d through the forest. Eirene could barely keep up. Her lungs burned. Her legs screamed. But she didn't dare stop. Not with the memory of that beast-the thing with claws a

? Why are you helping me?" His jaw clenched. "Because I was sworn to protect the Luna-Born, even if it meant my death." "Sworn by who?" He turned away, as if the answer pained him. "By your mother." Eirene froze. The word hit her harder than anything else he had said. "My... mother?" "She was once part of my pack. A fierce warrior. She vanished before your birth. We all thought she had died." He paused. "But she hid. To protect you." Eirene sank onto one of the stones. Her knees felt weak. "So she was like you? A werewolf?" He nodded. "I always thought she abandoned me." "She saved you," he said gently. "From a war you weren't ready to fight." Eirene looked up at him, and for the first time, she didn't see a monster or a stranger. She saw sorrow. Depth. Memory. "What was she like?" Demetrius gave a small, distant smile. "Strong. Sharp-tongued. Reckless. She had your eyes." A lump formed in Eirene's throat. She blinked hard. "Why now? Why is everything happening tonight?" He sat beside her, close enough that she felt the heat of his skin. "The prophecy." She exhaled shakily. "You keep saying that." He looked at her, golden eyes burning with purpose. "The Moon Goddess, Selene, bound our kind to fate. She cursed Lykaios and all his descendants. But she also promised that one day, a daughter of his blood would rise-one born under a blood moon-and that she would either end the curse or doom us all." "And you think that's me." "I know it is." Eirene looked down at her trembling hands. "I don't feel like a savior. I feel like I'm losing my mind." Demetrius reached out and, to her surprise, gently tucked a loose curl behind her ear. "You don't have to believe yet. But you are changing. Your blood is waking. Soon, the first shift will come." Her eyes widened. "Wait. I'm going to... turn? Like full-on wolf?" "Yes." "When?" "Soon." Her stomach dropped. She stood and paced the circle. "This is insane. I didn't ask for any of this." "No one ever does," he said softly. "But you're not alone." She turned back toward him, heat rising in her chest. "You don't know me." "I know your scent," he said, voice lower now. "I know th