Chapter 41 Processing the Discovery
POV: LUNA
I barely remembered running back to campus. One second the figure was blocking my path. The next, I was sprinting through the forest. My newly awakened powers giving me speed I didn't know I had.
They'd let me go. Or I'd escaped. I wasn't sure which. But I'd made it back.
Nova was in our room when I burst through the door. She looked up from her homework. Her expression shifting from casual to concerned in seconds.
"Where have you been? You look like you've seen a ghost."
I leaned against the closed door. Trying to catch my breath. My hands still shaking. My mark still burning from whatever had happened in the clearing.
"I found something. Carvings. About my family."
Nova set her books aside. Stood up. "What kind of carvings?"
"Ancient ones. In the forbidden forest. At the Moon Circle. They reacted to my mark. Showed me visions of my ancestors. Of the Eclipse bloodline. Of why we're different."
"Different how?"
I moved to my bed. Sat down before my legs gave out. "We're guardians. That's what the Eclipse wolves were created for. To guard a seal. Something our ancestors locked away centuries ago. Something that's trying to break free."
Nova sat beside me. Processing. "So you're basically wolf royalty? That's actually kind of cool."
"Cursed royalty. Everyone with my bloodline dies young. My grandmother. My great-grandmother. Probably every Eclipse woman going back generations. They all died protecting that seal."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Oh."
Nova was quiet for a moment. Then she shook her head. "Well, we're all going to die eventually. Might as well go out looking fabulous."
Despite everything. Despite the fear and the weight of what I'd learned. I laughed. Small. Brief. But genuine.
"There's the Luna I know," Nova said. She bumped my shoulder with hers. "The one who doesn't let prophecies and curses and ancient bloodlines break her spirit."
"I don't feel very unbreakable right now."
"None of us do. But we fake it until it's real. That's the secret."
I leaned my head on her shoulder. Exhausted. Overwhelmed. Grateful.
"The carvings showed me something else," I said quietly. "Power. Real power. Not just wolf strength or partial shifts. Magic. Ancient magic tied to my bloodline. I felt it activate. All that latent energy just flooding through me at once."
"Can you control it?"
"I have no idea. It was too much. Too intense. I passed out from it. Or almost passed out. I'm not really sure what happened."
"Maybe that's what tonight's challenge is really about. Not proving yourself to Darius. Proving to yourself that you can handle this power. That you can be what your bloodline needs you to be."
I hadn't thought about it that way. But Nova had a point. The challenge wasn't just about pack politics or social hierarchy. It was about me accepting what I was. What I was meant to become.
"I'm scared," I admitted. "Of the challenge. Of the power. Of everything that's coming. Of letting everyone down."
Nova lifted her head. Made me look at her. "Whatever happens, you're not facing this alone. You know that, right?"
"I know."
"I mean it. Me. Marcus. Even Darius in his weird antagonistic way. Ryder. The whole defense group. We're all in this together. Your burden is our burden. Your fight is our fight."
"Thank you."
"That's what friends do."
A knock on the door interrupted us. Sharp. Urgent. Authoritative.
Nova and I exchanged glances. That wasn't a student knock. That was faculty.
I stood. Opened the door.
Ryder stood in the hallway. His expression serious. Concerned. Maybe a little angry.
"Luna, we need to talk. The council knows you were in the forbidden zone."
My stomach dropped. "How?"
"The wards. They track who goes in and out of restricted areas. You triggered them when you entered the Moon Circle clearing. They've been monitoring you since the tracking exercise this morning. Waiting to see what you'd do."
"Am I in trouble?"
"That depends. What did you find there?"
I hesitated. Not sure how much to share. Not sure who to trust. The spy was still out there. Still watching. Still reporting to whoever was orchestrating everything.
"Carvings," I said carefully. "Ancient runes. They reacted to my mark."
Ryder's jaw tightened. "And?"
"And they showed me things. About my bloodline. About why Eclipse wolves exist. About the seal we're supposed to guard."
He was quiet for a long moment. Then nodded. "The council wants to see you. Before the challenge tonight. They have questions."
"What kind of questions?"
"The kind you don't refuse to answer. Get cleaned up. Presentable. I'll escort you to the council chambers in twenty minutes."
"But the challenge—"
"Is still happening. This meeting won't take long. Assuming you're honest with them."
He left. His footsteps echoing down the hallway.
Nova looked at me. "Well that's not ominous at all."
"Everything's ominous lately."
"Also true."
I grabbed clean clothes. Started getting ready. My mind racing. The council knew I'd been in forbidden territory. Knew I'd found something. But how much did they know? How much had they been watching?
And more importantly, was the spy among them? Was I walking into a trap disguised as a formal meeting?
"Luna," Nova said. She was standing by the window. Looking out at campus. "The challenge starts in three hours. You need to be focused. Sharp. Whatever the council wants, don't let them get in your head."
"Too late for that."
"Then get them out. You're Luna Eclipse. Last of your bloodline. Guardian of an ancient seal. Marked by the goddess. You don't bow to councils or politics or intimidation. You're better than that."
I wished I had her confidence. Her certainty. But all I felt was tired. Scared. Unprepared for everything being thrown at me.
Still. I straightened my shoulders. Lifted my chin. Pretended to be the person Nova thought I was.
Fake it until it's real. That's the secret.
Ryder returned exactly twenty minutes later. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be."
I followed him into the hallway. Toward whatever conversation awaited me with the council. Toward answers about my bloodline. About the seal. About why Eclipse wolves kept dying young.
And in three hours, I'd face Darius publicly. Prove I deserved to be here. Or fail spectacularly in front of everyone.
Either way, tonight would change everything.