Chapter 12 The Dawn of The Age of The Luna

Chapter 12 The Dawn of The Age of The Luna
Nyssa POV

Greta met us halfway down the steps, breathless but beaming. “Luna, the builders say the Luna House will be finished by tomorrow. Fifty suites, a communal hall, gardens, warded walkways… it’s exactly as you designed. Just one more day.”

Relief slid through me like warm wine. “Good. They’ll need a home worthy of what’s coming.”

Kaela, Seraphine, and Mireya stood behind me, with their bags in hand, and their eyes drifting toward the half-finished mansion rising behind the packhouse like a new kingdom waiting to be claimed. Even unfinished, the structure radiated purpose, with it's wide balconies, moonlit stonework, and sweeping windows. A place built for power, not for pretty.

Kaela whistled low. “That is… enormous.”

“It’s a palace,” Mireya corrected softly, with awe in her voice.

Seraphine smirked. “A palace for Lunas. About damn time.”

I turned to them, letting Luna power steady my voice. “It will be your home for the next month. Or longer. However long this takes. I want you comfortable. Safe. And free.”

Their shoulders eased at that word...free.

“There are so many rules back home,” Seraphine muttered. “So many eyes watching.”

Kaela added, “My Alpha tracked my movements like I was livestock. Leaving was… very difficult.”

Mireya shook her head, and her jaw tightened. “Mine stopped treating the pack like people years ago. We’re starving. Dying. The Goddess marking me was the first good thing that’s happened to my pack in ages.”

A familiar, sharp ache pricked my chest, rage and sympathy and purpose all twisting into one.

“I’m twenty-five,” I said, offering my hand. “Nyssa Blackwell. Alpha Luna of Moonfang.”

One by one, they introduced themselves.

“Kaela Frostwind. Twenty-two.”

“Seraphine Vale. Twenty.”

“Mireya Solace. Twenty-four.”

So young. So powerful. So broken open by the world and still standing tall.

“The alphas who mistreated you,” I said quietly, “have been summoned along with every other invited alpha. They will undergo the trials. If they fail, they forfeit their titles. Permanently.”

Their eyes widened, then brightened, and hope sparkes like embers taking flame.

“Good,” Seraphine whispered, her voice shaking with fury she didn’t bother hiding. “Let them fall.”

“It’s the age of the Luna now,” I told them. “The Goddess said so Herself.”

Kaela grinned, feral and beautiful. “Then we’re ready.”

“We are,” Mireya agreed.

I gestured toward the hallway. “Your temporary rooms are prepared. Follow me.”

Ronan walked beside me, smug as ever, offering each Luna a polite nod. They eyed him with curiosity, and more than a little appreciation, because Ronan Hiram was impossible not to notice.

He and Rowan had prepared the rooms impeccably. Fresh linens, gifts, snacks, gowns, and weapons, everything a rising Luna could possibly need.

“You’ll find clothes in the wardrobes,” Ronan said. “And toiletries. We didn’t know your preferences, but Rowan insisted on six varieties of shampoo.”

Seraphine laughed. “A thoughtful man. Rare.”

Rowan winked. “I try.”

We showed Kaela to her icy-blue suite, Seraphine to her midnight-toned sanctuary, and Mireya to her warm desert-hued space. Each woman lit up the moment she crossed the threshold, absorbing the safety and peace like starving wolves.

“You’re free to explore,” I told them. “Train. Rest. Meet the pack. You have full freedoms here until the mate hunt begins.”

They exchanged excited looks and immediately dispersed, Kaela heading toward the training yard, Seraphine toward the library, and Mireya toward the gardens. The moment they rounded the corner and vanished from sight, my composure snapped like a pulled bowstring.

I grabbed Ronan by the front of his shirt and yanked him into my room. His startled laugh was a growl by the time I slammed the door behind us.

“Nyssa...”

“Why,” I snarled, shoving him back against the wall, “do you have to be so damn sexy?”

He burst out laughing, low, husky, and delighted. “Goddess, Alpha, warn a man next time.”

“I’m not warning you about anything,” I said, stepping into his space. “You’re my mate, Ronan.”

His eyes darkened instantly.

“But the Goddess said you must prove yourself worthy,” I continued, and my voice was thick with frustration. “So I don’t know what the rules are. Or how far we’re allowed to go. Or...”

He cut me off gently, pressing a warm hand to my cheek.

“I can wait for you, Nyssa.”

I blinked.

Then snorted. “Well I fucking can’t.”

Ronan made a sound that was absolutely feral, and gripped my waist and pulled me flush to his chest. His breath feathered my neck, hot and ragged.

“Goddess help me,” he whispered, “I want you more every time you breathe.”

His hands slid down, cupping my ass firmly, and possessively. He kissed me then. Hard, deep, and consuming. I whimpered into his mouth, and my fingers sunk into his hair. His palms skimmed the shape of my hips, my waist, and the curve of my breasts through the fabric, the touches were desperate but careful.

“Nyssa,” he groaned against my lips, “say the word and I’ll tear apart fate itself.”

My pulse pounded. My wolf prowled. Vianna whispered, "Choose him when you’re ready… but not yet."

I forced myself to pull back, panting.

“Three weeks,” I breathed. “You have three weeks to prove yourself in the trials.”

He rested his forehead against mine, trembling with effort.

“I’ll win you,” he whispered. “Even if I have to conquer the Goddess Herself.”

I smiled, slow, dangerous, and hungry.

“Good.”

Then footsteps echoed in the hallway, breaking the moment as Rowan called, “Alpha? The Lunas want to see the training grounds!”

Ronan groaned miserably. “Perfect timing.”

I straightened my clothes, smirking. “Come on. They’re waiting.”

Ronan followed, muttering curses under his breath. And together, we stepped back into the rising dawn of the Luna Age.

The training grounds stretched across nearly a hundred acres behind the packhouse, carved from the rugged Adirondack wilderness and reinforced with enchantments the Goddess Herself seemed to hum approval at. The moment I led the three Lunas through the arching iron gates, the air shifted.

Magic. Anticipation. Fate.

Kaela inhaled sharply. “This place feels… alive.”

“It is,” I said. “Moonfang was always powerful land, but now? With everything rising? The Goddess is watching.”

Seraphine walked ahead, and her fingertips brushed the silvered bark of a birch tree. “Feels like She’s charging the ground itself.”

“Exactly.”

Mireya bounced on her toes, and her desert-gold hair glowed in the filtered light. “So tell us everything. How will we train? What are we learning? How bloody does this get?”

I laughed. “Very bloody. Very magical. Very transformative.”

Their eyes lit like candles. I gestured toward the massive circular arena first. Sand. Stone pillars. A sparring pit that could handle ten wolves at once. A domed shield shimmered above it, Rowan’s handiwork, strengthened by the witches.

“This is where we’ll work on combat,” I said. “You’ll learn wolf fighting styles, human combat, hybrid shifting, and channeling power with movement.”

Kaela cracked her knuckles. “I’m going to enjoy this.”

“You should,” I said. “You’re all powerful. But you’re about to become unstoppable.”

I led them toward the forested section next. A labyrinth of twisting trails, illusion wards, moving platforms, and shadow traps.

Mireya gasped. “Is this for the mate hunt?”

“Part of it,” I said. “But this is the training version, controlled, safe, and monitored.”

Seraphine raised a brow. “Safe? Really?”

My grin sharpened. “Safe-ish.”

Ronan, who’d followed us at a distance, snorted. “Tell them the truth, Alpha. I’ve nearly broken my ankle in that maze twice.”

Kaela laughed. “I like his honesty better.”

We continued deeper until we reached the Observation Hall. It was a glass and steel structure overlooking the mountain’s edge. Inside, screens lined the walls, showing dozens of camera feeds from deep inside the hunting grounds.

The girls froze.

“Oh. My. Goddess,” Seraphine whispered.

The cameras displayed everything: dense woods, rivers, ravines, high cliffs, hidden caves, shadowed glades, and the open clearing where the females would be released.

Ronan tapped one of the screens. “And that is the drop point for the males. The moment they’re released, the hunt begins.”

Kaela leaned close, her breath fogging the glass. “This is enormous. How big is the grounds?”

“Fifty square miles,” I said casually.

Mireya choked. “FIFTY?!”

“The Goddess insisted,” I said. “If the Luna Age is rising, the trials must match the scale.”

They stared, thunderstruck and thrilled. I folded my arms and let my power settle heavy in my voice. “And there’s more.”

All three turned to me, hungry for the next revelation.

“When all fifty Lunas arrive,” I said slowly, “the Moon Goddess will bless each of you. You will receive one new ability, something dormant in your bloodline or forged entirely new. It will awaken fully during training.”

Kaela’s jaw dropped. Mireya squealed. Seraphine’s eyes gleamed dark and dangerous. “A new power? From the Goddess Herself?”

“Yes,” I said. “You are not just participants. You’re leaders. The future ruling Lunas of the fifty packs of America.”

Their breaths caught as the weight of that truth settled.

“Your alphas have failed,” I continued. “The Goddess is reclaiming balance. Lunas will rise. Wolves will survive because of you.”

Mireya stepped forward, and her voice trembled. “And you’ll train us. Personally.”

“Yes.”

Kaela shook her head with awe. “This is… everything. My entire pack is dying. This is our only chance.”

Seraphine exhaled shakily. “I hate to admit it, but so is mine. If becoming a true Luna gives us the power to save them, I’ll fight for it.”

Good. They needed that fire. I pushed open the last set of doors and guided them down a short flight of stairs to a fortified balcony overlooking the deepest stretch of the woods.

Below, wolves trained. Rowan barked orders. The energy was electric.

“This is where you’ll become legends,” I said.

Kaela’s lips parted in wonder. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“You will,” I said. “Every day for the next month.”

Mireya clapped her hands. “When do we start?”

“Now,” I said. “But just a tour today. I want you rested for your first full training session tomorrow.”

Seraphine tilted her head, studying me. “You seem… different when you’re out here.”

I smirked. “I’m Alpha. This is my domain.”

“Then teach us to be like that.”

A spark, recognition, and unity, passed between us.

“Yes,” I said softly. “I will.”

We walked back toward the Observation Hall, the cameras still flickering with forbidden glimpses into the hunt grounds.

The Lunas looked again, longer, and hungrier.

I lowered my voice. “The hunt changes you. It forces instinct, intelligence, magic, strength, and desire to collide. I intend to prepare you for every piece of it.”

Their excitement nearly vibrated through the room.

“Tomorrow,” I said, “we begin.”

Kaela whispered, “This is going to be incredible.”

Mireya grinned wickedly. “And bloody.”

Seraphine smiled darkly. “And powerful.”

Vianna hummed smug approval inside me.

"Good. They’re ready."

I glanced at Ronan, who leaned in the doorway watching the Lunas with a mixture of respect and sheer entertainment.

“These girls,” he said lightly, “are going to set the world on fire.”

“They will also rule it,” I said simply.