The pack house looked like it had survived a war.... Snow was piled in uneven heaps along the stone paths, half-shoveled.
Warriors moved everywhere...… some repairing broken railings, others hauling debris, voices sharp and urgent as they assessed damage.
The blizzard hadn't just come and gone..... It had shaken the entire kingdom.
The moment I stepped through the gates, every sound blurred into one dull hum.
"LUNA!"
Amy slammed into me so hard I nearly lost my balance... her arms wrapped around me desperately, like she was afraid I'd disappear again if she lets go.
Her hands moved everywhere..... my shoulders, my arms, my waist, my face...… checking me like she didn't trust her eyes.
"Oh my God..... are you okay? are you hurt? Are you bleeding? Where did you go? Do you know how many times I called you?" Her voice cracked.
"Your phone wasn't connecting not even once..... I thought...." She broke off choking on a sob.
"I thought something happened to you..... I thought I lost you."
Tears streamed down her face.
My chest clenched painfully.
"Amy," I whispered pulling her closer.
"I'm okay...… I'm sorry I made you worry like this...… I'm here okay..."
She shook her head against my shoulder holding me even tighter.
"I'm sorry." I whispered.
She pulled back just enough to look at me, eyes red and furious and relieved all at once.
"Where did you even go? I told you not to come out.... I told you...…."
"I know." I started.
"Luna!"
The voice made my stomach drop.
Before I could react, Stefan came rushing out of the pack house like some tragic hero.
He crashed into me, arms wrapping around my body without permission.
"I was so worried," he said breathlessly, pulling back to look at my face.
"You ran off from the party and nobody knew where you went.... I searched everywhere..... they said you were acting crazy and you just ran into the storm..... I didn't know what to do….."
I saw it at that moment...… the performance... his fake concern.
Something inside me snapped clean in two that I don't even remember deciding to do it.
My fist moved on instinct...…..
The sound of impact echoed sharp and loud across the courtyard.
Stefan stumbled back with a cry, collapsing into the snow as gasps rippled through the onlookers.
Amy froze for half a second...… then her eyes lit up.
"Oh my God..." she breathed.
"You finally did it!"
Stefan clutched his face shock written all over him.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"What's wrong with me?" I snapped, stepping forward rage burning through my veins.
"You cheated on me!
His eyes widened.
"Luna... I…..I...i can explain....."
Amy stepped beside me shoulders squared, eyes blazing.
"How dare you cheat on Luna!" she hissed.
"Luna! Do you know how lucky you were you bastard?"
He barely had time to scramble up before I struck again.
I didn't just punch, I grabbed him and that was when strength surged through me. My grip locked like steel as I twisted his arm, flipped and slammed him into the snow with unrecognizable strength.
I believed to be wolfless all my life..... but now I felt unshakable.
Amy stared at me in shock.
"Luna...…. since when can you do that?"
Stefan coughed, blood speckling the snow as Amy snapped out of her shock and joined me without hesitation.
"You deserve this," she snarled landing a solid hit of her own.
We didn't stop...…
Not until he was coughing hard, curled in on himself, barely able to speak.... that was when warriors rushed forward, grabbing us apart from him before things went too far.
......
When we were finally alone in the room, Amy's hands shook as she studied me.
"Luna...…. something's different.... I can smell it on you..... it's powerful but I don't...… I can't sense a wolf on you."
The truth was heavy, dangerous
"It's Asha," I whispered.
"My wolf...… she's fully awake"
"What?"
"My wolf....." I continued voice barely above a whisper.
"Her name is Asha."
Amy froze...….
"She's... she's been dormant..." I added quickly.
"For years..... since I was a child. I don't know why or how I just know she was silent until the blizzard."
Amy stared at me like she was seeing me for the first time the she grabbed my hands worriedly.
"You cannot tell anyone this." she said sharply.
"Luna, listen to me..... If the wrong people find out you have a dormant wolf..... if they even suspect something unusual about you...… it won't end well.... Trust me."
"I know....." I whispered.
She squeezed my hands harder then pulled me into a hug.
She leaned back studying my face again.
"but then dormant or not, you don't just suddenly overpower a grown wolf without something changing."
She sighed and shifted gears, her voice softening.
"Stefan...…" she said.
"I'm sorry...….. I know you loved him."
That was when she paused because I wasn't crying or shaking or acting crazy.
"Why aren't you upset?"
I opened my mouth and closed it.
" I don't feel it...." I finally said.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"Luna..."
"I just feel like feel that version of me already died somewhere else..."
Amy sat beside me now.
"What happened to you?"
"Where did you go?" she asked gently.
"I ran to the cabin..... luckily for me it wasn't occupied...."
She nodded slowly sighing in relief since it was our usual spot and safest place in the world.
Her hand found mine squeezing tightly.
"Oh..... Luna...…" Her voice was soft and protective.
I swallowed hard, hiding the deeper truth that made my chest ache.
Rhage...….
The Alpha king...…
Her father....
He had cared for me and protected me from what I didn't even understand but I couldn't.....… I couldn't think about that now.
I shook my head forcing my thoughts back to the room, to Amy.
Amy didn't ask anymore questions, just pulled me into another hug, tight and protectively, the way only she could.