Echoes of Moonfire

~Eira

The wind bites like it knows my name.

It tears through the Hills of Trepidation, lifting the edges of my cloak, whispering warnings I no longer care to hear. The horse beneath me shifts restlessly, hooves crunching frostbitten earth, but I don't stop riding. Not for the cold. Not for the ache in my bones. Not even for the sob locked in the back of my throat like a secret I refuse to give voice.

I know what you're thinking.

Why is she riding away from everything she's ever known? From the people she loved? From the only home she had?

The truth?

I'm not leaving because I want to. I'm leaving because I wasn't given the option to stay. I was cast out-tossed aside like something unworthy, something unwanted. Exiled without explanation. Banished by the very hands that once held me in celebration.

But for you to understand the mess I've been dragged into-the betrayal, the humiliation, the cruel twist of fate-I have to take you back.

Just a few hours. That's all it takes for a life to unravel.

It began like a dream.

The morning of the Moon Calling was bathed in gold. The air was sweet with pine and promise. I walked the pack grounds with a foolish smile on my face, breathing it all in-the laughter of the younglings, the scent of roasted hazelnuts from the market tents, the distant echo of flutes tuning for the ceremony.

Tonight, Aeron would be named Alpha of the Obsidian Moon Pack.

And I... I would be his Luna.

His mate.

His fated.

My heart danced just thinking about it. I imagined how his lips would taste under the moon's blessing. How it would feel to finally stand beside him-not as the quiet healer of the east wing, not as the orphan girl taken in by the pack-but as his equal. His chosen. His beloved.

I wandered past the ceremonial field where the elders practiced their chants. I saw the altar being polished with sacred oils, moonstones arranged in concentric circles. Everywhere, people moved with purpose. And me? I floated.

I searched for him, of course.

Through the training grounds. The main hall. The cliffs where he used to run with Caelum and I as kids. But Aeron was nowhere.

Only Caelum found me.

He stood near the stables, arms crossed, his eyes gleaming under the shade of his hood.

"You've been hunting shadows all morning," he said with a soft smirk. "Looking for him?"

I shrugged, heat rising to my cheeks. "Is it that obvious?"

Caelum stepped forward and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. He'd always been gentle with me in ways I didn't understand until I was older.

"You look beautiful, Eira," he said, and there was something in his voice-some quiet ache. "He's lucky. You'll make a magnificent Luna."

I smiled. "Thank you, Caelum. That means more than you know."

He hesitated like he wanted to say something else, but instead he gave a short bow and walked away.

I never saw him again before everything burned.

By evening, the maids were at my side, draping me in silk the color of moonlight. My red hair was brushed and woven with wildflowers and crystal pins. They painted soft shimmer over my eyes and lips, humming lullabies passed down from the time of gods.

When I looked in the mirror, I didn't see the quiet girl anymore.

I saw a queen in waiting.

Then came the howls.

Long and deep-ancient and commanding. The signal that the ceremony had begun.

The courtyard blazed with torches. Shadows flickered across a sea of wolves gathered in silence. The altar stood tall, draped in obsidian cloth, the sacred markings etched in bloodroot ink. Above us, the moon hung massive-a watchful, gleaming eye.

And Aeron... finally, I saw him.

Standing at the foot of the altar, dressed in ceremonial black with silver threading across his shoulders. His eyes met mine only for a heartbeat-and then he looked away.

I ignored the flutter in my chest.

I stepped up beside him, heart pounding. The priest raised his staff, the crowd holding its collective breath.

"Tonight," the elder intoned, "we honor the goddess Selene. Under her gaze, we bless the union of Alpha Aeron Blackvale and his fated mate, Eira Thorn-"

"I can't."

The words shattered the silence.

At first, I thought I misheard. But the moment Aeron stepped away from me, the entire world tilted.

"I cannot go through with this," he said louder, voice flat and final. "I will not accept Eira as my mate."

The silence after was violent.

"No," I whispered. "Aeron, what are you saying?"

I stepped toward him, but he avoided my gaze. My fingers reached for his arm and touched only empty air.

"This decision has been made with the Council's blessing," he continued, addressing the crowd. "The bond will not be completed. The ceremony is over."

He turned and walked away.

I ran after him-eyes burning, heart splintering-but two guards seized my arms before I could reach him.

"Let me go!" I screamed. "Let me talk to him!"

The priest backed away. The crowd parted like a wound. I fought the guards and was able to throw them off me and to the ground with strength that I never knew I had.

But in spite of the chaos unveiling behind him, Aeron didn't look back.

And then his father-Alpha Marius-stepped forward, face a mask of fury.

"How dare you make a spectacle of this sacred ceremony," he spat. "You disgrace the name of this pack."

"I deserve answers!" I cried. "He was mine! We were fated-"

"You are nothing," Marius growled. "You are unworthy. You were brought into this pack out of pity, and now you've proven yourself a stain upon it."

"I did nothing-"

"You are hereby exiled, Eira Thorn," he declared. "By decree of the Alpha's bloodline and council vote. Leave tonight. Do not return."

No trial. No defense. Just banishment.

I was dragged away from the altar as the crowd watched, silent and unmoved. Some turned their heads. Others stared, eyes gleaming with curiosity. No one came forward. Not even Caelum.

And now... here I am.

Riding into the unknown, cloak pulled tight around my shoulders, my only companions the cold and the silence.

I don't know where I'm going. I don't know if I'll survive long enough to find out. The only thing that is certain is that I can't ever go back to Obsidian.