Chapter 64 Rival Pack Warning
POV: Luna
I find the note the next morning.
It's slipped under my dorm room door, sealed with dark red wax. No name. No return address.
Just a symbol pressed into the wax. A wolf's head with crossed claws behind it.
I don't recognize it.
"What's that?" Nova asks, still half asleep.
"I don't know."
I break the seal and unfold the paper. The handwriting is sharp and angular, like whoever wrote it was angry.
"Eclipse Wolf,
The rogue attacks are just the beginning. What happened at your gates was a taste of what's coming. You've drawn attention from forces far beyond your Academy's walls. Forces that don't take kindly to Eclipse bloodlines interfering with their plans.
Consider this a courtesy warning. Leave Silverwood. Disappear. Or face the consequences when we come for you.
You have one week.
Blackclaw Pack"
My hands shake as I read it twice.
Nova takes it from me and reads it herself. Her face goes pale.
"Blackclaw Pack? I've heard of them. They're one of the most dangerous packs in the northern territories. Ruthless. Powerful." She looks at me. "Luna, this is serious."
"I know."
"What are you going to do?"
"Show this to someone. Ryder, maybe. Or Professor Cael."
"And then what? You can't just leave the Academy. Where would you even go?"
"I'm not leaving. That's exactly what they want." I take the note back and fold it carefully. "But I need to warn people. If Blackclaw Pack is coming for me, everyone here is in danger."
I get dressed quickly and head straight to the training grounds, hoping to find Ryder.
He's there, as usual, running through combat drills alone.
"Luna," he says when he sees me. "You're early. I wasn't expecting you until—"
"I got a threat." I hand him the note.
His expression darkens as he reads it. When he finishes, he looks at me with an intensity I haven't seen before.
"When did you receive this?"
"This morning. It was under my door."
"And no one saw who delivered it?"
"I don't think so. It could have been left any time during the night."
Ryder crumples the note in his fist. "Blackclaw Pack. Of course."
"You know them?"
"Everyone knows them. They're a rival pack. Been at odds with several Academy-aligned packs for decades. They specialize in dark magic and corruption." He looks at me seriously. "Luna, if they're targeting you, this is worse than the rogue attacks. Much worse."
"Why? What makes them so dangerous?"
"They don't just kill. They corrupt. Turn wolves into mindless slaves. Destroy entire bloodlines." His voice drops. "And they have a particular hatred for Eclipse wolves. Your grandmother crossed them once. Made enemies of their Alpha."
My stomach drops. "What did she do?"
"Stopped them from corrupting a sacred ritual site. Killed three of their enforcers in the process." He hands the note back to me. "They've been waiting for another Eclipse to emerge. Now they have you."
"So what do I do?"
"You survive. You get stronger. And you let me protect you." His hand finds my shoulder. "I'm not letting them get to you, Luna. Whatever it takes."
The conviction in his voice makes something warm bloom in my chest.
"I can't ask you to—"
"You're not asking. I'm telling you. From now on, you don't go anywhere alone. Training doubles. We prepare for the worst."
"You really think they'll attack the Academy?"
"I think they'll do whatever they need to do to get to you. And yes, that includes attacking Silverwood if they have to."
We head to the Headmaster's office together. Professor Cael is already there, along with Professor Thorne.
I tense when I see Thorne, remembering him touching that glowing symbol in the forest.
"Miss Eclipse," the Headmaster says. "Mr. Ryder said you received a threat?"
I hand over the note.
The Headmaster reads it, then passes it to the others. Professor Cael's expression remains neutral, but I see his jaw tighten.
Professor Thorne just smirks slightly.
"Blackclaw Pack," he says. "How... predictable."
"You don't seem concerned," I say, unable to keep the edge out of my voice.
"I'm concerned. But not surprised. They've been circling us for years, waiting for an excuse to make a move. An Eclipse wolf appearing at Silverwood is exactly the excuse they needed."
"We need to increase security," Professor Cael says. "Double patrols. Strengthen the wards even further."
"Agreed," the Headmaster says. "And Miss Eclipse, you'll have a security detail from now on. I'm assigning two senior students to escort you between classes."
"I don't need—"
"This isn't negotiable. Blackclaw Pack doesn't make idle threats. If they say they're coming for you in a week, they mean it."
The meeting continues, with faculty discussing defense strategies and contingency plans.
But I can barely focus.
Because Professor Thorne keeps glancing at me with an expression I can't read. Not quite hostile. But not friendly either.
Like he knows something I don't.
After the meeting, Ryder walks me back to my dorm.
"Are you okay?" he asks.
"I don't know. Everything's happening so fast. First the rogues, then the siege, now a rival pack threatening to attack. It's like everyone in the world wants me dead."
"Not everyone. You have allies. Friends. Me."
I look up at him. "Why do you care so much? About protecting me?"
He's quiet for a moment. Then he says, "Because I see what you could become. What you already are. And I won't let them destroy that."
There's something in his eyes. Something deeper than professional concern.
Before I can respond, my mark flares.
Hot and sudden.
I gasp and clutch my wrist.
"Luna? What's wrong?"
The sensation is overwhelming. A presence. Powerful and ancient and wrong.
Not the rogues. Not anything I've felt before.
This is different.
This is intentional.
"Someone's here," I whisper. "Someone powerful."
"Where?"
"I don't know. Close. Getting closer." My mark burns hotter. "They're approaching the Academy."
Ryder tenses, his hand going to his weapon. "How powerful?"
"More powerful than anything I've sensed before. More than the rogues. More than the faculty."
The air itself feels heavy. Charged.
Like the calm before a storm.
"We need to alert the Headmaster," Ryder says.
But I can barely move. The presence is so strong it's almost paralyzing.
Whoever this is, they're not trying to hide.
They want us to know they're coming.
They want us to be afraid.
And it's working.