Chapter 3 Lost Luna

• CHAPTER 2
• YRA POV
• One moment I stood on the battlefield with my sisters, tearing out the throats of arrogant enemies.
• The next, I floated above it all. Weightless. Watching my own body cold and still on the ground, surrounded by my warriors.
• My silver wolf form had half-shifted into human shape, leaving me exposed. Blood ran from the deep claw marks Thorne had left. The worst pain, though, was seeing my body lie there weak and wounded for everyone to see.
• Solara’s voice cut sharp and clear. “Lycra, Mira—take point. Carry the Luna back to camp. Lycra, bind that wound with moon-moss. Do not let her slip away.”
• I tried to scream that I was still here. No sound came. My spirit rose higher. The bond to my body stretched thin like a silver thread pulled tight. Through the pack link I felt their fear—sharp, loyal, sister-deep.
• Alpha Thorne threw his head back and howled the signal to retreat. His wolves fled into the trees, paws tearing through blood-soaked grass.
• Solara kept command. She mind-linked orders, held the line. The warriors formed a tight circle around me. Some stayed full wolf. Others flickered between forms.
• They lifted my body onto a rough litter of cloaks and branches and carried it through the dense forest. Solara half-shifted, sword ready. More than once the litter nearly tipped as my weight dragged them off balance.
• My spirit followed, helpless but sharp. My hearing felt stronger than ever. I saw things I had missed in the fight.
• The young warrior limped on her bleeding leg and refused help. Elder warriors whispered quiet prayers to the Moon Goddess. Mira smiled sideways at the sight of my body being carried away.
• We crossed into the village , a web of moonlit caves marked with old runes. Healers rushed forward at once.
• Young moon servants ran with arms full of herbs. Chaos. Tears. Howls. Exactly what I hated most. Fear.
• From near the cave ceiling I watched Solara take charge like a true Beta. She moved among the hunters, setting watches, sending scouts.
• “You fought like legends tonight,” she told them. “Because your Luna showed you how. We hold the line until she returns.”
• I reached for them. “I am here… I see you.” My spirit hand passed straight through Solara’s shoulder like smoke. Frustration burned in my chest.
• Only the most trusted stayed in the healing chamber: Solara, Marakishi the divine healer, a few young healers, and Aeluneth. No one had told the Matriarch. Her heart was too weak.
• They laid my body on the Hyndra-woven bed.
• “Her spirit is with us,” Marakishi said, hands hovering over my face, herbs ready. Her eyes closed.
• Of course I’m here, I thought, grinding my teeth.
• Her eyes snapped open. She sniffed hard, as if she had seen something important. I drifted closer.
• “The Goddess is silent. She shows nothing,” Marakishi said.I rolled my eyes. Useless. Solara pulled her outside, away from the others who still watched my body.
• I hovered near the ceiling, staring down at my still form. A sudden pull tugged at the silver thread binding spirit to body.
• Memories flooded in. My first shift as a child, already big-bodied. The day my betrothed’s family rejected me for my size before they even met me. The long years of hard training. The day I became Luna. Pain and pride mixed together.
• A deep female voice pulled me back.
• “Something else is happening.”
• Aeluneth, Bride of the Moon God, eldest divine healer of Silver Moon. She had served my family long before I was born. Outside, the whole clan gathered, human and wolf, at the sudden news.
• “Wolfsbane,” she spat, as if the word itself was poison. Her long white hair stood sharp. She did not soften her words.
• “The Luna was poisoned,” she declared.
• Solara’s jaw locked tight. Confusion and anger warred in her stance. Poison? How? She was the one who had promised victory. Now this?Whispers spread through the pack like fire.
• Aeluneth stood firm. Nearly ninety, yet still full of fire. She had fought beside us against the Manothones, claws deep in enemy throats. White powder lined her under-eyes, twitching with every movement.
• “Beta, who poisoned the Luna?” she demanded. Solara dropped to one knee, using her sword for balance.
• “My apologies, Priestess. I failed the clan.”
• “Apologies mean nothing, Solara. You poisoned her.” The words slammed through me. The room went dead silent.Mira threw her head back and howled. The message raced outward.
• “Traitor!” Aeluneth pointed hard at Solara.
• “Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!” the pack took up the chant.