The Proud Luna: A Tale of Rejection and Redemption

he Academy was to survive.

ght-iron gates of Crescent Hollow Academy, her worn boots crunching again

nt pack symbols that seemed to writhe in the shifting shadows. The main spire stretched toward the heavens like a claw, topped with a massive silver wolf that howled silently a

n't supposed

of pine and earth mingled with something sharper-the musk of wolves, the metallic tang of spilled bl

She felt eyes crawl over her skin-curious, suspicious, hostile. Their wolves were testing her, readi

cluster of girls near the fountain, the

her voice, dripping w

oken. Barely surfaced

ack fell because they were weak.

hem right. Wolves lived off hierarchy, and weakness was blood in the water. The Academy's motto was carved i

e in her mouth. Just survive.

asy when her name carrie

me until betrayal tore it apart from within. Her family had paid the price in blood, and now she was here-the "charity case," ad

ara. Don't give them a

ed her anyway, sh

sn't bel

eirs will ea

with a wolf like that

e required midnight blue blazers with pack crests embroidered on the chest, but Elara's was

der a canopy of stars. Ancient stone bleachers ringed the space, worn smooth by generations of wo

n moved with lethal grace, their wolves pushing through their skin in flickers of golden eyes, sharpened canines, and half-shifted streng

what she'd only heard about in whispered stories. True wolf com

gathered in excited clusters, money changing hands as bets were placed. The hierarchy was on display here-Alphas commanded

irred uneasily inside her chest, restless, like it sensed something it couldn't name. The beast that had

when it

l raw power and rage, his wolf bleeding through in patches of coarse black fur along his arms. The other-taller, leaner, precise in every movement-moved like

eath h

e, shoulders that carried authority like a mantle woven from moonlight itself. Even from across the

ing blow that sent his opponent sprawling. Victory look

he look

ross the training ground. But it felt like the world tilted on its axis, like ever

deniable, as if lightning had struck her very soul. Her wolf roared awake, pressing against her

echo forever. Elara barely noticed. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't do anyth

ose and fell hard, his jaw clenched so tight she could see the muscle jumping beneath his skin. Fo

d the truth she d

a

ack a step, shaking her head in denial. No. This wasn't possible. She hadn't come here for love, hadn't come here for the fairy tales othe

when it snapped into place around her like ch

eeper-another voice joined h

at now blazed between them, low and feral

a

complete stop. The sound

me fr

e region, future leader of the Nightfall Pack-and the last wolf in