“You’ve got to be able to summon it on purpose,” Lucian said, watching me from across the tangle of weeds that used to be a garden.
He looked like a man who’d spent way too many years reading about something he never thought he’d end up explaining face-to-face.
“So far, it’s only shown up when you’re under serious pressure — the rogue attack, the mess with Magnus.
If you stand in front of the pack in three days and it doesn’t come when you call, your claim is dead before you even start.” “I don’t even know what ‘it’ is,” I shot back, my patience thinning.
“No one’s actually told me.
All I get is ancient stories, locked records, and everyone giving me that look like I’m supposed to just understand.” “Alright.
Here’s what we do know.” Lucian sat on the edge of the garden wall and got thoughtful.
“The old records call it moonfire.
The First Queen’s bloodline carried it.
Not a shift.
Not a power the way wolves these days talk about strength or speed, either.
Older — more primal.
It’s not about the person, it’s tied to the moon itself.
Authority, not raw ability.” “That still doesn’t tell me how to use it.” “Fair point.” A quick, crooked smile flickered across his face, gone almost as soon as it came.
“Try this instead.
Close your eyes.” I hesitated and glanced at the kitchen window.
Adrian was there, arms folded, watching with that coiled look — clearly wanting to intervene, but sticking to the promise that he’d let this play out for my sake, even if it made him itch to keep his distance.
“Wren,” Lucian said, softer now.
“I know trusting me isn’t simple.
But this — teaching you this — is something I can actually do.
Let me help.
Let me give you something real, instead of just standing here feeling guilty about all the things I screwed up before.” So I closed my eyes.
“Both times it surfaced,” Lucian said, his voice steady and quieter, “you weren’t thinking about yourself.
Not really.
The garden, with Isabella — you were embarrassed, worried you’d look strange in front of her.
And the fight with Magnus — you stepped in for someone in Adrian’s household you barely knew.
You weren’t defending yourself.” “So you’re saying it only answers when I’m trying to protect someone else?” “The old records say the Queen’s line was different.
Really different.
Alpha power serves the wolf who holds it — strength, territory, survival.
Queen’s authority was tied to something beyond that.
The pack.
The people.
Doing what needed to be done, not just what you wanted.
That’s the core of it.” He grew quiet, almost reverent.
This wasn’t just theory to him.
“Try reaching for it now.
No fear — just purpose.
Think of your sister.
Think of what you want to stop.” I pictured Nova at the edge of the Mating Grounds, crying quietly while enforcers held her back.
Sixteen, and she’d be forced to watch our family’s separation stamped into law, powerless to stop it.
No one to stand between her and whatever Elias planned once he’d cut us both out.
Something warm stoked itself low in my chest.
Slow at first, then building — not wild or desperate, just steady.
I could feel it answering, not to panic or adrenaline, but to intention.
“Open your eyes,” Lucian said gently.
I did, and caught him staring at me.
His face held a strange mix of awe and sadness — like he was finally facing proof of everything he’d been hiding from for nearly two decades.
“Your eyes are gold,” he said, quietly.
“But steady this time.
Controlled.
You did it yourself.” I looked down at my hands, almost expecting some transformation, but nothing had changed.
The warmth was still there, though.
Solid.
Waiting now, no longer wild or impossible to contain.
“That’s it?” I asked, still not sure I believed it.
“That’s the secret?
Just care about someone enough to want to protect them?” “That’s the foundation,” Lucian said, his face serious again.
“But using it once it’s there?
Shaping it so you don’t show any weakness once you’re standing in front of an audience looking for any crack?
That’s the hard part.
And we don’t have much time to work on it.” The kitchen door opened, and Adrian hurried across the garden.
He had that tight, urgent energy — the kind that meant he’d been watching everything and couldn’t stand being apart from me any longer.
He looked me over, the way he always did, just to be sure I was alright.
There was something more complicated in his eyes, though, something I couldn’t quite read.
“Your eyes,” Adrian said quietly, almost reverently.
“I did it on purpose this time.” The words came out almost proud, even though I was still exhausted.
“Lucian showed me how.” Adrian’s gaze flicked to Lucian, and something unspoken passed between them.
Not trust — not yet — but the beginning of it, maybe.
The stubborn, clumsy kind that comes from people who’ve both decided to try their best to keep me alive, even when it terrifies them.
“Good,” Adrian said.
“Because Sal just talked to someone inside Redthorn.
Elias isn’t just moving up the ceremony.
He’s invited three neighboring Alphas to witness.
Everyone is supposed to see it, not just his pack.” Which meant this wasn’t a family affair anymore.
Now it was public — way beyond anyone hoping to cover it up after.
“We’re not just challenging Elias in front of his own pack,” Lucian finished, grim.
“We’re doing it in front of the exact people whose approval would make it impossible to hide, no matter what happens.” That settled between us, heavy and unmissable.
Not just our problem.
Not just one pack.
It was about to get so much bigger, every word and action echoing into places none of us could control.
“Then we make sure,” I said quietly, feeling that golden warmth steady in my chest, “that when the moment comes, I don’t fail.” Adrian laced his fingers through mine, certain now.
“Then we train until you won’t.” Determined, even with everything against us.
“Every hour we can steal.” Behind us, the safehouse was still and quiet, layers of protection settled over all of us — but I understood now that these three days were never supposed to be peaceful.
That wasn’t the point.
This was all about getting ready.
[End of Chapter 17]