Chapter 177

Ava

The road to Crescent Moon stretched on almost endlessly, winding through a dense, lush forest. I leaned close to the open window, letting the cool, misty air hit my cheek.

Chris gave me an amused glance from his seat beside me. “Enjoying yourself?” he asked.

I couldn’t help but smirk. “I haven’t visited Crescent Moon since I was a kid,” I replied. “I forgot how nice the forest was. It feels good after everything.”

Nodding, Chris looked out his own window at the tall, dark trees that towered over us on either side of the road. Crescent Moon was known for its beautiful forests; it was the most stoutly anti-deforestation pack out of all five, and it showed. They prided themselves on their skills with forestry, and were often the pack to call whenever anyone needed help clearing out diseased trees or curing bug infestations.

But the longer we drove, the more I couldn’t help but notice that something was… off about the landscape. As we drew closer to Crescent Moon, the trees seemed to grow more sparse, the canopy a little less dense than I remembered from our last visit.

“Chris,” I said at one point, leaning forward in my seat, “does the forest seem... thinner to you?”

Chris nodded, his eyes scanning the treeline. “I was just thinking the same thing, although I haven’t been here since I was too little to even really remember. But just look at all those stumps.”

I followed his gaze, my heart sinking as I saw the numerous fresh tree stumps dotting the forest floor along the side of the road. Some were still oozing sap, indicating they had been cut recently.

“That doesn’t make sense,” I muttered. “Crescent Moon has always been so environmentally conscious. Why would they be cutting down so many trees?”

“I don’t know,” Chris said thoughtfully. “But whatever it is, they must have a reason for it. They’d never deforest their land without a reasonable cause.”

We drove on in silence for a while, both of us lost in thought. The further we went, the more obvious the deforestation became. What should have been a lush, dark forest that was almost pitch black overhead from the thick canopy was now patchy and thin, with more stumps than standing trees in some areas.

“Maybe it’s some kind of selective logging?” I suggested, trying to find a rational explanation. “Or they’re clearing land for new development?”

Chris shook his head. “This doesn’t look planned. It’s too sporadic. And you know they’d never clear this much land for buildings.” He paused, patting my leg. “Just try to rest, okay? We still have a ways to go, and neither of us has slept much lately.”

I nodded, leaning back in my seat. Chris was right; we had a long journey ahead of us, and we needed to rest. So, shutting my eyes, I let myself doze off.

After what must have been a few more hours of driving, I was awoken by the sensation of my stomach growling. The sound echoing in the quiet car jolted me awake, and I turned to see Chris smirking at me.

“Hungry?”

I nodded, feeling my cheeks flush slightly as I yawned and stretched. “Starving, actually. Can we stop somewhere soon?”

“Of course,” Chris said, already scanning the road signs. “There’s a diner coming up in a few miles. Does that work for you?”

“Perfect,” I replied, relieved at the prospect of food and a chance to stretch my legs.

Our driver pulled into the diner’s parking lot about ten minutes later. It was a quaint little place, practically hidden amongst the trees. As we walked in with our security detail trailing behind us, the smell of coffee and fried food hit us and made my mouth water.

A cheerful waitress led us to a booth by the window. “It’s a pleasure to see you, Alpha Chris and Luna Ava,” she said with a polite smile as she pulled her notepad out of her apron. “What can I get for you?”

We placed our orders—a burger for Chris, a club sandwich for me, and coffee for both of us. As the waitress was about to leave, I couldn’t help but ask, “Excuse me, but we couldn’t help noticing how thin the forest looks around here. Has there been a lot of logging recently?”

The waitress’s smile faltered slightly. “Oh… You don’t know?”

Chris and I exchanged a glance. “Know what?” Chris asked.

The waitress sighed and slipped her notepad back into her apron. “Our land has come down with a nasty beetle infestation,” she explained. “Southern Pine Beetles, they’re called. These nasty little bugs have been devouring trees left and right. The pack’s been forced to cut down infested trees to try and save the rest of the forest.”

I felt my heart sink. “How long has this been going on?”

“A few months now,” the waitress replied. “It started small, just a few trees here and there. But it spread fast. Now…” she trailed off, gesturing vaguely toward the window, through which we could see a large stretch of land that was almost nothing but fresh stumps.

“Is there anything else being done to stop it?” Chris asked, leaning forward.

The waitress shrugged. “The pack is doing what they can. They’ve brought in experts, tried different treatments. But so far, nothing’s worked. It’s like these beetles are immune to everything we throw at them.”

As the waitress spoke, I couldn’t help but think of our own blight problem back in Moonstone. It was all too similar to ignore. “Has anyone considered that this might not be a natural infestation?” I asked carefully.

The waitress gave me a sharp look. “What do you mean?”

Chris jumped in smoothly. “We’ve had some... issues with our crops back home. Just wondering if there might be a connection.”

The waitress’s expression softened slightly. “Oh, now I hadn’t thought of that. But I suppose anything’s possible these days.” She stood up, smoothing her apron. “I’ll go put in your order.”

As she walked away, Chris and I looked at each other, both thinking the same thing.

“You don’t think…” I started.

“That this could be related to our blight?” Chris finished for me. “I don’t know. But it’s one hell of a coincidence if it’s not.”

We fell into a thoughtful silence then, one that was broken only when our food arrived. As we ate, we discussed the situation in low voices.

“If this is related to our blight,” I said between bites of my sandwich, “we might be in even more trouble than we thought.”

Chris nodded, his expression grim. “And if it’s not related, then we’ve got two major environmental disasters happening simultaneously. Neither option is good.”

“Do you think there’s anything we can do to help?” I asked, pushing my empty plate away.

Chris sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “I’m not sure. We came here to ask for help, not offer it. But if we can find a way to solve both problems…”

“Then it might make the other packs more willing to work with us,” I finished.

We paid our bill and headed back to the car, both of us lost in thought. As we drove the remaining distance to Crescent Moon’s main town, I couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that had settled in my stomach.

“What if they can’t help us?” I asked quietly.

Chris reached over and squeezed my hand. “We’ll figure something out, then. Just like always.”

As we approached the outskirts of the town, the deforestation became even more pronounced. What had once been a lush, green landscape—the pride and joy of Crescent Moon pack—was now a tired-looking desert of stumps and barren earth.

And at the center of it all sat Crescent Mansion, the leaves of its enormous redwood tree nowhere to be found.