she's already among us, then the council is in for a reckoning. And so is King Azierl Caelum Fenris."

Elira felt the room tilt slightly. Her breath caught in her throat.

She didn't feel like royalty. She felt like a girl who had no idea who she really was.

But the pendant pulsed against her chest again-warm, gentle, like a heartbeat not her own.

And deep down, she wondered... What if it was true?

The room fell into a weighted silence, heavy with something unspoken-until Seraphine broke it with a laugh. Sharp. Mocking. Drenched in sugar-coated disbelief.

"Wait-wait, hold on." She clutched her stomach like the thought had physically winded her. "You actually think Elira-our Elira-is some kind of fated Luna Queen?"

Liana stiffened.

Elira blinked, mouth slightly open. "Seraphine-"

"No, no, no, I mean-come on," Seraphine interrupted, waving a hand dismissively. "You say all this like it's a prophecy gospel. Like we're living in a damn fairytale. What's next? Talking wolves and celestial daggers?"

Liana's jaw tightened. "You think this is funny?"

Seraphine shrugged, still grinning but her eyes were too cold to match. "I think it's cute. You, in your mystery shack of a room with your chalkboard theories and creepy sketches, handing out Queen titles like candy."

Elira's brows furrowed. "Why is it so hard to believe, Sera?"

"Because you're you," Seraphine said before she could stop herself.

The silence that followed sliced deeper than any snarl.

Elira stood very still.

"I mean-" Seraphine rushed to add, already backpedaling, "you're great, Elira, you know that. Sweet. Kind. But let's be honest-Luna Queen material? That's not even in your bloodline. You're adopted. No offense."

Liana's glare would have scorched the walls.

"Just because she doesn't come from some pretentious ancestral tree doesn't mean she's not special," she snapped. "Maybe that's exactly why she is."

Seraphine rolled her eyes, though a flicker of unease cracked her confidence. "Sure. Special. Like the moon just picked a nobody omega to wear the crown out of the blue."

"That's exactly what the prophecy says," Liana shot back. "That when the bloodlines are corrupted, when power is hoarded and misused, the moon will choose outside the circle. Someone pure. Someone who wouldn't want the crown for themselves."

Seraphine glanced at Elira now, expression unreadable. "And you-do you want it?"

Elira swallowed. "I don't even know what it means."

"Exactly." Seraphine gave a humorless smile. "So maybe we shouldn't go lighting sacred fires and building altars just yet."

Liana turned away, lips pressed in frustration. "You know what your problem is, Seraphine?"

"Oh, please enlighten me."

"You only believe in power when it's handed down by name or blood. Not when it comes from somewhere higher. Somewhere untouchable."

Seraphine folded her arms. "And you believe in bedtime stories and star-blessed nobodies."

"I believe in Elira," Liana said, full stop.

That stunned the room into stillness again.

Elira's heart raced. She looked between them, breath shaky. "I didn't ask for any of this."

"I know," Liana said gently, placing

Seraphine folded her arms. "And you believe in bedtime stories and star-blessed nobodies."

"I believe in Elira," Liana said, full stop.

That stunned the room into stillness again.

Elira's heart raced. She looked between them, breath shaky. "I didn't ask for any of this."

"I know," Liana said gently, placing a hand over hers.

"Well maybe someone else will," Seraphine murmured, almost too quiet to hear.

Elira turned to her sharply. "What was that?"

"Nothing." Seraphine's mask was back on, all dimples and false calm. "I just meant... let's not get carried away. We're probably reading too much into your weird dreams and Liana's magical doodles. Not everything needs to be a conspiracy."

But her tone was hollow, and Elira caught the quick flicker of emotion in her friend's eyes-fear? Or something darker?

Liana went back to the desk and rolled up the sketches, tucking them into a leather tube. "I'm putting these away. This conversation doesn't leave this room."

"No arguments here," Seraphine said with a fake laugh. "Wouldn't want anyone thinking we're all drinking moonshine and playing prophecy games."

Elira bit her lip, uncertain. But in her chest, the pendant pulsed again, like it was trying to speak.

And something told her-this was only the beginning.

The sunlight spilled through the gauzy white curtains of Liana's room, painting golden lines across the lavender walls. Her room was a beautiful, chaotic mess-filled with books stacked in uneven towers, crystal dreamcatchers hanging from ceiling hooks, and half-sketched drawings sprawled across her long wooden desk.

Elira stood quietly beside the desk, still caught between awe and curiosity from the earlier trance episode that Liana had brushed off like it was nothing more than a dizzy spell.

Seraphine, arms crossed, leaned against the doorframe, her mouth pulled into a faint smirk that hadn't quite faded since her sarcastic jab about Elira being Luna Queen. She looked like she was fighting back laughter, and from the glance she gave Elira, she clearly thought the whole thing was absurd.

Elira gently traced her fingers over one of the sketches on the table-an intricate diagram of a crown, but not an ordinary one. The base was made of twisted roots, with symbols carved around the rim. At the center of the crown sat a brilliant moonstone, radiating subtle energy. Surrounding it were markings she didn't recognize-ancient, otherworldly. A phrase was scribbled beneath it in neat handwriting, and it was in English

"The Luna Queen is not chosen. She is awakened."

Elira tilted her head confused again for the second time "Liana," she said, her brows furrowed, "what does this mean? About the Luna Queen being awakened, not chosen?"

Liana turned, a lock of curly brown hair falling in front of her face as she walked over, her expression shifting into something more solemn. "It's an old theory. Well, my theory. You know how Luna Queens have always been picked from the Aetherclaw lineage? The council claims it's by fate, but what if... it's not? What if the bond is manufactured, not destined?"

Seraphine let out a short, sharp laugh. "Wow. You've really been deep-diving into your fantasy books again, huh?" She stepped closer and glanced at the sketch. "Come on, Liana. That's just conspiracy nonsense. Everyone knows the Aetherclaws are divinely favored. The Luna Decree's been in place for centuries."

"But who put it there?" Liana replied, tone gentle but unyielding. "And why has no one else outside Aetherclaw ever been fated to an Alpha King? It doesn't feel like fate-it feels like control."

Elira remained quiet, eyes flitting between the two. A soft hum vibrated beneath her ribs-the same feeling she'd had since Liana's trance-like whisper. Queen.

Seraphine rolled her eyes and turned to Elira. "And now I guess you're the great exception? Going to awaken and overthrow centuries of tradition just because Liana had a dizzy spell and your birthday's tomorrow?" Her voice was laced with sarcasm, but her smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Seraphine..." Elira's voice was soft, but firm. "That's enough."

The silence that followed was thick.

Liana stepped in to break the tension. "Anyway," she said, her tone lightening, "you said your mom's at her knitting class, right? Wait here."

She disappeared into her closet and emerged a few seconds later holding a small, velvet-wrapped box. It looked old-delicate gold embroidery lined the edges, and a tiny moonstone was stitched into the top.

"This," Liana said as she held it out, "is for you."

Elira blinked. "What? Why?"

"Because today you turn eighteen. And something about today feels different. And because-" she paused, glancing at Elira with a strange glint in her eyes, "-this doesn't belong with me anymore."

Elira slowly took the box and opened it.

Inside, nestled in dark velvet, was a silver pendant. The chain was thin, but sturdy, and the pendant itself was a flat disc of moonstone encased in silver, with a wolf etched on one side and a phoenix on the other. It shimmered faintly, like it was alive.

The moment her fingers touched the pendant, a jolt of warmth shot through her skin, spreading into her chest and then her core. She inhaled sharply, eyes wide.

Seraphine leaned over and squinted. "A necklace? Cute. Bit dramatic, though. Looks like something out of a fairytale." Her tone was dry, but the edge in it wasn't lost on anyone.

Liana smiled. "Fairytales exist somewhere, Seraphine. And some of us are just brave enough to live them."

"Sure," Seraphine said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Until reality bites... like, say, a rejection."

Elira's lips thinned, and she quickly closed the box. "Thanks, Liana," she said, trying to steer the conversation away from Seraphine's usual bite. "It's beautiful. Really."

"I'm glad you like it," Liana said, her smile genuine. "It's said to hum in tune with your wolf's spirit. If yours is near surfacing, you'll feel her more clearly with it on."

Elira swallowed. Her wolf had always been quiet-distant, almost like she wasn't there. The idea that something could bring her closer... it tugged at something deep inside.

Seraphine huffed a sigh. "Okay, okay. Are we done with the mystical-gift-exchange-slash-ancient-theory moment? Because I'm starving and you promised we'd grab pastries after this."

Elira laughed softly despite herself. "Alright, alright. But I'm wearing this," she said, slipping the necklace over her head and tucking it under her blouse. "Let's go."

As they walked toward the door, none of them noticed the way the moonstone glowed just a little brighter once it touched Elira's skin.

And none of them could have guessed that with that simple gift, a sleeping prophecy had just stirred awake.

The scent of warm cinnamon and honeyed glaze hit before they even stepped into Bram's Bakery. Elira's eyes lit up instantly. Inside, golden shelves brimmed with pastries, laughter bubbled from the kitchen, and the gentle clinking of teacups filled the air.

"Three moonberry tarts and a cinnamon roll with extra glaze," Liana called out to the baker like she owned the place.

"You're a menace," Seraphine muttered, arching a brow. "Moonberry tarts again?"

"I'm consistent," Liana replied with a grin. "You should try it sometime."

Elira giggled as they slipped into their usual corner booth. The wood was polished smooth from years of elbows and gossip. From the window, she could see the village square, a few children skipping stones near the fountain.

"So," Seraphine said as she tugged off her gloves and laid them beside her. "Big day."

Elira stared at her. "It's just my birthday."

"Not just any birthday," Liana chimed. "Eighteen is when the threads of fate start pulling. You could find him today."

Elira lowered her gaze. "Or... not."

"Don't even," Liana said, leaning forward. "The Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes. She's got something wild and perfect planned for you."

Seraphine arched her brow. "Sure, but let's not pretend it's always dreamy. Sometimes people meet their mate and still walk away."

Elira flinched. "You really know how to kill the vibe, huh?"

Seraphine shrugged, unapologetic. "I'm being realistic. Not everyone has a fairy tale."

Liana reached over and gave Elira's hand a quick squeeze. "Still, it's your story. And you deserve something beautiful."

A quiet hum settled between them as the baker brought over their pastries. The warmth of sugar, berries, and flaky crust filled the air like a blanket.

Elira took a small bite of her tart and let the flavor sink in. "I just... I don't even know what I want in a mate. What if I mess it up? What if I don't feel the bond?"

Seraphine popped a corner of her cinnamon roll into her mouth. "Please. The bond hits like a storm. You won't be confused."

"Still," Elira said softly. "I want someone who sees me. Not just what I look like. Not my silence. I want someone who... listens. Who lets me just be."

Liana smiled gently. "You want love that doesn't need noise to feel loud."

Elira nodded. "Exactly."

Seraphine leaned back, watching her with a strange glint in her eye. "You've really thought about this, huh?"

"I guess I have," Elira admitted. "Maybe because I've always felt... invisible."

"You're not," Liana said firmly.

"You might not light up the room like some girls," Seraphine added, "but you've got this... gravity. Like people orbit around you without even realizing."

Elira blinked. "That's oddly poetic coming from you."

"I contain multitudes," Seraphine said, deadpan.

They all burst into laughter, their voices mingling with the soft clatter of plates and mugs around them. It felt good. Easy. For a moment, Elira forgot the tension in her chest.

"What do you want in a mate, Seraphine?" she asked.

Seraphine didn't miss a beat. "Tall, quiet, and emotionally repressed with a tragic backstory."

Liana choked on her tart.

"You're joking," Elira laughed.

Seraphine grinned. "Mostly. I just want someone who gets that I can be... difficult sometimes. But worth it."

Elira turned to Liana. "And you?"

Liana pretended to think hard. "Someone who brings me pastries without being asked."

"You're impossible," Seraphine groaned.

"I'm a realist," Liana said with a wink.

Their laughter carried again, soft and warm. But beneath it, Elira felt the quiet hum of nerves. Today could change everything. The bond might snap into place. Or not at all.

She didn't know which would scare her more.

As they got up to leave, Seraphine suddenly reached into her coat pocket with an almost sheepish expression.

"I wasn't gonna give you anything," she said, "because, you know, I figured Liana would go overboard as usual."

"Thanks?" Liana deadpanned.

Seraphine rolled her eyes and turned to Elira. "But then I saw this and thought of you, so... don't make it weird."

She handed over a small pouch wrapped in dusky blue velvet. Elira opened it carefully and gasped. Nestled inside was a tiny charm pendant shaped like a crescent moon, with a pale aquamarine crystal in its center.

"It's beautiful," she whispered.

"It's enchanted," Seraphine said quickly, like she was embarrassed. "Not like-crazy magic. Just... calming. It's supposed to help with clarity and grounding. Figured it might be useful if, you know... things get overwhelming."

Elira looked up, eyes wide. "Thank you, Seraphine. Seriously."

Seraphine waved her hand, feigning disinterest. "Don't get mushy on me. I'll revoke it."

But her eyes softened just a little.

As they stepped out into the cobblestone street, the wind kissed their faces with an early spring chill. The day still held its secrets-and so did fate.

But Elira wasn't alone.

And for now, that was enough.