Chapter 3 THREE YEARS LATER

“Mama! Mama! Look what I saw!”

Luna looked up from her herb garden tucked behind the renovated brick clinic on the edge of Capitol Hill, the Seattle skyline hazy in the distance. Little Leo sprinted across the yard, silver eyes flashing in the morning light. His hands cupped something small, his grin wide.

“Very gentle, sweetheart,” she said, setting down her basket of moonbell flowers. “Remember, we don’t hurt small creatures.”

"I know, Mama. I just wanted to show you!" Leo opened his chubby hands and the butterfly flew away. "Bye bye, butterfly!"

A few feet away, Lily knelt in the grass.Her small fingers glowing with soft silver light as she mended another butterfly's torn wing. Her black hair spilled forward over her face, Her green eyes calm and watchful like her mother's. The butterfly fluttered once, twice, then soared into the morning sky.

“All better,” Lily whispered, a satisfied smile spreading across her face.

At only three years old, both her children were extraordinary. Leo’s strength could rival a wolf twice his age. Just yesterday he'd lifted a fallen log with the strength of a 10 year old wolf.

Lily’s healing gift already surpassed most trained healers. Two nights ago, she'd healed a wolf pup's broken leg with just a touch and a lullaby.

From a short distance, Luna Sage watched them, her heart softening. Every time she looked at them, she felt both joy and pain. Leo had his father's commanding presence, that same stubborn jaw, the way he stood with his feet planted wide as if ready to take on the world.

Lily had Kane's elegant nature, his way of tilting his head when thinking. They were her light, but they also reminded her of the man who had once destroyed her.

The scrape of a staff against stone pulled her from her thoughts. Elder Morgana approached, white hair pulled into a long braid, sharp eyes scanning the twins.

"They grow stronger each day," she said, watching Leo now chase after a rabbit while Lily scolded him to be careful. "The boy especially. His wolf is already stirring."

"It’s way too early," Luna murmured. "He shouldn't feel his wolf for years yet."

"The Moon blesses them," Elder Morgana answered, keeping her voice steady.

“Indeed,” Luna smiled proudly. "They are my purpose."

Elder Morgana smiled, but her eyes held concern. "The Moon Goddess gives gifts for reasons, child. These two... they're destined for something greater."

Before Morgana could reply, shouting broke out near the front gates.

“Luna Sage!” A young guard appeared, panic in his voice. “We need you!”

Aria rose quickly, dusting her healer robes. Three years had changed everything. Luna now ran a private and exclusive holistic wellness center in Seattle called Sanctuary Haven.

By day, it treated humans with herbal therapies, meditation, and energy work. By night, its true doors opened to the supernatural. Wolves, witches, and fae sought her healing in secret, never realizing their healer was the rejected omega who once disappeared.

“Lily, Leo, go find Aunt Maya,” she said firmly.

“But Mama—” Leo began, his small chest puffed up.

“Now, little wolf. Protect your sister.”

That did it. Leo's entire demeanor changed, his small body straightening with purpose. "Come on, Lily. I'll keep you safe."

Both children obeyed, though Leo kept looking back. Lily took her brother's hand, already acting like a little mother, whispering soothing words when she sensed his frustration.

Luna's head snapped up as she approached the gates. She sensed it before she saw it. The shift in the wind, the faint scent of Alpha blood mixed with sickness and desperation. Not just any Alpha. Her wolf, usually so controlled after years of meditation and healing work, suddenly surged forward with recognition.

Him.

Her guards stood in a line, blocking the entrance to underground passage- the hidden level beneath Sanctuary Haven that only supernaturals could access. A group of wolves staggered toward the gates, their bodies weak and trembling. Their eyes glowed with an unnatural blue light, veins pulsing with sickly illumination that spread like spider webs across their skin.

She recognized the symptoms immediately: Moon Fever, a plague that hadn't been seen in over two decades.

At their center, supporting two sick wolves despite his own obvious exhaustion, stood the man she thought she would never face again.

Kane Pierce.

He looked nothing like the ruthless Alpha she remembered. His once-pristine suit was dirty and bloodstained. His brown hair clung to his face, damp with sweat. The power that once rolled off him in overwhelming waves now flickered like a dying flame in a storm. But his eyes. Those silver eyes, the same ones she saw in her son every day, still cut into her. Hollow. Desperate.

For a heartbeat, the world went silent. Her wolf stirred inside her chest, torn between hate and something she refused to name. The broken mate bond, which she'd learned to ignore like a phantom limb, suddenly ached with fresh pain.

Their gazes locked. The bond she had tried to bury for three years ached like a reopened wound.

Kane's head lifted, and their eyes met. Nothing. No recognition. She didn’t know if she should be glad or hurt.

His voice came out hoarse, broken. "My pack... they're dying. The Moon Fever has spread through Shadow Moon. I've tried everything. Every healer, every cure." He swallowed, his Alpha pride visibly crumbling. "You're our last hope."

The wolves behind him convulsed, some stuck mid-shift in grotesque forms, foam dripping from their jaws. Packmates pinned them down to keep them from tearing each other apart.

"Help us!" He continued, gesturing to the wolves behind him. "Please! They're turning feral! I've lost twelve wolves already. They tore each other apart before we could restrain them."

The guards turned to Luna, waiting for her command. Her pulse hammered in her throat. Three years ago, this man had broken her, crushed her heart beneath his boot, chosen power over love. Now he was here, broken himself, begging for her help. The irony tasted bitter on her tongue.

Luna moved forward, healer instinct overriding everything. He hands glowed with soft silver light as she touched the nearest sick wolf. She could feel it. Something dark and unnatural attacking his wolf spirit, trying to separate it from his human side. If it succeeded, he'd become permanently feral, a mindless beast that would need to be put down.

"When did this start?" Luna demanded.

"Two days ago. First just one wolf, Then it spread to his family, then their neighbors. Our healers tried everything. Nothing works!" Kane's voice cracked.

"Maya!" Luna called, her mind already racing through treatment possibilities. "Prepare the isolation rooms. This is contagious."

For hours, Sanctuary Haven transformed into chaos. Wolves filled every corner of the clinic. Luna moved without rest, her healing slowing the fever but not curing it. Each case carried the same unnatural resistance, as though someone had intentionally infected them.

By late afternoon, sweat plastered her hair to her skin. She looked at the overflowing clinic, her heart pounding. “Quarantine them in the Western quarters. Separate packs. No one crosses zones without my order.”

Kane’s eyes found hers across the chaos. Gratitude warred with something else, something raw, unspoken.

“Thank you,” he said quietly, voice strained.

Her jaw tightened. “I’m a healer. I help those in need. Regardless of the pack. Even yours.”

The words sliced like a blade. Kane flinched, though he masked it quickly.

Luna turned away, hiding the truth pounding in her chest. The bond she thought had rotted was still there. Weak, damaged, unwanted. But alive.