Chapter 16
Abigail's POV
Two days after the Moon Rising gathering, I was summoned to Evelyn's parlor.
I walked through the stone corridors of Crimson Fang Pack's fortress at an unhurried pace, my mind already turning over what new scheme she might have prepared this time. The morning light slanted in through narrow window slits, dragging long shadows across the floor.
When I pushed open the parlor door, Evelyn was seated in her usual high-backed chair, her posture as impeccable as ever, her face arranged into an expression of gentle concern. Olivia stood at her side, hands folded neatly in front of her.
"Abigail, dear." Evelyn spoke first, gesturing toward the chair across from her. "Come, sit down. We've received something rather interesting."
On the low table between us lay a cream-colored envelope, its wax seal bearing the mark of Nighthowl Pack — a crescent moon encircled by stars.
I sat down. Evelyn reached for the envelope with deliberate slowness, turning it between her fingers as though examining a curious specimen. "It seems your new friend Elodie is quite fond of you." Her tone carried a smile as she broke the seal and drew out the card inside.
"Her Awakening ceremony is set for this coming full moon." Evelyn lifted her eyes to mine. "All the major packs have received invitations. And she has specifically written that she hopes you will be there without fail."
"How unexpected." I offered a mild smile, letting just the right measure of surprise and flattered warmth color my voice. "I'm honored that she would think of me."
"You should be honored." Evelyn's smile widened. She set the invitation card back on the table and folded her hands in her lap, settling into the patient, explanatory posture of a devoted mother. "This is a very fine opportunity, Abigail. Nighthowl Pack is one of the most influential in the Silver Council. Nearly everyone who matters will be present at their Alpha's daughter's Awakening."
"Of course, Olivia will go with you. Sisters ought to look after one another at an occasion like this."
I didn't need to think long to know that this was the real reason behind her sudden generosity.
I let my gaze drift briefly to Olivia. She was doing her best to arrange her face into something pleasant, but the tightness along her jaw and the way her fingers pressed hard against each other gave her away. She was clearly still nursing the wound from what had happened at the Moon Rising gathering — the humiliation of having her lie exposed in front of everyone had not faded from her at all.
"Thank you, Mother." I lowered my head in precisely calibrated deference. "I'm grateful for your thoughtful arrangement."
A faint gleam crossed Evelyn's eyes. "Don't mention it, dear. Since you'll be attending such a ceremony, you'll naturally need to prepare a suitable gift for Elodie — something that reflects well on our pack." She waved a hand with easy dismissal. "You may go to the market tomorrow to find something."
"Yes, Mother." I rose from my chair.
As I turned to leave, my gaze happened to meet Olivia's. For just one instant, the careful mask she wore split open like a thin membrane, and I saw what lay beneath — raw hatred, seething resentment. Then she looked away, and the sweet, well-behaved expression slid back into place.
After leaving the parlor, I walked with Autumn toward my room. The corridor stretched ahead of us, but my thoughts had already run far ahead. Evelyn had been too accommodating, too reasonable.
The door closed behind us, shutting out the sounds of the hallway. Only then did I turn to face Autumn.
"What do you think she's planning?"
"Nothing good, Miss. She's never this generous without reason. If she's willing to give something, she's already decided what she intends to take back — and then some."
I nodded slowly and moved to sit by the window. The sunlight cast the room in soft, warm tones, but a faint chill settled somewhere beneath my ribs.
"There's a reason she wants us both there," I said quietly. "Maybe she plans to use the gathering to make Olivia look better — to engineer some carefully arranged moment that puts me down."
"Or," Autumn's voice dropped lower, "something worse."
"Nighthowl Pack's territory is far from here," she added. "If something were to happen there... it would be much harder to get to the truth of it."
"Either way, I have to go." I looked up toward the light beyond the window. "And if I'm going, I need to be prepared. I need to go to the market. I need to find a gift for Elodie that's genuinely right."
---
Early the next morning, I set out for the pack's market district with Autumn and Orchid.
The market occupied a wide open square near the center of the fortress, where vendors from across the territory gathered to sell their wares. The air carried a mingled scent of roasting meat, fresh bread, and the sharp bite of herbs and spices. Wolves moved through the crowd in human form or half-shifted, their voices, calls, and laughter weaving together into a low, continuous hum that bounced off the stone walls.
I moved at an unhurried pace along the rows of stalls, scanning the goods on display. There were finely crafted pieces of jewelry in silver and moonstone, delicate carvings in ancient wood, bolts of fabric in layered, intricate colors. All of it was undeniably expensive and beautiful — and yet something was always missing.
For Elodie, all of this was too... traditional.
She was bold and adventurous, someone who wanted things that were unexpected and singular, not the kind of polished, conventional gift that anyone might bring.
"Miss, what about this one?" Orchid lifted a silver bracelet set with small sapphires from a nearby stall and held it out toward me. "It's very pretty."
I glanced at it and shook my head. "Too ordinary. Elodie will receive dozens of things like this from other guests. This would just be one more."
We moved on from stall to stall. The sun climbed higher, and the market grew more crowded. Heat and noise pressed in from all sides, and a quiet frustration began to build at the back of my mind. I turned over countless well-crafted objects, and not one of them felt like the right thing.
When I was beginning to feel genuinely discouraged, Autumn touched my arm lightly.
"Miss." Her voice was low. "Perhaps we should try the outer edges of the market. Sometimes the more... particular things are found out there."
I considered for a moment, then nodded.
We made our way out of the densest part of the crowd and walked toward the market's periphery. The stalls here were smaller and more worn, with less of a polished look to them. Most of the vendors were older wolves, the kind who seemed to have come down in the world somewhat. The shouting had faded; here, people waited quietly for the right buyer to come along.
It was in this overlooked corner that I finally saw it.
An elderly male wolf sat on a threadbare blanket with his back against the cold stone wall, his eyes half-closed as though dozing in the sun. In front of him was a small spread of stones and crystals, most of them dull and unremarkable — except for one.
It was roughly the size of my palm, smooth and nearly oval, with a surface that had a faint translucent quality, as though a soft light were moving somewhere inside it. When I drew closer, I could just make out the way the color shifted in the finest increments within, like moonlight filtered through layer after layer of thin mist.
"What is this?" I crouched down and gently moved the stone apart from the others to look at it more closely.
The old wolf opened one eye slowly and studied me for a few seconds before answering. "Moon's Tear. Rare thing. Legend says it forms from the tears the moon goddess weeps for her lost children — that it protects whoever carries it."
I picked it up carefully. The weight of it in my palm felt exactly right, cool against my skin. When I closed my fingers around it, I could almost sense a faint pulse coming from somewhere deep within the stone, something like the very faintest heartbeat. At the same time, the light inside seemed to brighten just slightly, as though it were responding to my touch.
"How much?" I asked.
The price the old wolf named was surprisingly reasonable — low, even. I suspected most people simply didn't recognize what it was. I weighed it briefly in my mind, then paid without bargaining. I wrapped the Moon's Tear carefully in a clean cloth and tucked it into the small leather pouch at my waist.
As I stepped away from those worn stalls, the tension I'd been carrying about the gift eased a little. But a different kind of alertness crept slowly up my spine in its place.
The feeling of being watched.
I frowned, and let my gaze move across the surrounding area as though I were only idly looking around — but I found nothing obviously out of place. The scene in front of me was ordinary market life: wolves haggling over prices, children chasing each other, vendors raising their voices to call out their wares.
"Miss?" Autumn moved closer, her voice careful. "Is something wrong?"
"I'm not sure." I kept my voice low, my eyes still moving through the shifting crowd. "It's just that I feel—"
Before I could finish the thought, I saw her.