Lily Carter POV
I ducked just in ti as Luna threw a vase that smashed against the wall behind . Tiny pieces of glass rained down onto the floor of the empty eting room where I’d followed the mystery figure—who turned out to be Luna.
"You think you can just walk into my life and take everything?" Luna scread, her face red with anger. Her beautiful hair was ssy, and her eyes were wild. "I was supposed to be Luna!"
"I didn’t ask for any of this," I said, backing away as Luna grabbed another small object from a shelf. "The mark just appeared."
"Liar!" She threw a small wooden wolf figure that hit my shoulder. "You must have done sothing, used so forbidden oga magic!"
I rubbed my shoulder and tried to stay calm. "Luna, please. I don’t want to fight you."
"Oh, I know exactly what happens when you fight," Luna said, her voice suddenly dropping to a whisper. Her angry face changed to a cold smile that sent shivers down my spine. "Isn’t that right, Lily? Or should I ask Tommy Reed about that?"
My blood turned to ice. Tommy Reed. A na I hadn’t heard in three years. A na I tried hard to forget.
"How do you know about Tommy?" I whispered.
Luna circled like an animal. "I know everything about you, Lily Carter. I’ve been watching you for years, waiting for you to make one wrong move."
I pressed my back against the wall. The Triple Moon Mark on my wrist burned, but it felt different—almost like a warning.
"Three years ago," Luna continued, "little Tommy Reed was being bullied by bigger wolves. You stepped in to protect him."
I closed my eyes, mories rushing back. Tommy had been only six, a small pup crying as three bigger boys pushed him around. I was fifteen then, still learning to control my wolf.
"You shifted to scare them off," Luna went on, her voice almost delighted. "But sothing went wrong, didn’t it? Your oga wolf wasn’t ant to be so powerful."
"It was an accident," I whispered.
"You nearly ripped Damon Reed’s throat out!" Luna’s eyes glittered. "An oga who can’t handle her strength. Imagine what the pack would think if they knew."
My hands started to shake. I’d only ant to growl at the bullies, to scare them away from Tommy. But when Damon had laughed and kicked the pup again, sothing inside had snapped. My oga wolf had lunged, teeth bared, and caught Damon’s neck. If Elder Iris hadn’t pulled back... "Elder Iris covered it up," Luna said, reading my thoughts. "Told everyone Damon fell on a sharp rock. Made you promise never to lose control again."
I looked at her. "How could you possibly know all this?"
"I have my sources." Luna smirked. "What do you think would happen if everyone knew? If they knew the sweet, gentle oga nearly killed a pup?"
"He wasn’t a pup. He was thirteen and hurting soone smaller," I said, but my voice faltered. The mory still haunted . The feeling of losing control, of my wolf taking over with a power no oga should have.
"Details, details." Luna waved her hand. "What counts is what people will believe. And they’ll believe the worst about you once I tell them."
"What do you want, Luna?" I asked, my voice steady now.
"I want you gone." She stepped closer. "Refuse the trio. Tell Alpha Marcus the mark was a mistake. Leave Silver Peak forever."
"Or what?"
"Or I tell everyone about Tommy Reed. About how scary you really are." Luna’s eyes narrowed. "I’ll tell them you hit too. Who will they believe? The Beta’s daughter or the oga with a violent past?"
My mind raced. I couldn’t leave – the mark on my wrist proved I belonged here. But if everyone knew what happened with Tommy...
"You have until tomorrow night," Luna said, headed for the door. "Make your choice. Your future, or your secret."
As she reached for the handle, the door swung open. Caleb stood there, his face blank.
"Everything okay in here?" he asked, looking between us.
Luna’s face quickly changed to a sweet smile. "Just girl talk," she said, brushing past him.
When she was gone, Caleb studied the broken glass on the floor, then .
"What did she want?" he asked softly.
I couldn’t tell him. Not yet. Not until I figured out what to do.
"Nothing important," I lied.
Caleb didn’t look convinced but didn’t push. "Co on. My father wants to see you before dinner." As we walked through the halls of the Alpha’s house, my mind spun with Luna’s threat. If the pack knew what I’d done, they’d fear . Ogas weren’t supposed to be dangerous. We were supposed to be gentle, quiet, helpful. What I’d done went against everything ogas were ant to be.
But was that really true? In the ancient books Caleb had shown , ogas had been fighters too, protectors in their own right.
We reached Alpha Marcus’s study, and Caleb knocked on the door.
"Enter," ca the Alpha’s deep voice.
Alpha Marcus sat behind a big desk covered with maps. He looked tired, with dark rings under his eyes.
"Lily," he said, nodding at . "Please sit."
I took the chair across from him, my hands folded in my lap to hide their shaking.
"There’s sothing we need to discuss," Alpha Marcus said, his voice serious. "Sothing about your past."
My heart stopped. Had Luna already told him?
"Your parents," he continued, startling . "I knew them well."
I blinked in confusion. "My parents? But they died when I was a baby."
"Yes," Alpha Marcus nodded. "In a rogue attack. At least, that’s what everyone was told."
"What do you an?"
Alpha Marcus exchanged a look with Caleb, who had remained by the door.
"Your parents weren’t killed by rogues, Lily," the Alpha said gently. "They were killed because your mother had the Triple Moon Mark."
The room seed to spin around . "What?"
"Your mother was the last bearer of the mark," Alpha Marcus continued. "She and your father were trying to bring change to Silver Peak, just as the mark intended. But there were those who didn’t want change."
"Who?" I whispered, my throat tight.
"That’s what we’ve been trying to discover," Caleb said, moving to stand beside . "The old records were destroyed. Soone wanted to erase all mory of your mother’s mark."
"The sa soone who might want to harm you now," Alpha Marcus added. "Which is why we need to know if Luna has threatened you."
I stared at my hands. Should I tell them about Tommy Reed? About Luna’s blackmail?
Before I could decide, a howl echoed through the night – the pack’s warning signal. Alpha Marcus was on his feet instantly.
"Rogues," he said grimly. "At the northern border."
Caleb pulled up. "Stay here. You’ll be okay."
"No," I said, finding my confidence. "I’m coming with you."
Alpha Marcus looked like he might argue, but sothing in my face changed his mind. He nodded once.
"Stay close to Caleb," he ordered.
As we rushed out, I caught a glimpse of Luna watching from a shadowy corner, a satisfied smile on her face.
The strikes were a distraction, I realized suddenly. But for what?
We reached the main hall where wolves were gathered. Aiden was already giving orders, while Brock checked guns. The front doors burst open as a bloodied guard stumbled in.
"They’ve breached the nursery!" he gasped. "They’re taking the pups!"
My blood ran cold. The nursery. My pups.
Without thinking, I broke away from Caleb and ran toward the door. Behind , I heard him call my na, but I didn’t stop.
If rogues were targeting the nursery, I knew why. Luna had found my weakness, my real secret – not that I’d hurt soone once, but that I would do anything to protect those pups. Even reveal the full power no oga was ant to have.
As I ran through the night toward the nursery, the Mark on my wrist burned brighter than ever before. Sothing was awakening inside – sothing powerful and old, sothing that had been sleeping in my blood since my mother’s death.
And deep down, I knew that after tonight, nothing would ever be the sa again.
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