Chapter 7. Secrets that Unravels

The fire crackled softly in the hearth, and all should have been well, but its glow's warmth barely reached Luna as she took her seat perched uncomfortably on the edge of the well-worn leather couch, an uncomfortable distance away from the heat of the flames and instead, on the very edge of the unknown. She stared blankly into the light consuming logs, captivated as her mind produced scenes, and minutes, and minutes of everything that had happened just a few minutes earlier in the forest: The power; the warning that Ronan had just unleashed; being terrified and realizing that what she witnessed in the woods meant there were others like him!

Alec, Kade and Jax remained in the same room and were quietly talking amongst themselves about their strategy of what to do next. Their voices were soft, but Luna could feel the tension stretched thin and rising in the air, as they worried about her, about what Ronan warned.

She couldn't blame them. She was worried too. 

"You okay?" Jax asked after breaking from the whispers and meandering over to sit with her. His hazel eyes looked softer than Luna could remember, a crack in the toughness of this young man she felt sometimes neglected, and there was unmistakable concern embedded lightly in every line of his face. 

Luna managed to generate a small smile even as she felt she had nowhere left to go. “I don’t know. I mean… I felt something out there, Jax. Something that I never thought was even possible. And Ronan- he’s not lying, is he? There are more.”

Jax looked down at the floor for a moment then looked back up at her. “We don’t know for sure. But if he is right…”

“We are in worse danger than we thought,” Luna finished for him, her voice quiet and shaky. "I just feel like I don’t understand any of this at all. Why me? Why now?"

Jax took his time to respond, expressionlessly. He shifted his gaze over to Alec and Kade as he said. “There’s something you have to know,” he said in an unusually serious tone. “Something we haven’t told you.”

Luna’s stomach twisted in a knot. “What do you mean?”

Alec stepped a little closer, dark eyes concealed by regret. “Ronan wasn’t lying about you being special, Luna; it’s more than just what you have with the moon. You are...different.”

“Different?” Luna repeated, allowing her heart to sink even deeper. “Different how?”

Kade pushed himself out from the wall, where he had been crossing his arms, and sighed heavily. “You are not just any moon-bearer, Luna. You are part of a constantly hunted ancient line.”

Luna almost felt like her heart stopped. “Hunted? By who?”

Alec grimaced with tension in his jaw. “By wolves like Ronan. But not by just any wolves. They are part of a stronger pack that has been hunting moon-bearers like you for centuries. They believe that your blood has the ability to unlock something that will change the balance between human and wolves for good." 

Luna blinked deep within herself, and her mind struggled with the gravity of what they were saying. "But... Why me? Why now?"  

"We don't know," Alec told her, his entire body tense with effort to control the undertone of anxiety blowing through the written words. "But you've caused their interest, whether you've just come into your power, or something else. Either way, they know who you are now, and they won't stop until they get what they want."  

Luna stood up abruptly, the tremors in her hands visibly swelling. "And, you didn't feel it necessary to let me know sooner?"  

"We didn't want to scare you," Jax said somewhat belatedly, his voice quiet. "You were already dealing with far too much to add to the burden. And, we weren't even sure how much danger you were in, really, until Ronan showed up."  

"Well, now we know," Luna said, her voice teetering between rage and fear. "So what do we do? Just wait for them to come in and take me?"  

"We won't let this happen," Kade said, firmly stepping nearer. "We will protect you."  

"Protect me?" Luna scoffed bitterly, "You saw what happened today. Ronan almost killed ALL of you. And you're telling me there are others like him—others more powerful than he is. How are we supposed to fight that?"  

Alec gently placed a hand on her shoulder, his touch somehow bringing her down to earth. "We will find a way. You are not alone in this, Luna. We are behind you, no matter what."  

Luna swallowed hard, letting the tear harden behind her eyelids. “I didn’t ask for this,” she said but her voice wavered in fembots. “I didn’t want to be special or hunted or anything. I only wanted to be normal.”  

"I understand," Alec said softly. “But… this is who you are. And, whether you like it or not, you're stronger than you know." 

Luna looked up at him, her heart pounding in her chest. She wanted to believe him—wanted to believe that she had the strength to face whatever was coming. But there was doubt gnawing at her—the dark, insidious doubt that whispers in the back of your mind. 

"You said the pack that is hunting me is powerful," she said. "How powerful?"

Kade looked at Alec, and that look said everything they didn't. "They call themselves the Nightborne," Kade eventually said. "They are one of the oldest packs in existence. They are ruthless and merciless, and they have been searching for someone like you for a long time."

Luna's heart dropped. "Why haven't I heard about them before?"

"Because they have remained hidden," Alec said. "They thrive in the shadows, manipulating things from afar. Most wolves don't even know these packs exist." 

Luna was incredulous, just staring. "And you expect me to go up against them? Fight them? Survive that?"

"We will fight them together," Jax said, his voice unbreakable. "And we will figure out a way to stop them before they ever get close to you."

"How," Luna said, pleading in desperation. "You don't even know what they want."

"That's what we need to find out," Kade said. "There is so much we don't know yet, but there are people who can help us with answers. We just need time."

"Time," Luna thought. "The one thing I'm not very sure we have."

She sat back down and buried her face in her hands. "What if we don't have enough time?"

"We will make it," Alec said firmly, kneeling in front of her. "We have to."

Luna finally looked up at him, looking into his eyes. Looking for what? Determination, unshakeable. But, under that, she saw something else—something that terrified her even more than the Nightborne.

Alec didn’t want to protect her just because it was his duty. He wanted to protect her because he cared about her.

And if the Nightborne came for her, she knew he would die trying to protect her.

“We need to go,” Alec said, getting up and addressing everyone, “we can’t stay here. It’s not safe.”

Jax nodded, “where do we go?”

“There’s someone we can go to,” Alec said, “someone who might know more about the Nightborne.”

Luna frowned, “Who?”

Kade exchanged a glance with Alec and his expression was grim. “An elder. One of the few that might know how to stop them.”

“But there’s a risk,” Alec warned, lowering his voice. “She’s… unpredictable.”

Luna’s pulse quickened, “Unpredictable how?”

Alec hesitated before answering, “She doesn’t usually help people like us. But she might help you—if we can convince her.”

Luna’s heart raced. Another unknown  danger. But if this elder had answers, if she could help… stop the Nightborne…

“What choice do we have?” Luna said, keeping her voice steady, though she could feel the fear clawing inside her.

Alec dark eyes met her’s, with resolve and uncertainty. “None.”

Just then, as Luna was about to ask another question, the front door rattled violently, and a part of a sharp knock.

All four adults froze.

“Who the hell is that?” Jax whispered, his body already tensing for a fight.

Alec shook his head. “I don’t know.”

The knock came again, but much louder, and a voice came from outside.

“I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE,” a woman’s voice was cold and commanding, “OPEN THE DOOR OR I WILL.” 

Luna felt a chill run through her body, her breathing halted in her throat. The stranger’s voice held sway over her—she didn’t know who it was, but something in that voice made her feel profoundly insignificant. 

Jax moved towards the door. He practically had his hand resting on the door handle when Alec grabbed him around the forearm. 

“Wait,” Alec said quietly. “You don’t want to open that door.”

“Who is it?” Luna asked, her heartbeat increasing. 

“Let’s just say,” Alec responded grimly, “if I’m right… it’s her.” 

“The elder?” Luna said, her voice dropping to a whisper. 

Alec nodded his head and his eyes darkened, “She found us before we found her.” 

Another knock fell, this one much harder than the first, forcing the entire cabin to rattle. The door, strong though it appeared, visibly cracked under the force.

“We don’t have long,” Kade mumbled. 

Jax inhaled deeply, gripping the handle. 

“Ready?” he asked quietly.

As he swung the door wide into the threshold stood the woman, tall in stature with silver hair that flowed behind her like a waterfall. Her eyes glowed unnatural with light and she filled the room with a musty presence.

“I’ve been searching for you, moon-bearer,” she said, her voice tinged with an implied threat. 

Luna’s heart leaped.

The elder had come.