Luna of the Forgotten Pack

ring wheel tightly, her knuckles whitening with each sharp turn. Ravencross wasn't on any map she owned, and her

ived weeks earlier, bearing no name or return address. It had been tucked inside an envelope sealed with a cres

emerald flames boring into her soul. Every night, it came

her. Towering pines loomed on either side, their branches intertwined overhead to form

Ravencross. The letters were barely legible, smothered by moss an

om another era. Cobblestone streets glistened beneath the downpour, and gas lamps cast weak pools of l

its fogged-up windows, she could make out the silhouettes of a few patrons hunched over steamin

y as she entered. Conversations hushed insta

he patrons stared openly-worn faces etched with suspicion, their gazes li

d approached her, his eyes narrowing. "You're not from arou

to remain steady. "I'm looking for

n darkened. "Who wa

e said, her heart t

. A woman in the corner crossed herself, while a

e's house is out past the old mill. But if you'r

ame out sharper t

oses where they don't belong," he said crypti

he rain had eased, but the mist clung stubbornly to the air. She

inst the darkening sky. The once-grand estate had fallen into disrepair. Shutte

ped through the rusted gate, her boots crunching against the gravel p

. Dust motes floated lazily in the dim light filtering through the cracked win

iliar-lavender and sage, her grandmother's signature scent. Memories surfaced unbidden: summers

e found shelves lined with books on folklore, herbal remedies, and astrology. A worn journal

's handwriting filled the margins, detailing rituals and

row restless. The lunar key must re

aned back, her mind racing. What had her grandmoth

echoed fro

d came again, a deliberate, m

ade her way to the staircase. Each step creaked beneath her weigh

d, her voice barel

ans

room. Dust-covered furniture greeted

a bedroom dominated by a four-poster bed. Moonlight streamed throu

rumbled from

g green eyes stared b

assive frame radiating power. It regarded her

tilted its head, a flicker of recognition in its gaze. Then, without a so

st swallowed the wolf whole. Only the fa

ndowsill. That wolf- it was the same one