The killers for the Shadow Council came out of nowhere. People in black cloaks came out of the trees like watery death. In the starlight, their red eyes shone, and the silver weapons they held sparkled. "Protect the princess!" Elder Thorne yelled. The dire wolf sprang into action and crushed the first killer's throat with its huge jaws. Jaxon and the fighters in his pack changed into wolves and barked as they charged into battle.
Even Kade's men joined the fight, but their leader was frozen with shock. "Amara!" Jaxon called over the chaos. "We need to get you away from here!" But there were too many enemies. For every attacker they killed, two more appeared from the darkness. "The princess must not escape!" hissed a voice cold as winter wind. A figure stepped from the darkness - tall, pale, with eyes like black holes. Dark magic crackled around his fingers. "Shadow Master," Elder Thorne gasped. "Impossible. You were supposed to be dead." The Shadow Master smiled, showing teeth sharp as blades. "Death is just another tool, old fool. And tonight, the royal family ends forever." He raised his hand, and dark lightning shot toward Amara. The dire wolf threw itself in front of her, taking the blast. The old guardian howled in pain as shadow magic burned through its fur. "No!" Amara screamed. Power burst from her again, but she was still weak from before. The golden light flickered and died almost instantly. "Run!" Jaxon grabbed her arm. "The baby needs you alive!" Around them, the battle raged. Wolves fought assassins in deadly battle. Blood turned the ground red. But more enemies kept coming. "This way!" Elder Thorne pointed toward the deep forest. "There's an old safe house—" A silver blade sliced through the air, hitting him in the chest. The older fell with a gasp. "Elder Thorne!" Amara cried. "Go," he whispered, blood on his lips. "Protect... the prophecy..." The Shadow Master laughed coldly. "How sweet. The last guardian dies protecting a lie." "What do you mean, a lie?" Amara demanded. "The promise, child. The Moonborn Alpha. All of it was made to control you." His black eyes gleamed with cruel joy. "There is no appointed savior. No picked one. Just a stupid girl with royal blood we need to spill." Amara's heart broke. Everything she'd believed, everything that made her feel special—all fake? "Don't listen to him," Jaxon growled, blood running from claw marks on his face. "He's trying to break your spirit." "Am I?" The Shadow Master motioned, and more dark lightning crackled. "Tell me, princess—if you're so special, why are all your protectors dying?" It was true. The dire wolf lay lifeless. Elder Thorne was gone. Half of Jaxon's pack had fallen. Even Kade was bleeding, finally fighting beside them against the attackers. "We can't win," someone yelled. That's when the storm hit.
Thunder crashed overhead like the sky was breaking apart. Rain poured down in sheets so thick they could barely see. "The weather's turning!" Jaxon yelled over the wind. "We can use this!" "Scatter!" Kade led his warriors. "Regroup at dawn!" But the Shadow Master wasn't finished. "You cannot hide from us forever, little princess. We will hunt you to the ends of the earth." Lightning split the sky, and in that short flash of light, Amara saw something that made her blood freeze. The Shadow Master wasn't alone. Behind him stood a woman in a silver cloak—Celina. But her eyes now glowed the same terrible red as the killers. "Celina?" Kade stared in fear. "What have you done?" "What I had to do to gain real power," she answered, her voice different now. Colder. Inhuman. "The Shadow Council offered me immortality and strength beyond any Luna's dreams." "You sold your soul," Jaxon spat. "I traded weakness for power." Celina raised her hand, and shadow power swirled around her fingers just like the Shadow Master's. "And now I'll kill the brat that threatened everything I worked for." She threw dark lightning at Amara's belly. Time slowed. Amara saw the dangerous magic racing toward her unborn child. She threw her hands up, trying to hide her stomach. But Kade was faster. He leaped in front of her, taking the blast full in the chest. The shadow magic sent him flying backward into a tree with a painful crack. "Kade!" Amara screamed. He lay unmoving, blood pooling beneath him. "How noble," Celina mocked. "The great Alpha dies protecting his discarded omega." Rage burst through Amara like wildfire. Her eyes blazed gold again, and this time the power didn't flicker. "You killed him," she whispered, then yelled, "YOU KILLED HIM!" The golden light burst from her with hurricane force. Every attacker within fifty feet was thrown backward. Trees bent away from her like they were afraid. But the attempt was too much. Amara collapsed, gasping. "Impressive," the Shadow Master said, barely moved by her power. "But you're still just a frightened girl playing at being special." "Run," Kade whispered softly from where he lay bleeding. "Amara... run..." Jaxon grabbed her hand. "We have to go. Now." They fled into the storm-lashed forest. Behind them, cruel laughs echoed through the rain. The wind howled like a live thing, tearing at their clothes and hair. Rain turned the ground into dangerous mud. "This way!" Jaxon yelled, but his voice was almost lost in the storm. They stumbled through the darkness, branches cutting their faces. Amara's legs shook with tiredness. "I can't... I can't keep going," she gasped. "You have to," Jaxon said strongly. "For the baby."
But Amara was weakening fast. The power she'd used, the shock of seeing Kade hurt, the fear of being hunted—it was all too much. Her foot caught on a root, and she fell hard. Pain shot through her stomach. "No, no, no," she whispered, touching her belly with shaking hands. "Please be okay, little one." Jaxon knelt beside her. "Are you hurt?" "I don't know," Amara said, tears mixed with rain on her face. "I can't tell if it's the baby or just me." Behind them, red eyes glowed in the darkness. The attackers were getting closer. "We need shelter," Jaxon said desperately. But there was nowhere to go. They were lost in the heart of the storm, with enemies closing in and Amara too weak to run. She curled around her belly protectively. "I'm sorry, baby," she whispered. "Mommy tried to keep you safe." That's when she heard it—a voice in the wind that sounded like Elder Thorne. The cottage, it seemed to say. Find Maeve's house. "Did you hear that?" Amara asked. "Hear what?" Jaxon looked around wildly. But Amara was already moving, following the ghostly voice deeper into the storm. Something was directing her, pulling her forward. Through the rain and darkness, she saw a faint light. A house. "There!" she pointed. They stumbled toward it just as the attackers burst from the trees behind them. "Found you!" one of them hissed. Jaxon spun around, changing into wolf form to fight them off. Amara reached the cottage door and pounded on it frantically. "Please! Someone help us!" The door opened, showing a woman with burnt orange curls and one blind eye. "I've been waiting for you, child," Maeve the rogue healer said quietly. "Come inside. Quickly." Amara looked back. Jaxon was fighting three attackers at once, blood streaming from multiple wounds. "Jaxon!" she screamed. One of the assassins broke past him, running toward the cottage with a silver blade raised high. Maeve stepped forward, her good eye flashing with old power. "Not in my sanctuary," she said quietly. She raised her hand, and the attacker simply... stopped. Frozen in place like a statue. "Impossible," the killer gasped. "What are you?" Maeve smiled strangely. "Someone much older than you imagine." She motioned, and all the assassins were suddenly thrown backward into the storm. They hit the trees and didn't get up. Jaxon limped to the cottage, breathing hard. "How did you—" he started to ask. "Questions later," Maeve interrupted. "The girl needs help. Now." She helped Amara inside the warm house. Herbs hung from the ceiling, and strange symbols were cut into the wooden walls. "Lie down," Maeve ordered gently. "Let me check on your little one." Amara lay on a soft bed while Maeve's hands glowed with healing light as she checked her stomach. "The baby's fine," Maeve stated. "Strong as an ox, this one. But you're tired and stressed. You need rest." "We can't rest," Amara argued. "They'll find us." "Not here they won't." Maeve's voice was strong. "This house exists between worlds. They can't touch you while you're under my protection." Jaxon sat heavily in a chair. "Who are you really?" Maeve's one good eye studied him carefully. "Someone who's been waiting a very long time for this moment." She turned to Amara. "Child, what do you know about your real parents?" "The Shadow Master said the prophecy was fake," Amara said sadly.
"That I'm not special at all." "Oh, but you are special," Maeve said with a knowing smile. "Just not for the reasons you think." She moved to an old wooden box and pulled out something wrapped in black silk. "Your mother left this for you before she died." Maeve unwrapped the silk, showing a necklace made of pure moonstone. It glowed with inner light. "What is it?" Amara whispered. "The Crown of Luna," Maeve said reverently. "Worn by the first Queen of all werewolves. It's been waiting for you." She put the necklace around Amara's neck. The moment it touched her skin, power surged through her unlike anything she'd felt before. But with the power came dreams. She saw her real mother—not Elena Hale, but a woman who looked exactly like her. The true Luna Queen, dying as she hid a baby in a basket. She saw her father—not Marcus, but a great Alpha King, fighting desperately to protect his family. And she saw the truth. "I'm not just royal blood," Amara gasped. "I'm the daughter of the Moon Goddess herself." Maeve nodded seriously. "Half-goddess, half-wolf. The first of your kind in a thousand years." "That's why they want to kill me," Amara realized. "If I learn to use my power..." "You could reshape the entire supernatural world," Maeve ended. "Or destroy it completely." Jaxon stared at them both. "What are you saying?" Before anyone could answer, the cottage began to shake. Outside, something roared with a voice like thunder. "What's happening?" Amara cried. Maeve's face went pale. "Someone's found us. Someone with power equal to yours." The door burst inward. Through the smoke stepped a figure that made everyone's blood turn to ice. It wasn't the Shadow Master. It was someone much, much worse. A man who looked exactly like Amara, but with eyes like burning stars. "Hello, sister," he said with a smile that promised death. "I've been looking for you for a very long time."