Uncle desires

The wind sliced through the trees like blades, sharp and bitter, and still Scarlett ran.

Branches clawed at her arms, dirt clung to her feet, and moonlight flickered like dying embers through the towering black pines. But she didn't stop. She couldn't. Not when she felt him behind her-his scent thick in the air like ash and burning spice, curling into her lungs with every breath.

Her uncle. Alpha Darius Gray.

The name alone was poison in her mouth now.

She leapt over a fallen log, knees burning, breath coming in shallow gasps. Her nightgown-once white, now torn and soaked in sweat-clung to her skin. It wasn't supposed to be like this. He was supposed to protect her. He was supposed to love her like a father, like blood.

But Darius loved nothing but power. And now, he wanted her. For more than she could fathom.

"Scarlett," his voice rolled through the forest like thunder, calm, steady, cruel. "You're making this harder than it has to be."

She skidded to a halt near the edge of the ravine, boots sliding against loose stones. The dark chasm yawned beneath her, deep and deadly. The current roared far below-cold, sharp, promising freedom or death.

Behind her, the shadows twisted, and he emerged.

He didn't look like a monster. Not yet. Tall, lean, handsome in that carved, dangerous way that made most she-wolves go silent when he entered a room. But his beauty had always hidden the rot beneath. Jet black hair fell over his forehead, and his lips curved in a predator's smile. The moonlight bathed him in silver, making his eyes gleam gold.

"You're trembling," he observed.

She glared at him. "Because you're a sick bastard."

A chuckle. "You used to call me uncle."

"I was a child. I didn't know what monsters smelled like yet."

Darius took a step closer, and Scarlett stiffened. Her wolf stirred inside her, restless, sensing the shift in dominance. But she fought the instinct to submit. That's what he wanted-to break her.

"You think I don't see it?" His voice dropped, soft and coaxing. "You're not some fragile little girl anymore. You're blooming, Scarlett. Your body's changing. Your scent... gods, your scent is driving the males in the pack insane."

"Then maybe you should lock them up," she spat. "Or is that part of your sick little fantasy too?"

A flicker of something darker passed through his eyes, and for a moment, his smile slipped.

"There's a reason I've kept you hidden all these years," he said. "You think it's because I'm cruel. But it was mercy, Scarlett. If the Council knew what you were becoming-what power, you carry in your blood-they'd kill you."

"Maybe I'd rather die than be your plaything."

He moved so fast, she barely had time to react.

In a blink, he was inches from her. One hand fisted in her hair, yanking her head back, forcing her to meet his burning gaze.

"You belong to me," he growled.

Scarlett's heart slammed against her ribs, but she didn't flinch. Didn't cry. Didn't beg.

Instead, she smiled. Bloodied and fierce.

"Then why are you afraid of me?"

He froze.

Her mark-the strange, ancient symbol etched into her back since birth-began to throb. Heat pulsed under her skin, racing through her veins like lightning. And for a second, she saw something flicker behind his golden eyes.

Fear.

"Let me go," she whispered, her voice laced with something old, something powerful.

He did.

She stumbled back a step, watching his hand tremble. His jaw clenched. "You're awakening," he murmured. "Too soon."

"I don't belong to anyone," she said.

"Then why did the Moon Goddess send you to me?"

Scarlett's breath caught.

"I've seen the visions," Darius continued, his voice lower now, seduction wrapped in prophecy. "You don't remember them yet, but I do. Every night. You and me. One bed. One pack. One throne."

She felt sick. "That's not fate. That's a curse."

His lips curved into something crueler. "You'll come to see it's the only path. I've already marked you. They just haven't seen it yet."

Her fingers twitched. Her back ached. The mark-always silent-burned again, hotter now, like it was answering something in him.

Or resisting.

She took another step back toward the cliff's edge. "If you come any closer, I'll jump."

He smiled again, unfazed. "Then I'll dive in after you."

Her stomach twisted. "I'll die before I let you touch me again."

And then the wind shifted.

A new scent.

Not Darius.

Something wild. Cold. Electric.

Scarlett's eyes widened. The scent tugged at something deep in her core-something ancient. She felt her wolf rise, curious, alert.

Someone else was watching.

Someone far from the pack's territory. Someone does not bound by its rules.

A rogue.

She didn't know how she knew-but her soul did.

And the second their eyes met-silver against hers, somewhere in the trees, shadowed and still-everything changed.

The air turned colder.

Scarlett's breath hitched as her eyes scanned the shadows beyond the tree line. The forest had gone utterly still. No rustle. No chirp. Even the wind held its breath. But she felt him.

Whoever-or whatever-he was.

He stood far beyond the ravine, on higher ground cloaked in darkness, but she could feel the heat of his stare. His energy was different from Darius's. It wasn't smooth or calculated. It was raw. Chaotic. Primal.

A rogue.

Every instinct told her to be afraid.

But her wolf... wasn't.

She felt her beast stir within, ears perked, tail high-not in submission, but in recognition. In challenge.

"You feel that?" she murmured, without taking her eyes off the trees.

Darius stiffened beside her. His body tensed like a spring, scent shifting from smugness to fury.

"I told the border guards to kill anything that crossed into our land."

Scarlett's lips curled. "Seems like they failed."

Darius took a step toward the trees, jaw tight, posture stiff with suppressed rage. "He has no right to be here. He's unclaimed. Untethered. Dangerous."

Scarlett tilted her head. "Sounds like me."

His eyes snapped to hers.

"Don't," he warned.

"What? Compare myself to a rogue?" She took another step toward the edge of the cliff. "Maybe I'd rather be untethered than your caged little Luna."

His voice lowered to a growl. "You don't know what they are. They kill. They mate without honor. They don't obey the Goddess or the laws. He's filth."

"And yet," she whispered, "I can't look away."

In the distance, silver eyes flickered-like the moon itself blinking at her. The connection was instant. Not like Darius's forced bond, not like the suffocating pressure of the pack's hierarchy.

This was something... older.

And deeper.

She blinked, and he was gone. No sound. No scent. Just shadows.

But the echo of his presence lingered in her bones.

Darius exhaled sharply. "He's already marked you."

"No," she said, voice shaking. "Not him."

She turned, slowly, and met his furious gaze. "You did. And I never gave you permission."

For a moment, he looked at her like he might strike. His hand twitched, but then something in her gaze made him pause.

She wasn't afraid.

Not anymore.

Something had shifted. Something permanent.

"I won't let him have you," Darius said softly, coldly. "I will tear him apart with my own hands."

Scarlett smiled faintly. "Then you'd better run. Because I think he's already hunting you."

Later that night, the pack grounds were silent.

Scarlett sat alone in the bath chamber carved into the heart of the mountain. The old Luna chamber. Sacred. Forbidden. And yet, her wolf had led her here.

The water shimmered, tinted with herbs and moonstone powder. Steam curled around her naked form, hiding the scars on her arms, the fresh bruises from training, and the strange, pulsating glow of her birthmark.

It was changing. She could see it in the reflection of the water-no longer just a scar. The shape was ancient. A crescent surrounded by three interlocking stars. Her mother once told her the mark belonged to the first Luna Queen-before the packs were formed.

A mark of sovereignty. Of a bloodline long thought extinct.

But she wasn't extinct.

She was breathing.

And she was angry.

Her fingers dipped into the water, stirring ripples that danced like visions across the surface. Images flashed-brief, dizzying. Fire. Wolves. Chains. A hand reaching for hers. Not Darius's. Bigger. Rougher. Scarred.

The rogue.

She gasped and pulled back. The images vanished.

"You're coming undone," a voice said behind her.

She turned sharply. A reflection shimmered across the pool-Darius. But not Darius as he was. Younger. Bloodier. Eyes black with fury and lust.

Her head spun.

"Get out," she whispered.

"This is your power," the image whispered back. "Time. Memory. Blood. You carry them all, little Luna."

The reflection shattered.

She screamed.

Moments later, the door burst open, and Beta Marek charged in, chest heaving, eyes scanning for threats. His gaze dropped the moment he saw her-nude, trembling, and furious.

He dropped his head. "Forgive me, Luna."

"I'm not Luna yet," she growled.

But something in her voice said: I will be.

Marek was still kneeling.

Scarlett didn't move.

The heat from the sacred bath clung to her bare skin, steam twisting around her like a veil of ghosts. Her heart pounded, not from fear, but from the raw pull of something she didn't yet understand-a new rhythm under her skin, as if time itself had begun to pulse inside her.

The Beta dared not look up. The law was clear: no male, not even the second-in-command, could gaze upon a Luna unclothed-unless she allowed it.

She said nothing.

"Why are you here?" she finally asked, voice low and sharp as a blade.

Marek's voice trembled. "Alpha Darius ordered me to watch you. You disappeared from your quarters."

Scarlett's lip curled. "So now I'm a prisoner."

He flinched. "No, my lady. You're... protected."

"Funny. It doesn't feel like protection when you're the one they're protecting him from."

His shoulders hunched further. His loyalty was torn-she could see it in the tension of his muscles, the sweat on his brow. Marek wasn't cruel, but he was obedient. A wolf with chains made of duty.

"Did he send you to drag me back to my room?" she asked.

"No." His voice was hoarse. "He said if you entered the Luna Chamber... no one should stop you. That the magic would either accept you... or destroy you."

Her breath caught.

So that was his plan. Darius knew she was awakening. Knew that the bloodline in her veins was reacting to the ancient powers embedded in this place.

And he was testing her. Again.

Scarlett's eyes flicked to the stone pillars that lined the room. They pulsed faintly now-markings glowing like breath. Her mark, still burning on her back, had lit up the moment she stepped into the water. As if the mountain knew her.

As if it had been waiting.

"Marek," she said softly.

He looked up, only briefly.

"If I told you the Alpha planned to mate me in a blood ritual under the full moon... against my will... would you protect me?"

His throat worked. "I serve the pack."

"That's not an answer."

"I-" He hesitated, pain flickering in his eyes. "If the Goddess commands it, who are we to resist?"

Scarlett rose slowly from the water.

Naked. Unashamed.

And radiant.

The light from the walls shimmered against her skin. She stepped closer to him-dripping, unblinking, burning with power.

"I am the Goddess's will," she said. "And I command you to tell me the truth."

He shuddered, then fell fully to his knees.

"They say you were born under a red moon," he whispered. "That your mother had a vision of your death and vanished before you turned five. That the Elders tried to silence it-but your power couldn't be hidden."

Scarlett's pulse raced.

"She said you would rise again in fire. That you would destroy the Alpha who claimed you. That time would bend to your fury."

"And what do you believe?"

He looked up at her then-truly looked.

"I believe the mountain chose you."

She left the chamber dressed in white linen robes, the old Luna fabric stitched with silver thread. It felt strange against her skin-too formal, too ancient-but something inside her craved it. She felt taller. Heavier. Rooted.

Scarlett walked the halls of the mountain fortress like she owned them. Servants dropped their eyes. Warriors backed away.

Even the wolves in the yard paused as she passed.

The whisper had already begun: She walked through the Luna Chamber and lived.

No one ever did-except the true heir.

In the Great Hall, Darius waited.

He stood by the massive fireplace, one hand resting on the hilt of his ceremonial dagger. The Alpha crown-blackened gold with a single blood ruby-gleamed in the firelight beside him.

"You called for me," Scarlett said as she entered.

He turned, slowly, expression unreadable. "They say you bathed in the old water."

"Is that what they call surviving now?"

His jaw tightened.

"And the mountain?" he asked. "Did it accept you?"

"It didn't drown me, if that's what you mean."

Darius moved toward her, his steps deliberate. Slow. Controlled.

"The bath reveals bloodline truth," he said. "The water of the Luna Chamber burns imposters alive. You're still breathing. That means something."

Scarlett lifted her chin. "It means your lies are beginning to rot."

He chuckled, low and humorless. "So proud. So sure of yourself. You've tasted power, little girl, but you haven't earned it."

"I survived your test."

"That was only the first."

She braced, instinctively preparing for a threat.

But instead, he held something out.

A scroll.

Old. Sealed with black wax and stamped with the sigil of the Northern Council.

Her stomach dropped.

"You're summoning them?" she whispered.

He nodded. "They need to see what you are. To witness your change. And to bless your claiming."

Her heart stopped. "You invited the Elders to my mating?"

"It will be formal. Public. Binding. You'll wear white. I'll bleed for the Moon. The ritual will be complete."

Scarlett's mouth went dry.

He reached out, gently brushing her cheek with a thumb. "You'll thank me one day."

She stared into his eyes.

And saw death.

That night, Scarlett stood on the cliffs overlooking the forest. The wind tangled in her hair, the stars cruel and cold above.

She wanted to run again.

But instead, she whispered.

"Who are you?"

And the silver-eyed rogue, wherever he was, answered her in silence.

But she felt him.

Closer now.

Watching.

Waiting.

The moon rose higher.

Scarlett stood at the edge of the forest long after the guards had changed shift, long after the castle grew quiet and the whispers of the Elders faded into the wind. Her heart thrummed-not with fear, but with hunger.

For freedom.

For answers.

For him.

The silver-eyed rogue.

She didn't know his name, hadn't heard his voice, but she felt him, like a shadow bound to her heartbeat. He was always near now-never seen, never caught, but always present. Even in dreams, he haunted her.

And tonight, something was calling her deeper.

Scarlett slipped past the perimeter spell, barefoot and silent. She moved like fog, ghosting through the trees. The wild obeyed her. Branches didn't snag her robe. Roots didn't trip her steps. The wolves in the distance didn't howl.

They watched.

They waited.

The old path wound down to the ravine-where she'd first felt him. Her wolf surged beneath her skin, pacing, restless. She paused at the stone circle-ruins buried deep in the forest, long forgotten. Moonlight lit the markings. Ancient. Older than pack law.

Scarlett knelt in the center of the circle, palms flat against the stone. It pulsed beneath her skin.

A whisper touched her mind.

Blood remembers. Time obeys. But truth must be taken.

Her breath caught.

She didn't know whose voice it was-her mother's? The Moon Goddess? Her own?

The stone beneath her hand warmed. A vision struck her like lightning.

-A woman in silver armor, bleeding from the mouth.

-A child held aloft, screaming as fire burned the trees.

-An Alpha standing above a grave with no name.

Scarlett gasped and tore her hand away. Her pulse raced. The world tilted.

And then-

A growl behind her.

Low. Warning. Male.

She spun, teeth bared.

And there he was.

Leaning against a tree, half in shadow.

Massive. Taller than any wolf in her pack. Dressed in dark leathers, bare arms inked in tribal markings that pulsed faintly in the moonlight. His eyes weren't just silver-they glowed.

The rogue.

He didn't speak.

Just watched her.

Like prey.

Like prophecy.

Scarlett stood, ignoring the tremble in her knees. "You've been following me."

He tilted his head. "You called me."

His voice was rough silk-low, foreign, tinged with old magic.

"I did not," she snapped.

He smiled faintly. "You dreamed me before you knew my scent. You searched for me in the dark before you ever opened your eyes."

She froze.

"How do you-?"

"I'm not from here."

Her pulse stuttered. "Then where?"

His gaze pierced hers. "Not when. Where."

The words shook something loose inside her.

She took a step back. "You're lying."

"No," he said. "You've already felt it. The visions. The echoes. You think they're dreams, but they're memories. Or maybe... warnings."

Scarlett clenched her fists. "Why are you in my land?"

He stepped forward, slow, careful. His presence was overwhelming-heat and earth and blood.

"I came for you."

She swallowed. Her wolf clawed at her ribs, not in fear-but in heat. In recognition.

"You don't even know me."

"I do. I knew you before the timeline shattered. I knew you before your uncle became Alpha. I knew you... before you were taken from me."

Her knees buckled.

"I've never met you."

He reached out, and his fingers brushed her cheek. Sparks erupted where he touched her. Not like Darius's burn-this was deeper. Older. Like the pull of gravity.

"I loved you before the Goddess cursed us."

Scarlett's vision blurred.

And then-everything shifted.

The air snapped. The world bent.

She saw herself-older, in armor. Standing at his side, leading wolves into fire. She saw Darius, bleeding at her feet. She saw a child with silver hair in her arms. Her child.

Their child.

She jerked away with a scream.

Reality snapped back.

He caught her before she fell.

Her body trembled in his arms. "What was that?"

He held her tightly. "A thread of what once was. What could still be."

Scarlett looked up at him, breathless. "Who are you?"

His eyes glowed brighter.

"I'm Kael. I was your mate. Before time rewrote us."

Scarlett paced the circle like a wolf caged.

Kael sat on a moss-covered boulder nearby, silent, still. Watching.

She stopped abruptly. "You expect me to believe I had another life? Another mate? Another timeline?"

"I don't expect belief," Kael said. "Only that you feel the truth in your bones."

Scarlett crossed her arms, heart pounding. "That's not truth. That's a dream. Or madness."

Kael stood.

The air thickened as he approached.

"Your blood carries the mark of the First Mother," he said. "Time answers to you because you were born from a Luna who touched it. Your mother was more than a healer, Scarlett. She was a guardian of the veil."

Scarlett's throat tightened. "My mother is dead."

"No." His voice softened. "She hid herself. She knew what Darius would become."

Scarlett turned away. Her emotions warred-rage, confusion, grief she hadn't let herself feel in years. Her mother had vanished when she was five. The memory was buried, foggy, but one thing had stayed with her: the sound of howling... and the scent of blood.

"She left me," Scarlett whispered.

"She saved you," Kael corrected. "The moment you were born, Darius knew you were power incarnate. He tried to mark you as his even as a child. Your mother made a blood-oath with the Goddess to fracture the timeline and scatter you into the safest path."

Scarlett clenched her jaw. "You speak in riddles. Give me answers."

Kael stepped closer, his eyes bright with fury and longing.

"In the timeline I come from, you rose as Luna Queen. The packs united behind you. But Darius betrayed us. He used forbidden blood magic to sever your bond to me and chain you to him. He killed the Moon Oracle and corrupted the Elders. You tried to fix it."

She stared at him. "How?"

"You unlocked your time-sight. You fractured the moment of your death... and rewrote fate. You sent your younger self into another thread-to begin again. To change everything."

Silence fell between them, thick as fog.

Scarlett backed away, dazed. "And you followed me here?"

"I wasn't supposed to. But the mate bond... it didn't break. It stretched across time. I searched for this thread. I bled for it. I died for it."

Her knees weakened. "This is insane."

"Not insane," he murmured, taking her hand, "destined."

The moment his skin touched hers again, another memory seared into her:

-She was running barefoot across ash-covered ground.

-Kael stood in front of her, covered in wounds, refusing to fall.

-Her hand glowed with silver light as she whispered ancient words.

-And Darius, monstrous and burning, snarled from a throne of skulls.

She stumbled back with a cry.

Kael caught her before she hit the ground. He held her tight against his chest.

Her breaths came ragged.

"Why can I see this?" she asked.

"Because time is opening to you again," he said. "But the more you awaken, the more dangerous it becomes."

"Why?"

"Because if Darius learns who you truly are-he'll kill you before your power fully returns. He won't make the same mistake twice."

Back at the Fortress

Darius stood in the tower chamber, overlooking the forest. The wind howled, but not from wolves. A storm brewed on the horizon.

Marek approached silently, bowing.

"She's not in her chambers."

Darius didn't look away. "I know."

"You want me to find her?"

Darius finally turned. "No. Let her wander. Let her feel like she's free. The trap is sweeter when the prey walks into it willingly."

Marek hesitated. "And if she's not alone?"

Darius's eyes narrowed.

"The rogue," Marek added quietly. "There are whispers. Guards spotted movement at the northern boundary. Too fast to track. Not pack. Not ours."

Darius's hands curled into fists.

"He's back."

Marek said nothing.

"Prepare the ritual site," Darius ordered. "We bring the ceremony forward. The Elders will arrive by moonrise, not next week."

Marek's eyes widened. "But the Luna isn't-"

"I'll make her ready."

In the forest

Scarlett sat beside Kael now, no longer shaking-just quiet. Thinking.

"You said the Moon Oracle died in your time," she said slowly. "But she's alive here. Still neutral."

Kael nodded. "That means there's hope. She's the only one who can bless or condemn the Luna ritual. If she knows who you truly are..."

"She might stop it," Scarlett breathed.

Kael's eyes darkened. "She might also fear you. The Moon Church is old and jealous of its control."

Scarlett stood.

"Then I'll speak to her."

Kael rose too. "Scarlett-"

"I have to try. If I can prevent the mating ceremony, if I can delay Darius just long enough..."

He caught her wrist.

"You're not ready to face him."

She turned to him.

"I'm not ready to belong to him either."

Kael stared at her, torn between protection and pride.

"You'll need a disguise to get past the inner gate."

Scarlett nodded. "Then help me steal one."

Midnight – Outer Temple Pass

Scarlett moved like a shadow, the stolen cloak clinging to her frame. Kael had led her through forgotten hunter tunnels beneath the fortress wall. Old blood stained the stone, reminders of the war from his timeline-now buried by this reality.

Above them, the Moon Temple crowned the cliffs in silver. The mountain itself pulsed with power.

"This is where fate bends," Kael said softly. "Once you pass through that gate, you won't be the same."

Scarlett looked up at the spires above. "I don't want to be."

He stopped her with a hand to her wrist. "Scarlett, listen. The Oracle is not your ally. She answers only to the Moon. She'll test you. If she sees weakness, she'll offer you to Darius herself."

Scarlett's eyes burned. "Let her try."

Then she pulled the hood up and climbed the cliffside stairs alone.

The Moon Oracle's Sanctum

The air shimmered with incense and starlight.

At the heart of the sanctuary, the Moon Oracle stood like a statue, draped in silver veils, her white hair braided with bones of wolves long dead. Her eyes-sightless yet all-seeing-pierced Scarlett the moment she stepped into the temple circle.

"Remove your cloak, child," the Oracle said.

Scarlett hesitated. The silence pressed in. Then she pulled it back.

"You are not what you seem," the Oracle whispered.

"I'm Scarlett of the Darkfang line," she said firmly.

The Oracle hummed, circling her. "No. You are Scaralyn, daughter of Seranna, bearer of the bloodlight. I see the threads of time around you. You are fracture. You are flame."

Scarlett swallowed hard. "Then you know why I'm here."

"To delay the claiming. To stop the mark." The Oracle paused. "To rewrite what cannot be rewritten."

"I am not Darius's Luna," Scarlett said coldly.

The Oracle tilted her head. "You were never meant to be. But the timeline you now walk is not your own. The one who broke it... carried your blood."

"My mother."

The Oracle nodded. "Seranna defied the Moon's will. She shattered time to save you. That act has a cost."

Scarlett stiffened. "I'll pay it."

"You don't yet know what the price is."

"I don't care."

The Oracle looked toward the moonlit altar. "You will. When the hour of truth arrives, you will have to choose between the life you want... and the life that must be."

Scarlett stepped forward. "Tell me how to stop the claiming."

The Oracle smiled faintly. "You can't."

Scarlett's heart stuttered.

"You must endure it."

"No-"

"Only by accepting the mark will your power awaken. Only then will time fully remember you."

Scarlett trembled. "You want me to be his mate?"

"No," the Oracle said. "I want you to survive long enough to kill him."

Meanwhile – The Western Ridge

Kael crouched low as the scent hit him-iron, salt, and ash.

Rogues.

But not his kind.

Darius's hunters.

They surged from the trees without warning-black armor, silver blades.

Kael let the beast rise.

He dropped low, eyes burning silver, and shifted mid-motion-bones cracking, fur erupting, claws extending. The rogue Alpha was born in blood and shadow, and tonight, he fed it.

The first attacker didn't even scream-Kael ripped out his throat before the others could react.

He was faster than they expected. Meaner than any pack warrior. Unbound.

Three more came. Kael dodged left, spun, snapped the second's leg and crushed the third's skull with a swipe.

But the fourth-

The fourth had silver. Darius's favorite poison.

It slashed across Kael's side, searing fire through his ribs. He roared, fury making his fur ripple like black flame. Pain didn't stop him-it focused him.

He tackled the hunter into a tree hard enough to splinter bark and bone. The man coughed blood and slumped.

Kael staggered back, panting, blood dripping from his side.

He'd killed them all.

But this was only a taste.

Darius had sent these men for one reason-to test Kael's presence. Next time, it would be a full hunting party.

Scarlett wasn't safe anymore.

And neither was time.

Moon Temple – Secret Chamber

The Oracle led Scarlett into the sacred vault beneath the altar. Moonlight filtered down through crystal mirrors, illuminating a silver basin etched with runes.

"In your blood is the memory of every future you've denied," the Oracle whispered. "Drink."

Scarlett hesitated. "What is it?"

"A mirror of time. It will show you what was, what is, and what could be. But beware. Once seen, it cannot be unseen."

Scarlett looked down.

The liquid shimmered.

She drank.

And time shattered.

-A burning palace.

-A newborn torn from her arms.

-Kael screaming her name as he was dragged into the void.

-Darius's laugh echoing across the corpses of wolves.

-Her mother whispering her name as the world ended.

Scarlett fell to her knees, weeping.

When she looked up, the Oracle was gone.

And the basin was dry.

Only her reflection remained.

But it wasn't just her face.

It was her eyes-glowing silver.

The same as Kael's.

She wasn't just time-touched.

She was Time-born.

The Fortress – Ceremony Hall

The great hall roared with the howls of the gathered pack.

Scarlett stood at the center, cloaked in white silk lined with silver thread. The veil over her face did little to hide her shaking hands. Not from fear. But fury. And anticipation.

Around her, wolves chanted in old tongue. The Elders raised torches. A circle of runes glowed beneath her feet.

Darius stood at the altar, dressed in black and crimson. Alpha's armor. He was power incarnate. Arrogant. Controlled. Obsessed.

She felt his gaze crawl over her.

"Tonight," he said, voice smooth like poison, "the Moon witnesses the unification of bloodlines. Luna and Alpha. Fated. Final."

Scarlett didn't flinch. She remembered the Oracle's words:

"Only by accepting the mark will your power awaken. Only then will time remember you."

She had to endure. Just long enough.

As Darius stepped forward with the ceremonial blade, the crowd stilled.

"I mark you now, Scarlett Darkfang, as mine."

He pressed the tip to her palm.

The blade cut.

Blood welled.

But something was wrong.

The blood hissed. Silver fire sparked along the cut. The runes beneath her feet recoiled. The Elders gasped.

"What is this?" one of them growled.

Scarlett raised her head.

And ripped off the veil.

"I am not yours, Darius."

Her voice echoed-laced with power that shook the stone walls.

"I am Luna-born. I am Seranna's heir. I am Scaralyn, daughter of time."

Darius froze. "What did you say?"

"Your ritual is void," she said. "Your mark cannot bind me. I already carry one far older."

A howl tore through the air.

Kael.

From the rafters above, he descended in wolf form-black fur blazing with silver veins, eyes bright with moonlight. He crashed into the circle, shifting midair, landing beside Scarlett with claws out.

Gasps erupted. Warriors drew blades. Elders screamed.

Darius snarled. "Rogue filth-"

Kael didn't wait.

He lunged.

The two Alphas collided, teeth and fury and ancient hate.

Scarlett raised her hands. The blood on her palm shimmered-runes in the floor shattered. The ground cracked beneath them.

Time shifted.

War erupted.

The Battle Begins

Kael fought with the fury of timelines lost. Darius struck with the strength of greed and obsession. Magic clashed. Claws met bone.

Scarlett moved through it like a storm.

She called upon the Moon's power-her voice an incantation.

"By blood unbroken, by fate undone-let this bond be severed."

Darius howled as the mark he tried to place on her burned him from within.

"You-treacherous-little-witch!"

He struck Kael hard enough to send him flying. Then he turned to her.

"You think you've won?"

Scarlett held up her bleeding hand.

"I haven't even started."

Outside – The Forest Edge

Wolves howled as rogue and loyalist forces clashed in the outer woods. Darius's private army surged forward-but some of his own guards turned on him, wolves loyal to Seranna's legacy.

They remembered the old Luna. They remembered truth.

And they saw it again in Scarlett's fire.

The Sanctuary – Aftermath

Smoke curled from the broken roof.

The ritual hall was in ruins. Bodies lay still-some breathing, some not.

Kael stood over Darius's unconscious form, bloodied and breathing hard.

Scarlett approached, hand still glowing.

"I could kill him now," Kael said.

She touched his arm. "No."

Kael looked at her.

"I need him alive," Scarlett said. "He still holds the final piece of the past. And my mother's fate."

Kael nodded slowly. "Then we cage him. For now."

She turned to the gathered Elders.

"I am Luna," she declared. "And I claim what is mine."

Some bowed.

Some trembled.

All heard her.

And the Moon shone brighter than it had in a century.

The forest air grew thick with anticipation as the crowd around the ring tightened, muscles coiled like springs ready to snap. Scarlett stood in the center, feeling the pulse of the earth beneath her feet - alive, fierce, and unforgiving. The scent of damp moss mixed with the sharp tang of adrenaline. Every heartbeat echoed in her ears.

The Omega, a brute named Harrek, stepped forward. His frame was massive, muscles rippling beneath mottled gray fur, eyes glinting with raw challenge. He was a threat not just in strength but in ambition - a wolf who wanted to disrupt the fragile order of the pack for his own gain. His snarled growl pierced the morning calm.

Without hesitation, Harrek lunged. Claws slashed through the air with deadly intent. Scarlett's body responded on instinct - the wolf inside her ignited like wildfire. She twisted aside, the swish of her own claws barely missing him as she countered with a sharp, precise strike to his shoulder. Pain flickered in his eyes, but it only fueled his rage.

They danced the deadly dance of predators, each movement a testament to their strength and skill. Scarlett's mind was clear - every strike was a statement, every dodge a demonstration of control. Her wolf's primal fury coiled beneath her skin, yet her human mind ruled with razor sharp clarity.

Around them, the pack watched with bated breath. Whispers of her lineage and potential rippled like wind through the trees. The power she wielded was undeniable - the blood of the Alpha ran fierce and untamed in her veins.

Harrek roared, launching a vicious barrage. Scarlett met him blow for blow, the clash of claws echoing like thunder. Pain blossomed where his strikes landed, but she welcomed it - a reminder she was alive, fighting for her place, for her future.

In the crowd, Crimson shifted between human and wolf, his amber eyes blazing with pride and warning. "She is the blood of the Alpha," he murmured to those near him. "Remember that."

But from the shadows, a darker presence observed - her uncle, Alpha Varin. His gaze was a cold storm, calculating and unyielding. He knew the pack's loyalty was fracturing. Scarlett's rise threatened his grip on power, and he was not a man to relinquish it willingly.

His lips curled into a cruel smile. He would play his hand soon, weaving webs of deception to undermine her. But today was not the day.

Back in the ring, Scarlett summoned every ounce of strength and will. With a final, furious strike, she sent Harrek sprawling to the dirt, chest heaving, defeated. Silence fell. Then, a slow, mounting cheer erupted from the pack.

Scarlett stood tall, chest heaving, silver eyes gleaming with the promise of a new dawn.

She was no longer just a Luna - she was a storm on the horizon.

The scent of blood lingered long after the match ended - thick and iron-tinged, clinging to the soil and air like a warning. Scarlett hadn't just won a challenge. She had claimed something deeper. Ancient. Primal. The loyalty of those who saw her not as a girl, not even as a Luna... but as a leader.

She stood in the circle, victorious, sweat glistening across her temple, strands of raven-black hair curling at the nape of her neck. Her eyes, silver and stormy, swept over the pack. No one dared meet her gaze except the old ones - wolves who had seen generations rise and fall. Their nods were subtle, but meaningful. Approval. Respect. Fear.

Crimson stepped beside her. "You didn't just beat Harrek," he murmured low, "you silenced half your uncle's spies in one blow."

Scarlett's lips curled into a slow, dangerous smile. "Good. Let them choke on it."

But even as the crowd celebrated, tension coiled beneath the cheers. She could feel it in her bones - something unnatural stirred in the forest beyond. The wind shifted, and her wolf stiffened.

"Someone is watching," she whispered.

Crimson nodded slowly. "Not pack."

Elsewhere – The Rogue's Eyes

Deep in the shadows, on the edge of the sacred grounds, a tall, lone figure crouched against a pine. His eyes were amber - sharp, reflective, filled with secrets. His body was draped in worn leathers, dusted in travel and ash. A rogue.

He had no name. At least, not one he shared anymore. The pack had abandoned him. Betrayed him. And yet, he was here now - watching her.

Scarlett.

He had followed her scent for weeks, across rivers, ridges, and blood trails. Something in her aura called to him like a howl in the dead of night. She was unlike the others. Untamed. Glorious. A storm veiled in elegance.

The rogue's lips parted, and the low growl in his chest wasn't one of hostility - it was longing. My mate, his wolf murmured, deep and aching.

But claiming her meant stepping into a world that wanted him dead.

Back in the Moon Court

As the warriors returned to the campgrounds, bonfires were lit, and meat was roasted over open flame. The pack began their feast, drums pounding in ritual rhythm. Laughter, song, and pride echoed through the trees - yet beneath it all, something stirred.

Alpha Varin sat in his private tent, cloaked in wolfskin, surrounded by his most loyal guards. A twisted smirk cut across his face as he traced a clawed finger across an old map of the Northern Peaks.

"She thinks she's risen," he rasped, "but I haven't bled this long just to watch her sit where I belong."

One of his spies leaned closer. "Shall we move?"

Varin didn't answer. He simply marked the map with blood, circling the very place where the sacred duel had just occurred.

Later That Night – Scarlett's Vision

Under the moon's pale glow, Scarlett slipped into a deep sleep, her body aching, her wolf restless.

She dreamt of fire.

Wolves running.

A silver blade glowing beneath a crimson eclipse.

And standing atop a hill of broken timelines - her brother Calen... and the rogue.

Both reaching for her hand.

One promising salvation.

The other... chaos.

Scarlett awoke to the distant echo of drums and laughter sinking through her tent's canvas walls. Her body still thrummed from the Rite of Strength, muscles warm, heart pounding with both triumph and unease. She sat up on her furs, silver eyes flicking to the small lantern at her bedside-its flame danced, casting elongated shadows across carved bone talismans.

Her wolf's senses trembled-an almost-forgotten scent curling on the night breeze: smoke, pine, and something else. Something foreign, yet achingly familiar.

She rose, wrapping her cloak tight against the night chill, and slipped out into the courtyard.

Bonfires cast flickering halos across the open space. Pack members feasted, voices low and celebratory. Yet Scarlett moved through them like a silent tide, every eye bowing in respect or flickering with envy as she passed. She felt their hunger: for leadership, for security, for the promise of a new dawn under her guidance.

At the edge of the feast-ground, the forest opened like a dark mouth. Scarlett paused there, nostrils flaring. Her gaze cut through the trees-tracking movement. A cloak of deep charcoal drifted between trunks, moving with the fluid grace of a predator.

"Show yourself," Scarlett called softly, voice threaded with command and curiosity.

The figure halted, then stepped into the glow of torchlight. Tall, lean, wolf-fur collar rustling, eyes glinting amber. The rogue.

Scarlett's pulse thumped in her ears. He was danger and desire wrapped in one silent package. Legends said rogues were heartless killers-or faithful allies. Which was he?

He bowed once-a courtly, careful motion. "Luna," he said, voice low, rich with woodsmoke and regret. "I seek your mercy... and your truth."

She frowned, every instinct bristling. "You've trespassed on sacred ground. Why should I grant either?"

He flinched as if struck, but held her gaze. "Because I know who you are." He stepped closer, the torchlight dancing across the planes of his face. "And I know who I am meant to be at your side."

Scarlett's wolf growled softly-a warning. "You speak as if we share history."

He nodded, hands open, exposing palms unthreatening. "Wolves across the border whispered of a Luna reborn-of a mate unclaimed by darkness. My pack fell to Darius's hunters when I refused to kill for him. I wandered, hunted, until your scent called me here."

She studied him, every muscle in her body taut. "A bold claim."

He offered her a single silver feather, blackened at the tip. "A token of truth. It came from Varin's envoy-torn from his cloak when I protected his prisoner. I bear evidence of his schemes...and loyalty only to you."

Scarlett's heart clenched as she traced the feather's edge. Its metal barbs pricked her fingers. "So you would betray your own blood for me?"

He bowed again. "Better to die on your side, Luna, than to live under tyranny."

A hush fell over the courtyard. Wolves paused their revelry, drawn by the gravity of this moment.

Scarlett breathed deeply, the feather's weight heavy in her hand. Choices flickered before her-trust or exile, alliance or bloodshed.

Her wolf peeled back her human veil. "Rise, then," she said, voice firm. "Stand with me, rogue. Prove your claim."

Relief and resolve shone in his amber eyes as he knelt and pressed a hand to his heart-a warrior's oath. The pack murmur rose-shock, wonder, acceptance.

In that soft moonlit moment, wolf and Luna forged the first bond of rebellion.

Scarlett stood at the edge of the firelit court, the rogue now at her side. His presence drew eyes-some full of fear, others thick with suspicion. No rogue had ever been permitted this close to a pack gathering without bloodshed. Yet here he stood, silent, hands behind his back, every step echoing restraint.

She could feel the tremor in the energy around her. Her warriors-Crimson, Alina, Jareth-watched the stranger with subtle aggression. Not because he was rogue, but because he was close. Closer to her than any wolf had dared to be since her parents' fall.

Alina approached, bow slung across her back. "You trust him too quickly," she whispered, voice sharp like flint. "He smells like a storm. Secrets follow him."

Scarlett didn't flinch. "So do I."

Before Alina could answer, a whistle cracked through the air. A scout emerged from the trees, bloody and limping. "Scarlett," he gasped. "There's been an attack... on the southern patrols. It wasn't rogues. It was Varin's elite guard. They wore no colors. They moved like shadows."

The rogue stiffened. "Shadowcloaks."

Crimson's head turned sharply. "You know of them?"

"They're trained killers," the rogue replied. "Mercenaries loyal only to Varin. They erase bloodlines, not just threats."

Scarlett clenched her fists. "He dares cross the border now?"

Jareth stepped forward. "You've weakened him. He's desperate."

Scarlett's silver eyes gleamed. "Desperate wolves are predictable."

She turned on her heel, cloak sweeping behind her like smoke. "Ready the Blood Circle. If Varin wants war, I'll give him prophecy."

Later That Night – The Blood Circle

At the center of the sacred glade, Scarlett stood alone within the Blood Circle-an ancient arena carved into the earth by the claws of the First Alpha. Stones etched with runes glowed faintly under the full moon's light.

A shallow silver bowl was placed before her. She sliced her palm and let blood drip into it. Her voice rang through the night.

"Ancient ones, witness me. Daughter of Luna, born of time's wound. I summon truth by fang, by fire, by blood."

The wind howled.

The trees bent.

And then-

A vision struck.

The Vision

Scarlett stood in a battlefield of ash and moonlight. Wolves fought in twisted, chaotic flashes. Her uncle Varin stood atop a mountain of corpses, a blade of light in his hand.

And behind him... Calen.

Her brother. Eyes glowing obsidian. Wearing the mark of the Eclipse.

Beside Scarlett, the rogue stood bloodied but unbroken. His hand gripped hers.

And then-her own shadow turned against her, whispering, You are not the only one born of the Alpha's blood.

Back to Reality

Scarlett gasped as she fell to her knees, blood trailing down her wrist. Crimson caught her before she collapsed completely.

"What did you see?" he asked.

She looked up, shaken but defiant. "The future."

"The rogue?" Crimson pressed.

Scarlett glanced toward the tree line, where the rogue stood watching, unmoving.

"Yes," she said. "He's in it."

Crimson's jaw tightened. "And the rest?"

She paused. Her lips parted.

"My brother is alive."