Selene kept pace along the edge of the training grounds, a ghost. The earth wasn't yet stirring with the dawn's warmth today. The clouds were gray and thick, with an air full of weight as if the whole world had drawn a deep breath and not yet released it.
They looked at her differently now.
Not disgust. Not quite. Not quite yet.
But with something new, harder: fear.
Beta Wolves discontinued drills as she passed. Some gave hesitant nods. Others turned aside, not knowing whether she brought truth or devastation. Not even Elara walked with her today. Selene had dismissed her that morning, serenely but firmly.
She had to be seen by herself.
She'd stood before the Moon Circle yesterday and invoked the seat of power. She'd not invoked names—but everyone had gotten it. Morwen. Adrienne. Maybe Kael. She'd awakened blood with a whisper. And blood did not shut up.
She walked into the sparring grounds and found Rowan already there, arms folded, face grim.
"You made a mess," he said.
"I made a truth," she said.
"Same thing," he growled.
She stepped into the ring, shrugging her shoulders. "You didn't stop me."
Rowan did not smile, but a flicker in his eyes. "Didn't want to. But you'd better prepare yourself now, Selene. You stirred up the wolves who don't growl—only bite softly."
"Let them," she said.
"Just remember," he said, stepping into the ring with her, "even silence scars."
He struck without warning.
And Selene smiled.
In the resonant stone chamber beneath the Crescent Moon council wing, Elder Morwen stood beside the long ceremonial table, his one hand on his staff, his other fist at his back.
The air was thick with the scent of dried herbs, wax, and old blood.
She's brewing revolution," Adrienne gasped, her always flawless step coming apart at the seams. "Did you see the faces in the Moon Circle? Even the tiny Elders gazed at her as if she were a dream."
"She is a dream," Morwen breathed. "Of what happens when power will no longer be kept concealed."
Adrienne whirled. "You declared the resurrection impossible. You said the rite was sealed.".
"I told you no human could survive what we did." His voice was cold, as dry as a scroll. "But the Moon Goddess… she plays a different game."
Adrienne crossed her arms. "Then we need to stop her before she gets us charged with it."
"No," said Morwen. "If we move too fast, we give her testimony credibility."
"She's already reinforcing them," Adrienne snarled. "With every word she says, every move she makes. The bonds between her and Kael are tight, not cut—and if she bends him."
"She won't," Morwen interrupted. "The boy is eaten by guilt. Guilt makes men sentimental, not strategists."
Adrienne stepped up to the mirror and looked at herself. Her face wavered for a moment, the mirror glass bending—just enough to show the glamour she was wearing. Beneath the surface burned something. Older. Uglier.
"I lost everything to be Luna," she whispered. "Everything. And I will not be beaten by a body in a dress.".
Morwen stood behind her, unmoving. "Then we do it right. Quietly. She has violated the Council's law, not humans. We must obey the law."
Adrienne turned around, stunned. "With what?"
"With a hearing," answered Morwen, and his smile curled at his mouth. "We indict her for conspiracy. Born again or not, she travels through realms of forbidden knowledge. Let the council search within itself—and burn her in its belly."
Adrienne's smile came back too.
Let them believe she's the danger," she panted.
Morwen nodded. "And then… we eliminate her. For keeps."
They moved over to the table. The ink was already spread out.
Of course, it was.
Selene's breath came ragged as she crashed into a crouch, one arm raised in guard, the other keeping her from falling.
Across the sparring mat, Rowan crashed into a lower stance with a grunt. "You've gotten better."
Selene wiped the sweat from her brow with her wrist. "I had good motivation."
They'd been practicing in silence for over an hour. She needed the rhythm—the taste of fists, the burn of impact. It was easier than thinking. Easier than remembering.
But the silence was broken when Rowan's voice returned, this one gentle. "Something's stirring. In the council."
Selene's heart stuttered. "What do you mean?"
I heard whispers this morning. Elders in clandestine conclave. Morwen leading the pack, of course. Your name is spoken." He took a step forward and threw her a water bottle. "They don't plan to kill you."
Selene's brow rose. "How reassuring."
"They plan to make you an evil person."
She blinked to let the words penetrate. "An evil person?
Conspiracy. Forbidden knowledge. They'll use your resurrection against you," Rowan said. "You challenged them at the Circle. That was blood in the water. They'll circle now—quietly, legally."
Selene perched on the edge of the bench, her mind whirling.
"They want to bully a council hearing," Rowan continued. "Try you. Publicly. If they can't kill you with a sword, they'll kill you with rules.".
Selene looked toward the woods lining the sparring field. She could feel it in the wind—a shift. The air pressed differently. Heavier. Like something unseen watching from the trees.
"I need to move first," she said.
Rowan frowned. "Move how?"
"I've danced around the truth long enough. They want to play law and legacy?" She stood. "Then I'll play truth and prophecy."
"Selene," Rowan cautioned, "this isn't going to be the Moon Circle. This is going to be hazardous."
He confronted her head-on. "Good."
Because if Morwen desired a trial, she would have it.
But he wasn't going to be the one deciding.
Kael stood at the uppermost floor of the Alpha wing, gazing down at the folded paper in his hand.
Request for Formal Inquiry: Subject—Selene Nightshade.
The wax bore Morwen's mark. Clean. Regal. Already countersigned by three minor council members and—of course—Adrienne.
It was spreading faster than the disease.
He crushed the parchment in his fist, his jaw tightening.
"She defied you," Adrienne said from behind, her voice deceptively calm. "Defied the Council. This was inevitable."
He turned slowly. "You pushed this."
"I protected us," she corrected. "You're letting sentiment cloud your—"
"Enough."
The word echoed, low and dangerous.
Adrienne flinched, but not away.
Kael looked over her shoulder, out the wide arched window that gave onto the training grounds. He could barely see the tiny figure of Selene striding away from the ring, a cloak draped over her shoulders, her braid bouncing with each step.
She looked like a ghost.
But moved like a queen.
They're going to probe her," he said aloud. "After what happened last time, they'll drag her back to that pit and finish what they started."
"She's dangerous, Kael."
"She was dangerous once. That never kept you from opening her name and letting her bleed."
Adrienne's smile hardened. "Tread lightly, Alpha. You're starting to sound as though you still care."
Kael was silent.
He wasn't sure that he did.
What he did realize—what held his ribs together like steel—was that if the Council tried silencing Selene again, they would not leave halfway this time.
They would bury her truth,
her courage,
her life.
And he wasn't sure if he could stand to watch them do it again.
Not again.