Her perfume hung in the air: a thin, unpleasant smel in the dark woods. My blood ran cold. She was here.

I didn't think so. I ran.

My feet, once weak and tired, were silent now on the forest floor. The Lumina Mark on my wrist pulsed, a quiet sound leading me from the inside. I did not go to my cabin. I went to Fenris's.

I burst through his door without knocking, and in an instant, he was on his feet, a knife in his hand, his eyes sharp.

"Elara?"

"She's here," I gasped, my hand on my chest. "Lyra. I smelled her. In the woods."

Fenris did not question me. He moved to the door, sniffing the air. His face grew dark. "You are right." He turned to me, his gaze intense. "Did she see you?"

"I don't know. I saw a glint, like metal. Then I smelled her and ran."

He put a hand on my shoulder. The touch was steadying. "You did well. Alert, not reckless." He stepped outside and let out a low, short howl. It wasn't loud, but it carried. Within moments, three of his warriors appeared from the shadows.

"We have a viper in our garden," Fenris said, his voice low and growling. "Moonstone scent. Find her. Bring her to me. Alive."

The warriors nodded and melted back into the trees.

"Will they find her?" I asked, my voice small.

"This is our territory. She is clumsy. They will find her." He looked at me. "This changes things. Justin is getting desperate. Sending his puppet here is a bold, stupid move."

"What does he want?"

"Confirmation. He heard rumors. He needs to know if Queen Luna is real. And if it's you."

The thought of Justin's eyes on me again sent a shiver down my spine. "What do we do?

"We wait," Fenris said. "And we prepare."

It wasn't a long wait. An hour later, two warriors returned with a struggling Lyra between them. They threw her to the ground in the centre of the clearing near Fenris's cabin.

She raised her face, perfect hair disheveled, costly clothes torn by thorns. There was a flicker of fear in her eyes quickly replaced by her usual arrogance at the sight of me.

"You," she spat. "I should have known. Hiding in the dirt with these... rogues."

Fenris stepped forward, his presence silencing her. "Why are you in my territory, Moonstone wolf?"

Lyra lifted her chin. "I was separated from my patrol. I got lost."

"You are a liar," Fenris said, his voice flat. "You were watching her." He gestured to me.

"I don't know what you're talking about. That thing is nothing: Justin rejected her. She is nobody."

A warmth spread through my chest. Her words didn't hurt anymore, just sounded pathetic.

"She is your Queen," Fenris said, and his voice dropped dangerously. "And you will show respect."

Lyra actually laughed. "Queen? Of what? This pile of leaves? Justin was right. You're all insane."

I finally spoke, my voice calm and clear. It surprised even me. "Why did you come here, Lyra?"

She glared at me. "To see if the rumors were true. That you somehow survived. Justin didn't believe it. But I knew. I always knew you were a rat. It's hard to kill.

"So, you came to finish the job?" I asked.

"I came to see for myself." Her eyes fell to my wrist, where the Lumina Mark was barely visible. Her smirk vanished. "What is that?"

"That," Fenris said, "is your death sentence if you ever come near her again." He nodded to his warriors. "Search for her. Then take her to the border. Let her run back to her Alpha with a message."

One warrior held her while the other roughly searched her pockets. He pulled out a small, sleek phone.

"No!" Lyra cried, struggling.

Fenris took the phone. He showed me the screen. It was open to the camera. There were pictures. Blurry but clear enough. A picture of me. A picture of Fenris. A picture of us training in the clearing.

"Proof," I whispered, cold dread filling me.

Fenris crushed the phone in his hand. "The message is this," he said to Lyra, his face inches from hers. "Tell Justin Blackwood that his time is ending. Queen Luna has risen. And she is coming for him."

The warriors dragged off the screaming, struggling Lyra into the dark.

Her cries subsided, but the silence she left in the wake was heavy. The proof was gone, but the threat remained. Justin knew it.

Fenris turned to me: "We have no time now. He will come. Soon."

My heart was a hammer in my chest. "What do we do?

"We fight," he said simply. He strode over to a large chest against the wall and threw it open. Inside were weapons. Knives, bows, strange blades. "But not like before. You are the key. Your light is the weapon."

He produced two short, sleek daggers. They shone with a soft inner light. Like my Mark.

"Lumina-forged steel," he said, handing them to me. They were light in my hands. They felt right. "They will bite deeper than any other blade against his wolves."

Then he was giving orders, his voice sharp and clear. Wolves materialized out of the darkness. He sent them off running: to alert the scouts, to guard the borders, to prepare the traps.

The quiet woods now teemed with activities. I could feel the energy shift. It was no longer a place to hide; it was now a fortress.

"Your training is over," Fenris said, his eyes on mine. "This is the real thing. Are you ready?"

I looked at the blades in my hands. I felt the Mark pulse on my wrist. The cold fear was gone. Replaced by a steady, real heat. Lyra's words meant nothing. I was not a fool.

I was not just anybody. I was the storm about to break.

I met his gaze, my own voice steady. "I am ready." I looked at Fenris. "He knows now." Fenris met my gaze, his green eyes burning with determination. "Good. Let him fear what comes in the night."

"He knows now. And that changes everything," I said, looking at the Lumina daggers in my hands. They glowed with light, but their purpose was just as wild as death itself.

Fenris grabbed the map he'd used for training. He spread it on the rough table. "Justin will move his forces immediately. He thinks he can crush us before the other packs take notice."

"How soon?" I asked, leaning closer to the map. His scent, woodsmoke, and storm were strong and comforting.

"A day. Two at most. Lyra's report will confirm to him that the Queen Luna rumours are true and that I'm protecting you. He sees me as a rogue Alpha, an easy target," Fenris explained, pointing to a narrow canyon drawn on the map.

"He's wrong," I stated, my voice firm. "You're the Alpha of Shadowood."

Fenris's eyes met mine. "We have an opportunity, I mean, we know his movements. He will send a scouting party first, a pack of maybe twenty wolves. They will come through the Whisper Canyon."

"The canyon is a trap," I realized, tracing the line with my finger.

"Exactly! It funnels them. My warriors are setting up defensive traps and hidden archers now. This is a delaying plan. We won't win the war here, Elara. We will only win by forcing him to show his true colour to the world."

I looked at the map again, seeing the dark woods turn into a battlefield. "Justin won't stop with a scouting party. He wants me, and he wants your territory."

"He can have neither," Fenris growled, his hand covering mine on the map. The touch sent a sensation of heat up my arm, a warmth that I was already familiar with. "You are the very special, remember? He expects you to be hiding. We will use your power, the Lumina light, to break his forces."

"How can I break a whole pack? I'm still just learning to control it," I admitted, looking down at my wrist where the Mark lingered faintly.

Fenris pulled me closer until I was standing right beside him. "The Moon Goddess didn't give you that Mark for simple training, Elara. She gave it to you for this. To show the world that a rejected Omega can become a queen."

His closeness made my heart race, a mix of fear for the coming battle and something like a shock for him. "And what about us? When this is over, what then?"

He looked away, turning to the other side. "When this is over, we will deal with that. Right now, your safety is my only focus. You need to be strong enough to face him, face your past. Are you strong enough, Elara?" He turned back, his look appearing serious.

"I am ready to fight him," I declared, looking at him without flinching. "I don't fear him anymore. I only fear losing you now." The words slipped out, proving that I was honest.

Fenris took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring slightly. He reached out and gently ran his thumb over my Lumina Mark. "You won't lose me. My Inner Wolf wouldn't allow it. It recognizes you, Elara."

But I didn't want words. I wanted action. I moved closer, letting my body speak. I turned my face up toward his. The air crackled between us.

He didn't wait for me to tell him what I wanted. Fenris leaned down, his lips rubbing mine. It wasn't a soft kiss. It was a kiss that meant a promise filled with the desperate mind of a wolf who knew the fight was coming. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tight against himself.

And then he dipped his fingers below my cloth, making me feel me feel a shock underneath. I rolled my tongue in pleasure and smiled.

But suddenly, he broke the kiss, his chest beating hard. "We need to focus, my Queen," he whispered, his voice rough with seriousness.

"We are focused," I whispered back, my own heart hitting my ribs. "We both will win, and we are already focused."

Fenris nodded, his face now all Alpha features. "Good. We need to tell the warriors how the Lumina daggers work. They need to understand that your light is their shield."

We spent the next hour in that area of the woods, the air filled with tension. Fenris gathered the key members of his Pack Council. Talon, a lean, scarred Beta, and Mara, a strict, older she-wolf who acted as the lead scout, were queued.

"The attack will be a dangerous one," Fenris stated, his voice carrying authority. "Justin Blackwood is sending his wolves. They will try to breach the Whisper Canyon."

Talon stepped forward. "Alpha, we have the traps ready. But their numbers will be more than ours. Our only hope is a meaningful retreat. A strategy."

"We will not retreat," Fenris disagreed with Talon, his voice a low growl. "We use our defence, but we have a new weapon." He pointed to me.

I stepped forward, holding the two Lumina daggers up. The soft light shining in the blades caught everyone's attention.

"This is Lumina-forged steel," I explained, my voice steady, surprising myself again. "It's tied to the power the Moon Goddess gave me. Normal wounds will heal, but this metal carries the light. It will slow down his wolves. It will weaken their healing factor."

Mara stared at the blades. "If the Omega has the power, we believe it. But how do we get close enough to stab twenty wolves?"

"You won't," Fenris replied. "We will only engage the Beta and any Lead Warrior who is too strong for the traps. Elara will stay here, in the centre of the territory. But her power will be used."

"How?" Talon asked, confused.

Fenris looked at me, a silent question passing between us. I knew what he was asking. It was the hardest part of the training.

"The Luna Call," I said, making the wolves from the small group gasp.

The Luna Call wasn't a command with the mouth. It was a pure energy release. A mix of light and power that I had only managed to control for seconds. It was exhausting, dangerous, and needed every bit of our attention.

"When the first sub-pack of Blackwood wolves hits the canyon, I need to send the call," I explained. "It won't injure them. It will destroy their connection to their Alpha. It will confuse them, slow their attack, and give you the opening to fight them one-on-one."

"That's true..." Fenris said, considering my suggestion thoughtfully. "But..."

I winked at Fenris, hoping he wouldn't find a reason to think otherwise. "But what?"