Page 92 of Rising Luna
I had ascended into something beyond myself, something I never imagined I could be, just to save my people. If anyone deserved to lead, it was me. But that was never the path I wanted. My destiny was to be the Luna of my pack—the one who stood beside them, guiding, protecting. My pack contained the wolves whose humanity had been stripped away, their human halves lost forever.
And now I knewthe truth. Lupe had destroyed those human halves, condemning them to this monstrous fate. There was no saving them. Every last one of those wolves would have to fall. Lupe’s greed had cost too many lives. She had never cared for anyone but herself. Power was her only salvation, the only thing that could make her feel whole.
“Why would you command the shadows to disappear? You are opening yourself up for a fight you cannot win.” She snarled.
It ate at her. To see me ascend, to watch me wield the same power she had, but with more precision, more control. The pride swelled in my chest as I caught the flicker of hatred in her eyes. Not only could I do what she did, but I did it better.
When she commanded the shadows, her people were blind, stumbling in the darkness, striking only when they happened upon one of my pack mates. But mine—mine moved with purpose. My pack could see through the darkness, fighting with clarity and intent.
Destiny did not intend for Shadowborns to be lost in the abyss. We were meant to command it, to bend it to our will... to be the light within it. Shadows held more than people understood. And just like them, Shadowborns were more than mere wielders of the dark.
“I’m not opening up shit. It feels far too easy to wipe the floor with you using the very shadows you sought to control. I’msomeone of honor. You are going to die tonight, and I want you to defend yourself to the best of your full abilities to do it.”
A wicked smile grew across her face, and I could already see the darkness from the trees rolling in. She planned to use the darkness against me this time, but I wasn’t the scared little Shadowborn she met back when I first walked through the doors of RISE academy. At that time, my potential remained a mystery to me. I thought I did, but boy, was I wrong.
The shadows writhed around me, colliding in a relentless clash of power. I forced mine outward, meeting Lupe’s head-on, the impact shaking me to my core. But I didn’t waver. My focus remained locked on her—the opponent standing between me and victory.
Tilting my head to the sky, I called upon the goddess in silence, seeking strength in the celestial glow. The moon answered, its light narrowing in on me, bathing me in its power. Energy surged through me, flooding every limb with warmth, wrapping the battlefield in brilliance.
And then, everything shifted.
The shadows I commanded no longer carried the weight of pure darkness. Lupe’s stilldid, swallowing the field in a suffocating abyss, her forces lost in the black void. But my power didn’t succumb to hers where they met. It transformed. The moon’s light wove through my shadows, shimmering, radiant—forcing back the darkness in luminous defiance.
“What is this?” She screamed and a layer of her voice didn’t sound like her own.
I looked at the light and then up at the moon. I knew what this was, but I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The Moon Goddess has yet again chosen a side. This was exactly what I needed.
“The Great Moon sends her regards.”
I wouldn’t charge forward unless I was angry. Throughout this fight, I had let my anger get the better of me. Yet in this light, I felt something deeper. Acceptance of everything around me. Acceptance of my mates, even though I didn’t want them at first. Knowing that I would have to lead my pack when I thought I wasn’t ready for the responsibility. Then accepting I would be the light that stood between the werewolves descending into the shadows where they didn’t belong.
My fist connected with Lupe’s face and it snapped to the side. There was no anger fueling me anymore, and I could see each movement as clear as day that I needed to do to win. Lupe threw a haymaker, and I lowered myself to twist and hit her in the thigh. Lupe used the moment to swing her leg toward my body, but I called on my shadow wolf in time for her swing to pass through me. I spun away and kicked her in her side, but she went astral. The fight became a full battle. The only one of our abilities we couldn’t use was traveling through the shadows as the light kept the shadows at bay.
It was getting tough to land the hits that I wanted, but while I stood in that light, I noticed my energy didn’t falter. Lupe had been fighting for hours at this rate. Even if I didn’t know how long I was out cold while fighting off the serum, I knew the fight continued. She was growing tired, making me see my time was coming. I just needed to keep this up.
My confidence got the better of me. Lupe kicked me in the chest and I went down to the ground. Her body was on top of mine, another needle in her hand, preparing to come down on me. I was pinned by her legs. But I didn’t let that stop me from going astral. The needle didn’t stick, and I moved out from under her in a flash. When I tried to grab ahold of her, her astral form took over and she teleported out of my vision. I spun around to her face being red with anger.
“Can’t you see how this is pointless? You are stronger than ever. If you would come to my side, then everything would be under our control.”
“Never. That shit is for the weak, not the strong. I don’t need you or your twisted beliefs.”
She pulled a dagger from her side and held it in her hand. “If you aren’t going to come willingly, then you are no longer needed for my mission. Your parents will suffice.”
Lupe charged at me, but I was ready. She pulled her arm back so she could thrust the dagger into me. I stood still and waited for her to come. My wolf was at the ready, expecting me to shift. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to use my wolf to kill Lupe. It felt right to have her die at my hands instead of my teeth, but I wasn’t sure if that was what to do here.
Trust your instincts.
The wind shifted, and I felt the moon’s power brush across my skin. I closed my eyes and let my wolf take over. Now that I have grown into my power, the shift was instant. Most werewolves needed time, but that seemed like a problem in my past. This was how I was always meant to shift. The goddess had said so herself. I was different, special. My wolf was different, too. We were chosen for this moment, and I needed to embrace the shadows.
When my paws hit the grass, I was in my astral form. Lupe slashed downward with the dagger, and I felt it slice into my shoulder. The dagger was designed to combat the astral form.
Fuck.
But that didn’t matter. The light faded at my command, replaced with my own shadows. I traveled behind Lupe and howled. She lunged again, but since my power held off hers, these shadows were mine to command. Embracing the shadows was who I was. Commanding them was my domain, and I needed to do it right if I wanted to win.
Hold her in place.
The shadows obeyed and Lupe’s movement stopped mid-strike. I jumped to meet her as the shadows held her in the air. The force of my wolf knocked her out of her trajectory and onto her back. I snarled as I made the shadows wrap around her wrist and hold her in place. She thrashed against them and tried to get herself loose. It didn’t work, as the force of this ability was not something easily broken. They tightened like rope and cut into her skin. It felt good seeing my ability having this much power. No one had ever shown me how this worked. I wasn’t even sure if my parents knew how to do this.
