Chosen Moon 17

Posted by Adminh, ? Views, Released on January 1, 2025

Chapter 17

Dena’s Mov

It’s been seven days since we retrieveil the Stone. Seven agonising days. Everyone seems to hate me for Joel’s death, and there are more foes than friends. I realise I have put my brother in a difficult position. Right now, we are am

in our way back from a relaxing walk in the woods.

The clearing is silent as Sebastian and I step through the treeline, but I feel their eyes before I see them. Most of the pack is gathered here, hodies teise, faces cast in shadow muler the rising moon. It’s like stepping into a den of wolves ready to tear me apart–and maybe they are.

Marcus stands at the center of the crowd. I don’t need to look at him to feel his rage–thick and venomous, curling through the air like smoke. My wolf Whistles, pacing beneath my slan, but I get my teeth and hold her back. I’m not here to fight. I don’t want to fight.

be the Crescent Stone pulses cold and alive in my grip, its hum vibrating through my hones. It hasn’t stopped since we returned from the rains of the o city. I know the pack can feel it

Marcus raises his head as we approach, his gaze pinsing me like a dagger. His face is pale with grief, but his eyes burn with something sharper. His wolf is there too, simmering beneath the surface.

“There she is.” Marcus groovis, his voice cutting through the quiet. “The murderer.”

The word lands like a punch. I flinch, unable to stop myself, but I keep walking until I’m standing just beyond Sebastian’s reach.

Whispers break out across the clearing, rippling through the pack like a wave. Murderer. I hear it again. Dangerous. Unstable.

I swallow hard, my throat dry. “I didn’t mean to=”

“To what?” Marcus’s voice rises, shaking with anger. “To kill my father? To destroy the only family I had left?” He steps toward me, and I feel the force of his fury like a gust of wind. “You couldn’t control yourself, and now he’s dead. He’s dead because of you.”

My heart pounds. “It was an accident.”

The crowd warmurs louder now, voices like claws scratching at the edges of my resolve Sebastian steps in front of me, his voice sharp and unyielding. “That’s enough, Marcus.”

“Na“Marcus snaps, pointing at me. “She’s holding

ng the Crescent Stune. Look at her! It’s still in her hand! She didn’t let it go even after she killed him.”

11ghten my fingers around the stupe instinctively, its cold weight familiar now. Safe. My wolf growls softly, her voice in my head a low whisper. They din’t understand us. They’ll never understand

Sebastian turns his head slightly, his warning clear. “Marcos, I said enough.”

But Marcus doesn’t back down. His face twists, his eyes blaring gold. “You’re protecting her? After everything that’s happened?” He shifts his attention to the pack, his voice carrying now, building momentum like a storm. “Do you see this? She’s dangerous. That thing in her hand–it’s not natural. She’s not natural. And if Sebastian won’t deal with her, I will

“Marcus!” Sebastian’s voice is thunder now, but Marcus is past listening.

His eyes lock onto mine, and I see the exact moment he lets his wolf take over. His body snaps, fur bursting across his skin, bones breaking with sickening cracks as he shifts mid stride.

I gasp and step back as his wolf–huge and dark furred–charges me, his spari ripping through the air like a jagged blade. My wolf reacts before I do

The Crescent Stone flares to life, its glow spilling out of my palm like fire. My change comes hard and fast, faster than it ever has before, my s ripping and reshaping as my wolf explodes forward. The power is overwhelming. It roars through me, slamming into my senses and sharpening them to a painful degree.

My vision turns silver, and I see Marcus’s wolf coming for me, his teeth bared, his eyes blazing with hatred.

Defend yourself, my wolf commands, and we leap

We clade with the force of an avalanche, bodies crashing together, claws and teeth flashing. I hear the gasps of the pack, the shouts of those too close scrambling to get out of the way, but all I can focus on is Marcus.

114

Chosen by Moon of Fe

Chapter 17

He’s faststronger than I expect, but I’m faster. The Crescent Stone Feeds me its power like a river, and my wold drinks. Marcus snaps at my neck, his claws fearing into my shoulder, but I barely feel it. The power drowns out the pain, drowns out the fear.

1 stroy him off, my wolf’s strength sinnatural, terrifying even to me. Marcus lands hard, but him head on, iny jaws clamping around his serulf as we roll, the earthy tearing up beneath us

End him, the whisper comes, low and dark, slithering through my thoughts.

don’t hesitate. He lunges again, and this time I ret

My wolf’s teeth sink deeper, and Marcus yelps, his body going still beneath mine. The pack’s shouts blar into a single, panicked roar.

“Tena!”

Sebastian’s voice is a whiperack through the chaos, sharp enough to break through the hare. My wolf hestates, her teeth Marron’s thiroat, ready to finish it

him, the whisper urges again.

Thit it’s not my voice. It’s not me.

1 snap my

pressing against.

p my jaws open and step back, panting hard, my fur slick with sweat and Marcus’s blood. The Crescent Stone still hums within me, its glow faint in the moonlight.

Marcusmorphs bark slowly, his body trembling as he pushes himself upright. There’s blood on his face, a cut above his brow, but his eyes burn hotter than ever. He wipes at the blood with the back of his hand, glaring at me like he’d rather die than look away

“This isn’t over,” he spits, his voice shaking with fury. “You’re not one of us. You’re a monster. And I’ll prove it to everyone.”

Sebastian steps between us then, his presence like iron. “Marcus, enough.”

Marcus doesn’t even glance at him. His glare stays locked on me for one final, venomous second before he turns and shoves has way through the pack hear him morph again, his wolf’s growl fading into the forest.

The clearing is deathly quiet now. The pack stares at me, their faces shadowed by the moonlight. I can see the fear there–written in their eyes, their posture, the way they step back just slightly when I turn my head.

They’re afraid of me.

I morph back, my body aching, my hands still trembling as I clutch the Crescent Stone. The glow fades, but the power still hums in my veins, like something alive and restless.

Down! I did it again. Falmost killed Marcus A vision of me killing Lucian in an uncontrollable bloodlust rose in my mind. I am terrified and it makes me sick to my belly. If I can’t control this power, maybe I shouldn’t use it at all.

Sebastian turns to me, his face unreadable. “Hena.”

I meet his gaze, trying to steady my breathing. “I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

“I know.” he says quietly. “But the pack is scared. They’ve seen what you can do, and so has Marcus.

I glance at the crowed, but no one meets my eyes. They’re whispering now, voices carrying on the wind Monster. Dangerous. Killer.

Sebastian steps closer, his voire low. This is unly going to get worse. Marcus isn’t going to stop. He’ll rally whoever he can against you.”

Then what do I do?” I whisper, my threat tight.

Sebastian studies me for a long moment, his expression grave. “You need to decide whether you’re going to control the Crescent Stone, or let it control

you Because right now, Elena it’s winning”

1 stare at him, my fingers tightening around the stone, and the ground beneath me feels like it’s tilting

Sebastian steps away, calling for the park to disperse, but I stay where I am, frozen in place. The clearing empties slowly, one by one, until I’m alone with the night and the cold glow of the Crescent Stone.