Marked by Moon

Chapte

rl Who Wa

d not all who shine are stars."* > -From *T

this her entire life. The prophecy. The mark. The fated bond. She bore the red wolf in full-a perfect silhouette on her upper thigh. Not broken like the child born in whispers, decades ago, or so the old rumors said. No, she was whole. Chosen. And yet... There was that **dream** again. That ash-eyed girl. That howl she had heard last night that **wasn't from anyone in the palace.** --- As Seraphina walked into the Inner Court, the elders bowed low. Flanked by marble statues and moon-laced pillars, the chamber glowed with quiet power. The High Oracle stood in the center, dressed in layered veils that shimmered as she moved. "Princess Seraphina," she said softly. "The moon stirs with unrest. We must read the stars again." "Why?" Seraphina asked, trying not to bristle. "The prophecy is... realigning." The words struck her like frost to the throat. "*Realigning?*" Her voice remained calm, but her wolf twisted inside her. "It has sensed another," the Oracle continued. "Another marked under the same moon. A shadow that does not yet know its light." Seraphina's fingers twitched. "That's not possible. The prophecy said one would bear the sign. One would be chosen." "Prophecies don't lie," murmured Elder Cern. "But they do **shift**. Especially when the Goddess tests our worth." There was silence. Seraphina kept her spine straight. She would not falter. She would not doubt. "Then let me prove myself," she said. "Let me finish the rites. Let the Lycan King see my strength." "He will," the Oracle said with a strange softness. "But destiny is no longer simple. And the bond may surprise us all." --- That night, she went to the sacred moonpool alone. It was forbid