The pack grounds were quiet under the heavy blanket of night, the usual patrols subdued, the air thick with anticipation for Aria’s upcoming Luna Coronation. Bonfires had been prepared, the temple cleansed, and the prophecy-keepers had arrived from distant allied clans to bear witness.
But beyond the torches and sacred songs, in the dense black woods behind the manor, he was no longer sleeping.
Asher stood still in the darkness, his hand pressed to a rough-barked tree, his breath slow and shallow.
He’d been hearing her voice for days.
Not Aria’s.
Not the Moon Goddess.
Something else.
> “They left you behind,” the voice purred. “You gave everything. Yet she never even saw you.”
“No…” Asher whispered, but there was no one there.
> “They call him chosen,” the voice mocked. “But
