Chapter 5 Awakening the Power 

The sun was coming up, and the air carried a bite with it—the sky only beginning to glow light as it woke from the sleep of night. Luna found her way to a clearing behind the big stone house with the chimney as a dark silhouette up against the brightening sky.  She stood in the cold; her breath fogging up in the air long before she thought she'd be finished. She was tired, still sore from the happenings of the previous night but Alec had insisted they start training early. There was no time to waste. 

“Okay,” Alec commanded, standing a few feet in front of her, arms crossed. “We are going to start by tapping into your connection to the moon. That is where your power originates and you need to be able to pull on it at will.”  

Luna nodded, but her nerves felt like a tornado. She had no idea how she would reach for a power she didn’t even feel. “And… how do I do that?”  

Alec smiled a small smile. “Close your eyes.” 

Luna blinked at him, then managed to comply, her lashes fluttering down. She began to really notice the sounds of the forest all around her now. Birds chirping, leaves rustling in the wind and in the distance, she could hear the faint rushing noise of a small stream.)  

“Now,” Alec’s voice was calm and steady, “take a deep breath. Start to feel the air around you. The moon is always present, even when you can’t see it in the sky. Just note that you feel it.”     

Luna took a slow breath, wanting to focus completely on Alec’s words. First all she could exactly feel was cold; she knew her body was standing on Earth beneath those black, booted feet. And then… there was something tugging. Way down deep within her; something that lightly hummed through her bones…but now warm. it was faint, but real. 

“I feel something,” she said quietly, unsure of herself. 

“Good,” Alec said. “Now focus on it, and lift it up.” 

Luna tried as he suggested, trying to focus on the strange warmth within her, lifting up. The humming pulsed deep within her and traveled through her veins. And then she came to a start as there was some resistance- like she was forcefully pushing through an invisible wall. 

"I—" She drew a sudden breath, her brows furrowing in concentration. "It's as if something is blocking it." 

"That's your fear," Alec's voice was firm, yet comforting. "You're holding back because you're afraid of what you would feel. You must trust yourself, Luna." 

She clenched her teeth, frustration bubbling to the surface. "It's not that easy." 

"I know," Alec said, taking a step closer. "But you have to go past it. Your power is attached to your feelings, and you can't control it if you aren't willing to face what you're holding back." 

Luna's heart raced. How does one face fear, when the whole world had been turned upside down? She found herself thrown into a fight she did not understand, with men who shifted into wolves, and was supposed to stop a monster she hadn't even seen. 

"Try again," Kade's deep voice rumbled behind her. She didn't even hear him, but now he stood only a few feet behind her, those blue eyes pinned on her. 

Luna gulped and closed her eyes again, letting her breath come out in a shaky release. She reached for the warmth inside of herself, again, but the fear was there, wrapping around her body like icy chains. The power was there just beyond it, like a fire waiting to ignite, but every time she got close, the fear stood between her and the fire. 

"I can't," she groaned, exhaling frustration into the air. 

"You can," Kade said as he took a step closer, the sound of another body entering the canvas grounding her. "Stop thinking of failure. Focus on what you want to feel." 

She bit her lip and tried again. This time, she reached for something different—not through fear, but need. She was pulling back, finding a way to protect, to fight, to survive.

Warmth exploded through her, igniting like fire beneath her skin. Eyes popping open, for a single moment, everything felt sharper and crisper and the air was alive with energy, and she could feel that strange pull as though the moon was reaching out to her.

"There," Alec said in soft tones, a quiet approval. "You felt that."

Luna nodded, throat tightening as her heart raced with uncertainty. "I think so."

"That was just the beginning," Alec said, stepping closer, eyes shining with pride. "You are stronger than you think."

Jax loomed in, bounding unnecessarily tall with layers of golden boy-magic glowing in the early morning light, and he boomed, "Well, it looks like you finally beginning with this!" 

A weak grin spread across Luna's face. "Barely. I just don't know how to keep it going."

"You'll learn," Alec remarked, voice laced with quiet confidence, as he stepped back a little, back into their completion, as soon as he had floated in.  "Next, we will work on the control aspect of it. But…you need to rest, Luna. You're trying too hard."

"Okay", Luna said mindlessly, but her head was still spinning with it. It was all right there, just a moment from grasping it, and it terrified her that it was so close to slipping away again.

As she turned to go back towards the house, a brisk, cold breeze exploded through the clearing and brought with it a scent. Something metallic…something was very wrong.

Alec stopped all together and his body went rigid. "Do you smell that?"

Kade's eyes darkened. "Blood."

Jax playfully earnestness vanished along with volition with his attention concentrating on the treeline. "We are not alone."

Luna was just beginning to open herself up to ask questions over the blurring, when, out of the shadows, on the far edge of the clearing, appeared a figure. He stood tall and broad-shouldered, with dark hair and handsome, angular features. His eyes, a burning amber, were locked onto Luna's with an intensity that made her freeze in place and feel a chill down her spine. 

"That's him," Alec growled, a dangerous rumble in his voice. "Ronan." 

Luna's breath caught in her throat as he studied her, the wolf-man now smiling coldly, menacingly, with lips curved slightly upwards. 

"Hello, moon-bearer." The voice rolled smooth as silk, deadly and warm. "I have been looking for you, for you are mine." 

Alec shifted in front of Luna, shielding her from Ronan's gaze. "You are not getting anywhere near her." 

Ronan chuckled ruefully, his eyes flashing feral hunger as he said, "Oh, I think we both know that's not true." 

Before anyone could react, Ronan's body rippled, bones cracking, before the wolf-man morphed into a monstrous hulking wolf. His eyes were on fire as he gave a deep, rumbling growl, and vaulted toward them. 

"Luna, run!" Alec shouted, already shifting himself as he stepped into Ronan's path. 

Luna couldn't move. Part of her wanted to, her heart was hammering in her chest whilst adrenaline coursed through her, but her feet were locked as the hulking wolf charged forward, claws thrumming to the earth when his eyes locked on hers, murderous intent bouncing off the floor. 

Once again, everything slowed; and for a split second, and terrified brief second, she recognized that she wasn't ready. 

Ronan was coming for her. 

There was nowhere left to hide.