Chapter 122 The Luna’s Burden
The same night we returned, the air shifted.
Not just around me.
Through the entire territory.
We crossed the boundary into the pack just before dawn. The forest felt different, charged, restless, humming beneath the roots, as if something ancient were waking up and stretching its bones.
I stepped out of the car slowly, boots touching familiar soil.
Home.
And yet not.
Outdoor lights burned along the treeline, brighter than usual. Wolves moved in coordinated lines, hauling crates, polishing lanterns, stringing pale fabric between trees. The scent of pine sap and fresh-cut cedar hung thick in the air.
There were too many bodies moving at once.
I frowned. “Did we miss something?”
Darius shut the car door beside me, scanning the grounds with the calculating calm of a king. “No.”
A group of blood guards passed us carrying carved stone basins.
He exhaled once.
“Preparations begin today.”
“For what?”
His gaze shifted to me slowly.
“For the Silverbound celebration.”
My stomach dropped.
No.
No, no, no.
“Already?” I asked, though I knew the moon had been swelling larger each night. I’d felt it tugging at my ribs like a hand trying to reach inside me.
He nodded once.
“The highest full moon of the season is three nights away.”
Three nights.
I swallowed.
Silverbound Night.
The Binding Moon.
Even rogues whispered about it.
Even the packs that turned their backs on me still honored it.
It was not just a festival.
It was a living oath.
And for the first time in my life.
I would not be watching from the shadows. I would be attending it as Luna.
Mara appeared as if summoned by my dread, her gray braid swinging over her shoulder as she approached. She dipped her head respectfully, but there was something sharp in her eyes.
Expectation.
“Luna,” she greeted.
The word hit differently now.
Heavier.
“As you can see, preparations are underway.”
“Yes,” I said faintly. “I can see that.”
She gestured toward the clearing at the center of the territory where a massive silver arch was being constructed from intertwined branches and ironwood. “The ceremony grounds must be purified. The altar stone will be brought from the eastern ridge. The moon pools must be lined with silver dust.”
My brain began scrambling.
Logistics.
Supplies.
Ceremonial order.
Public speaking.
“The Alpha and Luna stand as conduits,” Mara continued calmly. “Between the pack and the Moon Goddess.”
I nodded.
I knew this.
Everyone knew this.
On Silverbound Night:
• The highest full moon of the season crests directly above our territory.
• The Moon Goddess’s protection is renewed.
• Bonds are reaffirmed, pack, mate, territory, and truth.
It is the night old lies are meant to be released.
It is the night new vows, spoken or unspoken, are bound. The moon is believed to see clearly on that night.
Anything hidden begins to unravel afterward.
My throat tightened.
Anything hidden.
The thought coiled coldly inside me.
“Silverbound falls under your authority,” Mara added gently but firmly. “As Luna.”
I stiffened.
Authority.
I had survived as a rogue.
Fought like an animal.
Bled for space in rooms that never wanted me.
But authority?
That was something I had never been given, until now.
“I’ll delegate,” I said quickly. “Assign committees. Have the elders oversee the ritual sequence. I’ll approve final arrangements.”
Mara didn’t move.
“You must lead,” she said softly.
“I will.”
“In person.”
I bristled.
“I don’t need to design flower arrangements to be Luna.”
Her mouth twitched faintly. “No. But you must be seen. Heard. Present at all times.”
Because this is the first time they will witness you as more than a rumor.Because many still remember you as the hybrid who stood trial.
Because some still do not know whether to kneel or flinch when you pass.
I folded my arms.
“I’ve heard about this ceremony,” I said. “But I’ve never attended one.”
Mara’s gaze softened.
“I know.”
Because I had never belonged anywhere long enough.
Because some packs were not kind to rogues.
Especially hybrids.
Especially those who did not know how to keep their claws hidden.
This would be my first Silverbound Night.
Not as a pack member.
Not as an outsider.
But as Luna.
The realization settled heavily in my lungs.
Darius stepped closer to me, brushing his fingers lightly against the small of my back. Silent support.
“I’ll handle the warrior coordination,” he said calmly. “Security. Perimeter.”
I nodded gratefully.
Mara inclined her head. “The ceremonial structure must be inspected by dusk tomorrow.”
“Fine,” I muttered. And I walked into the house. After an hour the elders arrived.
They did not request entry.
They simply appeared.
Four of them.
Ancient.
Sharp-eyed.
Powerful in that quiet, immovable way that comes from surviving too long. They entered the pack house without ceremony.
I was in the kitchen helping out when the temperature shifted. Darius looked up first.
“Elders,” he greeted evenly.
They bowed to him. Then to me. But it felt measured. Evaluating.
“We wish to speak,” one of them said.
“Then speak,” Darius replied.
The old wolf’s gaze slid to me.
“Regarding the Silverbound Night celebrations ”
Of course. I straightened.
“Yes?”
He folded his hands behind his back. “The Alpha must participate in all preparations.”
I blinked.
“I’m sorry?”
The second elder stepped forward. “Tradition dictates that the Alpha and Luna prepare the ceremony together.”
“I am preparing it,” I said carefully.
“You are organizing it,” the third corrected.
Heat flared in my chest.
“And that’s not enough?”
Silence.
“You have never handled such a task,” the first elder said plainly. “We do not want anything to go wrong.”
There it was. Not an accusation.Not an insult.Worse.Doubt.
Darius’s posture shifted subtly beside me.
Dangerously.
“Careful,” he warned softly.
But I lifted a hand slightly.
Let them speak.
They think I can’t do this.
They think I will embarrass them.
The fourth elder finally spoke, voice gravelly. “The Luna must understand every thread of this ritual. The blessings. The invocations. The territorial bindings everything involved and its meaning .”
“I can learn,” I snapped.
“And you will,” he replied calmly. “With the Alpha.”
Darius’s jaw tightened.
“I have duties beyond ceremony,” he said.
“As does she,” the first elder replied smoothly.
Silence stretched.
I could feel every servant in the house pretending not to listen.
I could feel the pack’s pulse outside.
Watching.
Waiting.
This was my first real test.