The familiar scent of pine and wild juniper filled my lungs as I crossed into Silvermoon territory. Five years. Five long years of isolation in the Colorado mountains, fighting off rogues and wild bears, my wolf howling alone during thunderstorms. All for the precious herbs carefully wrapped in cloth and tucked against my chest.

My hands trembled slightly as I adjusted the bundle. These rare MoonBreeze herbs had taken years to cultivate, their silvery leaves now ready to cure my son's shifting sickness. My Zev would finally be able to transform without pain, without fear of being trapped between forms.

"Almost there," I whispered to my wolf, who stirred restlessly beneath my skin. She'd grown stronger during our exile, fiercer. We'd survived alone when others would have broken.

The training grounds came into view first—a wide clearing where pack members practiced combat skills. My heart quickened. Perhaps I'd see Zev first, surprise him with the cure before facing Foster. Five years without seeing my son's face felt like a physical ache.

Voices drifted through the trees. I slowed my pace, my worn boots silent on the forest floor. My clothes hung loose and patched—a far cry from the elegant Luna attire I once wore. But none of that mattered. Only Zev mattered.

"Focus, Zev! Your wolf needs to trust you completely during transition," a stern voice commanded.

Zev. My breath caught. I ducked behind a thick oak, peering around its trunk.

There he stood—my son, taller than I remembered, his shoulders broader. No trace of illness marked his features. He looked strong. Healthy.

"Now shift!" the instructor ordered.

I watched, frozen, as Zev closed his eyes. His body tensed, muscles rippling beneath his skin. Then, in one fluid motion, he transformed.

Not with the agony I'd imagined. Not with the struggle of disease. But with the confident grace of a young Alpha.

His wolf form emerged—powerful, sleek, and silver-gray. Bigger than any sixteen-year-old should be. Stronger than any sick wolf could ever hope to be.

"No," I whispered, clutching my herbs tighter. "No, no, no."

My knees nearly buckled as the truth crashed over me like an avalanche. There was never any sickness. Never any need for these herbs I'd bled for, nearly died for.

I pressed myself against the tree trunk, my wolf whimpering inside me. Five years of sacrifice. Five years away from my son. Five years missing my mother's final moments—all for a lie.

I didn't stay to watch Zev shift back. Couldn't bear to see his healthy face, knowing what I'd given up for nothing. Instead, I stumbled toward the pack house, my legs barely supporting me.

The main building looked the same—stone and timber, proud and imposing. But something felt different. Wrong.

Voices filtered through an open window. I approached slowly, my wolf suddenly alert, bristling.

"—the last of the MoonBreeze batch," Foster's deep voice said. "Lucy's technique works perfectly. We'll control the market on healing herbs within months."

"And no one knows it was her?" A female voice—sweet, eager.

"No one except us," Foster replied. "And Simon, but he suspects nothing."

I peered through the window. Foster sat on the couch—my couch—with Sky Palmer curled against his side. Her hand rested possessively on his chest.

"The pack thinks you're still waiting for her," Sky said, laughing. "Poor Alpha Foster, so loyal to his missing Luna."

Foster chuckled. "Let them think what they want. You're my chosen mate now."

My chosen mate. The words sliced through me like claws.

Sky lifted her chin proudly, and that's when I saw it—the Luna ceremonial pendant hanging from her neck. The one that had been mine. The one passed down through generations of Silvermoon Lunas.

I must have made a sound because Foster's head snapped toward the window. Our eyes met—his widening in shock.

"Lucy?" he breathed, rising to his feet.

Sky turned, her expression shifting from surprise to smug satisfaction.

"Five years," I said, my voice steadier than I felt. "Five years for nothing."

Foster recovered quickly, his Alpha mask sliding into place. "You abandoned your pack, your family. You have no right to be here."

"I abandoned—" The words died in my throat.

"You're trespassing on Silvermoon territory," he continued coldly. "Leave. Now."

Sky's fingers curled around the pendant—my pendant—her lips curving into a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Or what?" I whispered, my wolf suddenly surging forward with a rage I'd never felt before.

Foster's eyes narrowed. "Gamma Derek," he called sharply. "Escort this rogue from pack territory immediately."

The night air bit at my skin as I circled back toward the pack house. Gamma Derek had escorted me to the territory border, his eyes avoiding mine as he delivered Foster's final warning. But I couldn't leave—not without speaking to Zev.

"He needs to know the truth," I whispered to my wolf, who paced restlessly beneath my skin.

The pack house windows glowed with warm light against the darkness. I kept to the shadows, my worn boots silent on the damp earth. Five years in the mountains had taught me how to move unseen, how to track without being tracked.

Two sentries stood guard at the side entrance—young warriors I didn't recognize. New recruits, probably. Good.

"I need to see my son," I said, stepping from the shadows. "Please."

Their heads snapped toward me, eyes widening briefly before hardening.

"Luna—I mean, Lucy," the taller one stammered. "Alpha Foster gave strict orders."

"Please," I repeated, hating the desperation in my voice. "Just tell Zev I'm here. He deserves to know why I left."

The second warrior stepped forward, his hand moving to the knife at his belt. "You need to leave. Now."

My wolf surged forward, a growl building in my throat. "I am still Luna of this pack!"

"No," the first warrior said firmly. "Sky is Luna now. Alpha Foster made it official three years ago."

Three years. While I was fighting off rogues in the mountains, barely surviving, Foster had replaced me.

"This is pack business," the second warrior added. "You're trespassing."

I took a step back, my wolf howling in anguish inside me. The mate bond—that invisible thread that had connected me to Foster for so long—felt stretched and twisted, pulsing with betrayal.

"I'll be at the border," I said quietly. "If Zev wants to know the truth, he can find me there."

I retreated into the forest, each step heavier than the last. When I reached the territory boundary, marked by ancient stones carved with the Silvermoon symbol, I sank to the ground. My wolf clawed at my insides, desperate to break free, to howl our pain to the moon.

I let her.

The shift came in a rush of heat and bone-cracking pain. My wolf form emerged—smaller than before, leaner, with scars crisscrossing my flank from mountain battles. I threw my head back and howled—a sound of such raw anguish that birds took flight from nearby trees.

The sound echoed through the forest, carrying our betrayal to the stars.

---

Morning came too quickly. I'd spent the night in wolf form, guarding the border, hoping Zev might come. He hadn't.

A horn sounded through the trees—the traditional call for a pack gathering. My heart lurched. Something was happening.

I shifted back to human form, dressed in my patched clothes, and moved cautiously toward the pack grounds. Warriors were already positioning themselves around the clearing, forming a protective circle. Pack members streamed in from all directions.

"Emergency meeting," someone muttered. "Alpha called it just an hour ago."

I slipped into the crowd, keeping my head down. No one paid attention to me—just another pack member in plain clothes.

Foster stood on the raised platform at the center of the clearing, his Alpha presence radiating authority. Sky stood beside him, draped in ceremonial Luna robes—my robes, altered to fit her smaller frame.

"Brothers and sisters of Silvermoon," Foster's voice boomed across the gathering. "I've called you here to address a... situation."

His eyes found me in the crowd, cold and calculating.

"Our former Luna has returned."

Murmurs rippled through the pack. I felt their stares like physical blows.

"Lucy Crawford abandoned her duties five years ago," Foster continued, his voice dripping with false regret. "She chose her herbs over her pack, over her family."

Sky's hand slid possessively over Foster's arm, her fingers glittering with rings—rings that had once been mine.

"This unstable rogue has no place among us," Foster declared. "Yet she refuses to leave our territory."

I stepped forward, unable to stay silent. "That's not—"

"Mother."

The word cut through my protest like a blade. Zev stood from his place near the platform, his young face twisted with contempt.

"Yes," he said loudly enough for everyone to hear. "This is the woman who abandoned me. Who chose plants over her own son."

The pack fell silent, shock rippling through them.

"I don't want her here," Zev continued, his voice cracking slightly. "This rogue freak chose herbs over family."

Gasps echoed around us. No child had ever spoken to their mother this way in pack history.

"I never want to see her again," Zev finished, turning his back on me. "The mother who abandoned me can stay abandoned."

The entire pack watched in stunned silence as my son rejected me completely.

The pack's whispers cut through me like knives as I stood there, my son's words still ringing in my ears. Rogue freak. The mother who abandoned him.

"My wolf..." I whispered, feeling her clawing beneath my skin, desperate to break free.

"Not now," I gritted out, forcing her back down. My wolf had never been this close to the surface before—not even during the worst rogue attacks in the mountains. But this pain was different. This was the mate bond screaming in agony, the family bond shattered before my eyes.

Pack members stared openly now, their curiosity no longer disguised. I caught fragments of their whispers.

"Look at her clothes..."

"Five years in the wilderness..."

"She smells like an outsider..."

"Abandoned her own son..."

I kept my chin high despite it all. Five years alone had taught me how to wear dignity like armor.

"She doesn't even look like our Luna anymore," someone murmured.

Sky's lips curved in a satisfied smile as she fingered my pendant—no, her pendant now. "The pack has moved on," she said loudly enough for me to hear. "We've found our true Luna."

My wolf snarled, and I felt my eyes flash gold. Several pack members stepped back instinctively.

"Control," I whispered to myself. "We need control."

I backed away from the gathering, one step at a time. No one tried to stop me. No one defended me. Not even Elder Marcus, who had once been my mother's friend.

Night fell like a blessing, covering me with darkness as I made my way back to the territory border. The ancient stones felt cool beneath my fingers as I sank to the ground.

"Zev," I whispered, closing my eyes. "Please."

I reached for the family mind-link—that special connection that bound mother and child across distance. It had been silent for five years, but it was still there. It had to be.

"Zev," I projected, pouring every ounce of maternal love into the call. "It's Mother. Please listen."

For a moment, nothing happened. Then—

"What do you want?" His mental voice was cold, hostile.

"Zev, please. I need to explain. What your father told you—it's not true. I left to find a cure for you. I thought you were dying."

"Lies!" The word exploded through our connection like a thunderclap. "Father showed me everything. How you chose your stupid plants over me. How you abandoned us."

"No, Zev—"

"I HATE YOU!" The hatred crashed through our link like a tidal wave. "You're nothing to me. Nothing!"

The violence of his rejection tore through our connection. Pain lanced through my head, sharp and sudden. I cried out, doubling over as blood trickled from my nose.

"Zev," I gasped, reaching for him again.

But the link was gone—violently severed. My son had rejected me completely.

I collapsed onto the forest floor, my body shaking with silent sobs. Blood stained the leaves beneath me as my nose continued to bleed.

"He'll understand someday," I whispered to my wolf. "He has to."

Dawn broke cold and gray over the mountains. I'd spent the night drifting between consciousness and nightmares, my wolf howling through the darkness.

"Lucy."

Foster's voice cut through the morning mist like a blade. I rose unsteadily to my feet, wiping blood from my face.

He stood at the edge of the clearing, his Alpha presence filling the space between us. No Sky. No witnesses.

"You need to leave," he said without preamble. "Now."

"I'm not leaving without seeing Zev again."

Foster's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You're not seeing Zev at all. You've done enough damage."

"I want my research," I said, my voice stronger than I felt. "The MoonBreeze cultivation methods. They're mine."

A cold smile spread across his face. "Nothing is yours anymore, Lucy. Not the pack. Not your son. Not even your research."

"They were my techniques—"

"And now they belong to Silvermoon." Foster stepped closer, his Alpha aura pressing against me like a physical weight. "Hand over your notes. Leave quietly. Or I'll have you arrested as a rogue trespasser."

"Arrested?"

"Pack law is clear," he said smoothly. "You abandoned your duties. You're no longer Luna. One call to the Council, and you'll be stripped of the title permanently."

The threat hung in the air between us, heavy and real.

"And if I refuse?"

Foster's smile turned cruel. "Then I'll make sure everyone knows exactly why you really left. How you couldn't bear to be second to Sky. How you ran away rather than face the truth."

My wolf surged forward again, but I held her back. Barely.

"You have until sundown," Foster said, turning to leave. "Choose wisely, Lucy."

As he disappeared into the trees, I realized with sickening clarity that I had nothing left to fight with—nothing except the truth. And in Silvermoon Pack, truth had become whatever Foster Crawford decided it was.