Chapter 14: The Luna's Secret

Emma's POV

The moonstone beam hit Kai square in the chest, and he fell instantly.

"No!" I screamed, running toward him as he fell to the forest floor.

But before I could reach him, someone grabbed me from behind. Strong arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me away from the government soldiers who were coming through the trees.

"This way!" a woman's voice said hurriedly in my ear.

I struggled against her grip, trying to get back to Kai. "Let me go! He's hurt!"

"He's alive," the woman said firmly. "But he won't be if we don't move now."

She was right. The troops were raising their weapons again, and more helicopters were circling overhead. Zara and her pack were fighting back, but their claws and teeth were no match for moonstone-powered armor.

The woman dragged me behind a huge tree trunk just as another beam of blue light split the air where we'd been standing.

"Who are you?" I gasped, finally getting a good look at my hero.

She was beautiful in an elegant way, with red hair and kind green eyes that seemed familiar somehow. But what made me freeze was the way she was looking at me—like she was seeing a ghost.

"My name is Sarah," she said softly. "Sarah Bloodfang. And I've been looking for you for twenty-two years."

My heart nearly stopped. "Sarah Bloodfang? You're Luna Sarah from Kai's original pack?"

"I am." Her eyes filled with tears as she reached out to touch my face. "And you're Emma. My Emma. My daughter."

The world seemed to tilt sideways. "That's impossible. My mother died when I was a baby. In the human world."

"No, sweetheart," Sarah said gently, even as explosions of moonstone energy lit up the trees around us. "Your human parents accepted you after I had to give you up. I sent you to the human world to keep you safe."

I couldn't move. This was too much to handle. "Safe from what?"

"From people who would use your power for evil," Sarah explained, glancing around the tree to check on the fight. "You were born during a moon eclipse, Emma. That makes you incredibly special. And incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands."

"I don't understand," I said, my voice barely a whisper.

"You're not just any werewolf," Sarah continued, her voice urgent as the sounds of fighting got closer. "You're the Moon Daughter—the bridge between our world and the human world. Your healing power isn't just medical magic. It's the power to heal the ties between all supernatural creatures."

My mind reeled. "But I'm not even a real monster. I was human before I came here."

Sarah's eyes widened in shock. "Came here? What do you mean came here?"

Before I could answer, a familiar voice called out through the chaos.

"Emma!" It was Kai, and he sounded hurt but alive. "Where are you?"

Relief flooded through me. "He's okay," I breathed.

"For now," Sarah said sadly. "But we need to get both of you out of here. The government soldiers aren't the only threat."

"What do you mean?"

Sarah's face darkened. "There's something I never told anyone. Something about why I really had to give you up."

She pulled me deeper into the forest, away from the fight. Behind us, I could hear Zara screaming orders to her pack and the whine of charging weapons.

"Twenty-two years ago," Sarah began, "I was pregnant with you during the worst pack war in ages. Alpha Marcus and I were trying to unite the regions, but there was someone working against us. Someone who wanted the packs to stay split and weak."

"Who?" I asked, though I had a terrible feeling I already knew.

"Marcus's brother. Aldric."

My blood turned to ice. "Aldric? But he's supposed to be dead."

"That's what everyone thinks," Sarah said angrily. "But he's very much living. And when he learned I was carrying the Moon Daughter, he tried to take you from me."

"Why?"

"Because with your power, he could control all supernatural beings. Not just werewolves—vampires, witches, fae, everything. You would be the key to enslaving our entire world."

The pieces were starting to fit together in a horrible way. "So you sent me to the human world to hide me."

"It broke my heart," Sarah said, tears running down her face. "But it was the only way to keep you safe. I told everyone you died during birth. Even Marcus doesn't know the truth."

A new thought struck me, cold and frightening. "If Aldric is still alive, and he knows I'm back..."

"He's been hunting for you," Sarah confirmed. "And I think he's been using the government spies to do it. They don't know they're being influenced."

Suddenly, the sounds of fighting stopped. The forest went strangely quiet.

"That's not good," Sarah whispered.

We crept back toward where we'd left the others, staying hidden behind trees. What we saw made my stomach drop.

The government troops had captured everyone. Kai, Zara, Alpha Moonhowl, and the rest of Zara's pack were all on their knees with moonstone weapons directed at their heads.

But standing behind the troops, smiling that terrible cold smile I remembered from the last chapter, was Aldric.

"Looking for someone?" he called out, his voice booming through the trees.

Sarah grabbed my arm. "We have to run," she whispered.

"I can't leave them," I said desperately.

"If he captures you, everyone dies anyway," Sarah hissed. "Your power in his hands would doom the entire supernatural world."

Aldric raised his voice again. "I know you're out there, child. And I know your dear mother is with you." His smile grew wider. "Sarah, you always were too emotional. Did you really think you could hide her from me forever?"

My heart sank. He knew Sarah was my mother. Which meant...

"He's been watching us," I realized. "This whole time, he's been watching and waiting."

"Emma," Kai called out, pain clear in his voice. "Don't listen to him! Whatever he's offering, it's a trap!"

Aldric laughed. "Oh, I'm not offering anything, boy. I'm making a promise." He pointed to one of the soldiers, who pressed his weapon against Kai's temple. "She has ten seconds to come out, or you die. Then the girl with the red hair. Then her father. One by one, until she surrenders."

"Ten," Aldric began counting.

Sarah's grip on my arm tightened. "Don't do it. There has to be another way."

"Nine. " I looked at the people I cared about, all about to die because of me.

" Eight." My healing power was useless against moonstone weapons. " Seven." I couldn't fight an army of soldiers. " Six." But I couldn't let my friends die either. " Five."

I pulled away from Sarah's grip.

"Emma, no!" she whispered frantically.

"Four."

I stepped out from behind the tree.

"Three."

Aldric's smile was victorious. "There's my good girl."

"Two."

But as I walked toward him, something strange happened. The trees around us began to glow with golden light.

"One."

"I surrender," I called out.

Aldric laughed victoriously. "Excellent. Now come here, and—"

He stopped mid-sentence, his face suddenly pale with shock.

Because behind me, dozens of glowing figures were rising from the trees. They looked like werewolves, but they were transparent and shining with silver moonlight.

"Impossible," Aldric breathed.

Sarah gasped beside me. "The Ancient Pack," she whispered. "The first werewolves blessed by the Moon Goddess. But they've been dead for a thousand years."

The lead spirit, a magnificent silver wolf, changed into the shape of a woman. When she spoke, her voice seemed to come from everywhere at once.

"Hello, daughter," she said, looking straight at me. "It's time you learned who you really are."