Chapter 18
Back at the Elowen Estate, Nia had barely stepped through the runed timber archway when she was greeted by her mother, Luna Althea.
“My darling the guards said you were approached by a stranger in the capital. Were you harmed?”
Althea’s hands hovered over her daughter’s arms and collar, instinctively checking for injuries or disrupted auras.
A quiet warmth flickered in Nia’s chest.
For all the Moon Goddess had once taken from her, this new life had been spun from softer threads: a noble bloodline that cherished her, elder brothers who protected her like a true–blooded Luna, and a fated match arranged with Caelan Quinn, the heir to House Quinn and a childhood bond.
Even her task from the Moon’s Whisper–the divine contract reborn into her soul–seemed merciful this time. A gift of reprieve from past pain.
“I didn’t meet with Caelan Quinn today,” Nia murmured.
Althea waved a graceful hand. “No matter, my star. I’ve already summoned the Quinns to the evening feast. You’ll see him then–under starlight and ceremony.
Nia blinked, then laughed. Of course.
The whispering spirit bound to her soul had said the same: this mission would be gentle, a balm rather than a blade.
Meanwhile, across the moonlit highlands, Thorne paced within his stone–cast stronghold. His expression was worn with unrest. All his connections–pack or otherwise were scouring the region for the young woman now called Nia Elowen
Then it came. A photograph
Thome’s breath caught
“Selene,” he whispered. “That’s her.”
Cedric, his former father–in–law and elder of the Frostfang Circle, tried to dissuade him. Thorne. What madness are you chasing?”
But Thorne was already out the door, cloak trailing, the scent of rain on his heels.
she bears the mark of House Elowen,
Three nights later, under the waning gibbous moon, the lunar charity banquet was held within the Skyspire Gardens–a ceremonial glade used by noble packs for alliance blessings
Nia entered adorned in a gown of moonlace and silverleaf, flowing with enchantments that caught the lunar light. By her side stood. Caelan Quinn, son of the Eastern Wilds, calm and unshaken.
Whispers swirled like petals in wind: the daughter of Elowen to be joined with the Alpha–to–be of House Quinn.
Hidden in the gathering shadows, Thorne’s hand tightened around a chalice of elderberry wine, his eyes locked on her like a wolf scenting something long lost.
He emptied the cup and strode toward her.
Nia, flushed from the warmth and the spell song of the night, had stepped briefly out onto the terrace that overlooked the glowing spring waters. That’s where he found her.
“Miss Elowen,”
She turned. The voice twisted something deep in her gut.
Thorne looked cleaner now, more composed, but the haunted glint in his gaze had only sharpened.
Chapter 18
“You look like someone I used to run beneath the moon with.”
Nia stood straighter. “Who?”
“My bonded Luna.”
She let out a soft breath that might’ve been a laugh, bitter and light.
He had never called her that when she truly was
When she had borne the Sigil of their union, when she had bled for their bond, he had barely acknowledged it. Selene had been little more than a tool.
“Then I’m sorry, Alpha. You must be mistaken.”
Thorne stepped closer. “She loved me more fiercely than any howl ever carved the night. I didn’t return it–not at first. I chose her because she resembled a memory.”
Nia’s pulse throbbed in her throat.
“But she changed everything. She became my truth. And I didn’t see it… until she vanished like mist.”
The wind caught in the laurels, cold against her skin.
Thorne’s voice cracked. “I would give anything to walk the path back.”
Nia’s eyes held steady.
Once, these words would’ve been a miracle. They would’ve broken her. She had yearned for them while locked in silence, while her heart bled beneath ceremonial blades.
Now they arrived too late.
Now, she bore a different name. A different fate.
And the Moon had already chosen her new path.
Chapter 18
