Prologue & Lore
LUNARA - THE CONTINENT OF MOON & BLOOD
Lunara is the oldest magical continent in the realm, a land where ancient gods, old-world monsters, and cutthroat politics blend into a single, glittering, deadly ecosystem. Wolves and vampires rule the major territories, witches and dragons guard lands of their own, and humans, those rare, fragile creatures, survive only under the protection of stronger clans.
And at the heart of it all lies Cindralis, a jewel of a kingdom built of marble, moonstone, and blood.
THE CONTINENT OF LUNARA
Lunara is divided into sovereign regions, each with its own magic, rulers, and ruthless hierarchy.
1. CINDRALIS - THE CITY OF SILVER & SHADOW
A coastal power, elegant and deadly, modeled after an enchanted Italy.
Cobblestone streets lined with moonlit canals
Marble palaces with living runes carved into their foundations
Ancient cathedrals sleeping atop ley lines
Velvet draped Mafia mansions overlooking the sea
Cindralis is ruled not by kings or queens, but by the Underworld Families, and none are feared, or revered, more than the Varellis.
This is where Ryanna Varelli was born. Born wolfless. Born wrong. Born dangerous.
Cindralis recognizes only two kinds of people: predators and prey. The Varellis? They built an empire making sure they were never the second.
2. THE DARKFANG DOMINION - THE WOLF KINGDOM
A vast territory ruled by the ancient Wolf Clans. Mountains, forests, and tundra plains filled with pack fortresses.
Wolves dominate commerce, politics, and military power across Lunara. Their laws are harsh, their traditions older than the continent, and their hunts are sacred.
They don’t take well to outsiders.
They take especially poorly to a wolfless heir with a prophecy stitched into her bones.
3. UMBERTHRALL - THE VAMPIRE EMPIRE
Endless night, gothic spires, and cities lit by soul-flames.
The vampire courts rule with elegance, brutality, and meticulous cruelty. Every movement is a calculation. Every alliance is written in blood.
They want Ryanna, the Moon-Bound Queen, not for her heritage, but for the ancient power sleeping under her skin. A wolfless Varelli shouldn’t exist.
A wolfless Varelli with god-blood certainly shouldn’t.
That makes her valuable.
Or kill on sight dangerous.
4. AZURATH - THE SKYBORNE WITCH REALMS
Floating islands tethered by spells, and spiraling libraries.
A kingdom of witches, seers, battle-mages, and elemental bloodlines.
Their prophecies whisper about her, the one born under the broken moon.
Some want to worship her.
Some want to bind her.
All agree she will change the continent forever.
5. DRAKORIAN WILDS - THE DRAGON LANDS
Jagged volcanic mountains, molten rivers, and ancient temples carved into obsidian cliffs.
Home to dragon shifters, fire mages, and winged warlords.
Their laws are simple:
Strength rules. Weakness dies. Destiny binds.
A dragon mate bound to Ryanna would ignite an ancient war the continent is not prepared for.
THE VARELLI DYNASTY - UNDERWORLD GODS IN SILK SUITS
The Varellis didn’t take power. They built it.
They control: The magical black markets. Werewolf bounty guilds. Vampire blood-trade routes. Illegal spell circles. Rune smuggling rings. Underground arenas. Debt binding hex networks.
Every hit, every assassination, and every quiet removal.
Their crest: A silver moon dagger wrapped in thorns.
Their motto:“Blood pays. Blood binds. Blood stands.”
Ryanna was never meant to be soft. Wolfless or not, she was trained the Varelli way: blade work before breakfast, poison tasting before lunch, politics before dinner, and shadow walking after midnight.
They carved an assassin from a princess. They crafted a queen from a girl with no wolf.
What they didn’t know was that the gods had already chosen her.
RYANNA VARELLI - THE MOON-BOUND QUEEN
Prophecy calls her: The Wolf Without a Wolf, The Moon’s Lost Daughter, The Sixth Point of the Pentacle, and The Queen Death Cannot Claim.
She was born wolfless in a world that worships wolves. Raised human in a world ruled by monsters.
But destiny doesn’t care what she was born as.
She will shift. She will ascend. She will bind to six mates chosen by moon, blood, and shadow.
And when she rises?
Lunara will kneel.
Ryanna Varelli POV
The night everything went to absolute SHIT.
The night I was supposed to inherit the underworld smelled like blood, moonlight, and overpriced champagne.
The Varelli estate was glittering. There was music, marble, and diamonds sharp enough to blind someone. Everyone who mattered in Cindralis was there. Wolves in suits, witches dripping crystals, and men who thought they owned cities just because they bled on the right streets. They were all here for me.
I was freshly eighteen. Dressed in a red silk dress that was cut like sin, wearing my mother’s rubies, and walking like I owned every bastard in that ballroom. I was the Heiress to the Varelli Syndicate. Future queen of Lunara’s underworld. My smile was sharp, and my heels were sharper.
I laughed when they bowed, winked when they leered, and pretended I didn’t notice the way the wolves bristled when I walked past. I wasn’t a wolf. Not a witch. Not anything except human....technically. And still, they looked at me like I was dangerous.
They weren’t wrong.
The champagne was cold, the music was perfect, and my parents were practically glowing with pride slash menace at the head table. This was supposed to be my night. My coronation. My fuck you to anyone who thought a girl couldn’t sit on a throne built out of blood.
And then the air shifted.
One second the room was humming with sins and laughter, the next it was static and sharp, like the second before a lightning strike. The pianist’s hands stuttered. The wolves’ ears twitched. My mother’s gaze cut across the ballroom, and her eyes narrowed.
The first scream tore the music in half.
Then the doors blew inward and the wolfsbane hit like a hammer.
Black clad figures spilled into the room. They were fast, precise, and fucking merciless. Guns barked, glass shattered, and blood sprayed. Wolves shifted and then dropped, choking on the wolfsbane. Witches raised shields that shattered under the rounds of grenades.
I didn’t think. I reached for the blade strapped to my thigh, but I was too slow.
A steel arm hooked around my throat, and yanked me clear out of my heels. The last thing I saw was my father vaulting the table with a gun in each hand, his roar drowning out the chaos.
Then the world slammed into black.
---------------------------------------------------
Hours later.....
I woke up choking on dirt.
Cold earth scraped against my cheek, pine needles stabbed into my skin, and my lungs burned like I’d swallowed actual fire. My head was pounding so loud I almost didn’t notice the silence pressing in.
And then I did. It was far too quiet. Too wrong, almost like something out there was holding its breath, waiting. I pushed myself upright on shaking arms. The forest swayed around me, the dark pines leaning in, and shadows stretching like claws. My stomach twisted as the world tilted sideways.
Nothing was familiar. Not the woods. Not the shredded gown I was wearing. Not even… me. I reached for a name, a memory, or a single scrap of who the hell I was....Blank.
My chest squeezed. No name. No family. No anchor. Just an empty vault and a pounding heartbeat that screamed one thing. Run.
Something cold bit into my ankle. I looked down. A steel band was locked around it, with a tiny red light blinking in time with my pulse. A fucking tracker.
The sight of it jolted something primal in me. Not a memory, an instinct. Rage. Defiance. Whoever put this on me thought they owned me. Thought they’d turned me into property or prey.
A laugh tore out of me, cracked and hoarse but sharp enough to cut the silence.
At my side, a backpack sat half open, like someone had dropped me here with party favors. I unzipped it fast, cataloguing before my brain even caught up.
There was one bottle of water, two protein bars, a coil of rope, and a combat knife. The knife fit my palm too perfectly. My muscle memory purred. My fingers spun it once, clean and practiced. Whoever I was before this....I definitely wasn't harmless.
An envelope sat at the bottom. Thick and elegant. Waiting for me to open it.
I tore it open.
Welcome to The Hunt.
The words were black and neat, like someone had taken their time with malice.
The rules are simple:
Survive until the Blood Moon.
Four alphas are already tracking you. Each from different packs.
If one catches you, you are theirs. Whoever claims you by the end will rule the packs for the next 100 years.
If none catch you, you go free.
If you die… you are nothing.
You have been given enough supplies to last a day. After that, you'll need to fight, steal or starve.
Run fast little Queen, The Hunt has begun.
The paper trembled in my grip, but my blood didn’t run cold. It ran hot. Because something deep inside me hissed with rage. Whoever I used to be, I knew one thing now....I wasn’t anyone's fucking prey.
A howl split the trees. It was low, hungry, and way too close. The sound snapped through me, and my lips curved into a smile I didn’t recognize but..... it felt right. I slung the pack over my shoulder, the knife gleaming in my hand.
“Game on,” I muttered to the shadows.
I took a deep fucking breath, scouted my surroundings, and took off running.
Straight into the hunt.
