The days after my awakening in the Flame Cavern blurred into an anxious haze. Though the sun rose and set, though the routines of the pack continued training, patrols, quiet dinners around the longhall fires something fundamental had changed.
I had changed.
The moonlight still pulsed in my veins, a constant, quiet echo of the First Flame's gift. I felt more connected to the land, to the stars, to the howls that drifted from the furthest edge of the horizon. I could sense the presence of others others like me.
Moonborn.
Hidden. Buried. And now, stirring.
Lucian found me at the cliffs at dawn, where the valley spilled into the horizon in a river of mist. I had stood there for hours, staring into nothing, hoping for clarity.
He came without a word at first, standing beside me, our shoulders brushing.
"You haven't been sleeping," he said eventually.
"I haven't wanted to," I answered. "Every time I close my eyes, I see her. The First Flame. I hear Malrik. I see... them."
"The Moonborn."
I nodded. "They're waking. I feel them. Scattered across the continent. Some afraid. Some hungry for power. Some confused."
"And you think they'll follow him?"
"If he reaches them first," I whispered. "He'll offer them identity. Purpose. A home for the parts of them that no one else understands."
Lucian's jaw tightened. "Then we need to move first."
I turned to him. "We need to unite them. Before he can."
He gave a solemn nod. "We'll call the Inner Circle. Today."
The war chamber was lit by blue flame lanterns, casting long shadows across the map that had become the center of every conversation. Runes etched into the table flickered as our hands passed over them. Around the table stood Lucian's top lieutenants Kieran, Beta Elric, and the Elders.
Red stones marked known rogue territories. Blue ones marked loyal allies. A third set of stones, new and glowing faint silver, dotted parts of the map that until recently held no significance.
Places I had dreamed of.
Places where Moonborn wolves now stirred.
"This pattern," Kieran said, pointing to the markers, "matches the ley lines of the Old Packs. Bloodlines thought to be extinguished during the Purge."
"They weren't extinguished," I said. "They were scattered. Hidden. Some of them never even knew what they carried."
"Until now," Lucian added. "Until she lit the Flame."
I met their eyes. "We need to reach them. Not with force. With truth."
Elder Vira frowned. "You want to reveal yourself to outsiders?"
"They've already heard the other version," I replied. "Malrik is telling them I am the false queen. That he is the son of prophecy. That I rejected my place, and he has come to restore order."
"Lies," snarled Elder Saran.
"But compelling ones," I said. "And they come with promises of power. I need to speak before the story becomes legend."
Lucian slammed his hand on the table. "We ride at first light. To the Northern Tundra. Selene's pack straddles loyalty and rebellion. If we win her trust, the others will follow."
The journey was brutal.
We rode as wolves, through storm and ice, wind lashing at our fur, our paws thundering across frozen rivers and steep cliffs. The tundra welcomed no one. Not even its own.
By the second night, our breath froze mid-air. By the third, even our spirits began to waver. Only the purpose held us together—the mission, the urgency, and the fear that Malrik was already moving.
When we reached the edge of Selene's territory, her guards met us with spears carved from star-iron and eyes cold as the snow.
Lucian stepped forward, his voice calm. "We come in peace. To speak, not to threaten."
Selene arrived soon after. She was tall and striking, her black braids streaked with silver, her presence regal and hard as iron. She looked directly at me, ignoring everyone else.
"You are the one who lit the Flame," she said.
"I am."
"You carry power your ancestors abused."
"I carry a choice they never had."
She studied me. "And what do you offer us?"
I stepped forward. "The truth. Not glory. Not crowns. Just a place in the world that's rising. One where we are not hunted or hidden."
"And if I say no?"
"I walk away."
The wolves around her stirred.
"I don't force loyalty," I added. "That's his way. Malrik's. Not mine."
Selene stared a long moment.
Then nodded. "Come. Sit by the fire. Let the pack hear your voice."
That night, the Northern Tundra burned bright with ceremonial flame. A ring of fire surrounded the great hall, and wolves young, old, warriors, healers gathered to listen.
I stood on the speaking stone.
"My name is Aurora Quinn. Daughter of the Flame. Bearer of a bloodline I did not choose, but one I carry with pride. I am not here to lead you. I am here to warn you. A war is coming. And those like me those with Moonborn blood will be its first casualties if we remain divided."
Gasps. Murmurs. A young wolf in the crowd looked down, his hands glowing faintly.
"You feel it, don't you?" I continued. "Something in you waking. Calling. You are not broken. You are not cursed. You are part of something ancient. And you have the right to decide what that becomes."
Silence stretched long.
Then, slowly, one wolf stepped forward.
A girl. Barely sixteen. Her eyes shimmered silver.
"I dreamed of you," she whispered.
Then another came. A warrior, grizzled and scarred. "The power burns in my bones. I've hidden it for years."
And another.
And another.
By dawn, seven Moonborn had stepped forward. Unclaimed. Untouched. Awakened.
I wept as I welcomed them.
Selene watched in silence. When the last one approached me, she spoke to her wolves.
"For years we feared the return of prophecy. We buried our bloodlines, broke our children. But the world changes again. And if we do not stand now together we will kneel later."
She turned to me.
"You have the Northern Tundra."
We departed the next day, accompanied by three of the new Moonborn volunteers who insisted on joining the journey back. As our wolves moved through the snow, I felt the shifting web of fate tighten around us.
This was only the beginning.
Malrik was building an army.
But now, so was I.
Not with fear. But with truth.
Not for power. But for freedom.
The Awakening had begun.
And I would lead it.