Moonlight Rising - by Shedrach Ojodomo Tijani

<h2>Chapter 1: Shadows in Moonlight</h2> The town of Moonlight never truly slept.Even in the deepest part of night, when human eyes could barely distinguish shadow from shape, the supernatural pulsed just beneath the surface—throbbing like a heartbeat through the veins of the land. The moon hung heavy and golden in the sky, full and watchful, casting long silver fingers across cobblestone streets and whispering forests.Luna ran beneath it like she belonged to it.Her bare feet kissed the soft earth of the wooded trail, her breathing steady despite the hard pace. She felt the surge of wildness in her blood, the telltale burn that came with the full moon's call. It clawed at her ribs, whispered seduction to the beast that lived under her skin.Not yet, she thought, grinding her teeth and pushing forward. I’m still in control.For now.She reached the ridge that overlooked the valley where Moonlight stretched, a charming town cloaked in ancient magic and thick fog that never quite burned off by morning. The scent of pine, damp moss, and something older clung to the wind. Luna knelt in the underbrush, letting her senses stretch beyond what was human.An owl hooted.A fox darted past in the undergrowth.And something else… something unfamiliar pricked at her instincts.A scent.She stiffened.Male. Not pack.She closed her eyes, letting the wildness inside sharpen her focus. The scent was fresh—earthy, dark, threaded with something she couldn’t name. A rogue? A drifter? Whoever it was, they were close. Too close.Luna rose silently, her limbs coiled like a predator’s. As second-in-command of her pack, the Crescent Fang, it was her job to patrol the borders on full moon nights when tempers ran high and boundaries blurred. Strangers were rare. Strangers this close to pack land were dangerous.A twig snapped behind her.Luna spun.And came face to face with eyes like storm clouds—gray, swirling, unreadable.The man stood half-shadowed by the trees, unmoving. He wasn’t dressed like a rogue: dark jeans, black shirt, boots. Too calm. Too still. But there was a rawness to him, something feral that made her breath catch.“Who are you?” Luna growled, stepping forward.The man tilted his head. “You're fast.”His voice was low, smooth, but carried something old beneath it—like distant thunder. He didn’t answer her question.“You’re trespassing,” Luna warned, claws unsheathing. Her control teetered on a knife’s edge. She hadn’t shifted yet, but the pressure was building. “Pack law says I can rip your throat out.”“You could try,” he said simply, not moving.She bared her teeth. “Name.”“Elijah.”He said it like a challenge.The name rang no bells. Not Crescent Fang. Not part of the surrounding allied packs either. Rogue, then. Dangerous. Still, something in his scent called to her—a thread of recognition that shouldn’t have been there. The moon pulsed again above them, stronger now, and her control slipped a little more.Elijah took a step forward. Luna tensed.“You’re holding it back,” he said quietly. “The wolf.”She blinked.His eyes weren’t just gray—they were silver. Glowing faintly. Like hers did when the shift crept too close.“You’re like me,” he said. “Different.”Luna’s heart hammered. “You don’t know me.”“No,” Elijah agreed, voice low. “But I think I should.”Before she could respond, a howl split the night—long, sharp, and full of fury. Not hers. Not his PackThey had found her.“Elijah,” she said quickly, “you have to leave. Now.”He didn’t flinch. “They won’t hurt me.”“You don’t know Roman.” She grabbed his arm. The contact shocked her—heat flared under her skin, like touching fire and knowing it wouldn’t burn. His expression shifted just slightly. Surprise. Recognition.“You’re Moon-Bonded,” he whispered.“What?”But he was already gone. One second there, the next vanished between the trees like smoke.And when the pack arrived, claws and questions at the ready, Luna stood alone.Luna trudged back toward the pack house, her pulse still uneven. Her senses strained backward, chasing the memory of that strange energy in Elijah’s presence. She felt… changed. Stirred. As if something ancient inside her had stirred for the first time in years.Moon-Bonded.The word echoed in her mind like a forgotten melody.The Crescent Fang estate sat atop a wide clearing, a massive stone-and-timber structure surrounded by dense woods and high perimeter wards. Lights glowed in every window, casting eerie silhouettes of wolves pacing inside. Her heart clenched. She could already feel the tension radiating from the place.They’d be waiting.She crossed the boundary line, and the pack’s magic recognized her immediately—letting her in with a shiver of approval through her skin. The door opened before she reached it.Roman stood there.Alpha Roman had the build of a predator—tall, broad-shouldered, with pale hair clipped short and piercing blue eyes that never softened. Power clung to him like a second skin. He looked down at her, frowning, nostrils flaring as he caught the foreign scent clinging to her clothes.“You were not alone,” he said.Luna straightened, jaw tight. “I was patrolling the eastern ridge.”Roman stepped aside and motioned her in. She passed him, resisting the urge to bare her teeth. Inside, pack members milled about—tense, alert, whispering. Her younger brother Caleb caught her eye and gave a slight shake of his head.“Report,” Roman ordered, following her into the war room.“I picked up a rogue scent near the ridge,” she said carefully. “Didn’t recognize it. But he wasn’t aggressive. Didn’t cross deeper into the territory.”“He?” Roman’s gaze sharpened.She hesitated. “Called himself Elijah.”At the name, a flicker of something passed through Roman’s eyes—recognition, maybe even fear—but it vanished quickly. “Describe him.”“Tall. Pale skin. Silver eyes.”Roman’s jaw tensed. “He shouldn’t be here.”“You know him.”The Alpha didn’t answer. Instead, he turned to Caleb, who had followed them in silence. “Double the patrols. No one goes out alone until further notice.”“What is he?” Luna demanded. “You recognized the name.”“He’s a danger,” Roman snapped. “That’s all you need to know.”She stepped closer, barely suppressing her growl. “You’re hiding something.”“You forget your place, Luna.”There it is, she thought bitterly.He always reminded her. No matter how well she fought, how loyal she was, she wasn’t full pack-born. She was a legacy of something else—her father’s bloodline was a mystery, and her mother, though powerful, had been cast out for breaking pack law. Roman had raised her to be strong, but never equal.“Go clean up,” he said coldly. “And stay away from the ridge.”She didn’t answer.Luna’s room was tucked in the east wing, away from the Alpha’s quarters and most of the pack hierarchy. As soon as the door clicked shut behind her, she sank to the floor, pressing her back to the wall. Her skin still tingled where she’d touched Elijah. The energy between them… it hadn’t been just physical. It was like her soul recognized him.She pulled her knees to her chest, whispering to herself.“Moon-Bonded.”The word felt sacred.She dug through the old cedar trunk beneath her bed and pulled out her mother’s journal. Worn, leather-bound, filled with cryptic symbols and half-finished spells. Luna had tried for years to understand them. Now, she flipped through the pages with new urgency—searching for anything on bonds. On fated pairs.She stopped on a drawing.Two wolves standing side by side beneath the full moon. Between them, a crescent symbol—like the one that appeared on her shoulder every full moon. It had always burned when she shifted. Tonight, it had glowed.Her fingers brushed the page.Then, a knock at the door.“Luna?” It was Caleb.She opened it.He stepped inside quickly. “You saw him, didn’t you? The rogue.”Luna closed the journal. “He’s not just a rogue, Caleb.”“What is he?”“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “But he knew about me. About the wolf inside. He called me Moon-Bonded.”Caleb paled. “That’s just an old story.”“No,” Luna said. “It’s more than that. I felt it.”He looked like he wanted to deny it, but the truth hung too heavily between them. Caleb was her brother by adoption, but they had grown up like twins—he trusted her instincts.“You can’t tell Roman,” she said. “Not yet.”Caleb nodded. “Then what do we do?”“We will find him again.”Later that night, Luna stood alone beneath the moon, wind teasing her hair. Her wolf prowled just under her skin, restless. For once, she didn’t push it down.“I don’t know who you are,” she whispered to the night, “but I’ll find you again.”The trees didn’t answer.But far off in the distance, from beyond the wards of Crescent Fang territory, a howl echoed through the mountains—low, mournful, and familiar.Luna closed her eyes.Elijah.And something inside her answered back.

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