A

in the wilderness alone, save for haunting memories that clung to m

w progression of time and nature was it

with sweat and blood, but there was a strange calm that had settled over me, even in the face of the pain. I wasn't sure wheth

the coolness of the forest floor against my skin. There was no doctor, no healer.

it, determined. And then, as though summoned by

ld w

ck. Her face was weathered, her features sharp with age, but her eyes-those eyes were sha

ing in the scene with a certain understanding. The woman did not

e finally said, her v

o weak to re

se, helping me through the agony, offering words of quiet encouragement as I gave everything to bring my son into th

y, the sharp cry of my child filled the a

is small, delicate face was scrunched up in that perfect, new-baby way, his fi

until now, watched me with an al

u give him?" she as

. A name had been waiting for him since before he was bor

name tasting right on my t

, a sound that was bot

id, her voice weak, but there

The forest around us seemed to close in, t

her breath comin

he said suddenly, as if the words had b

the woods? You are too old to be in here" I

d slightly, as if

u," she said, her voice stead

e I had left behind. The pack that had once been my home, th

question felt strange, as if I were asking about

was something cold in it, som

k where you came from," she sa

, my voice faint.

lowly, her g

I was a Luna... until

d, yes, but this woman had been the Luna before me. What had

perhaps know my

omething-something ancient, somet

asked softly, my voic

he said "Kier

er so slightly, he

if testing the name on her

d at the very moment I gave birth-she was Kieran's mother. My mind reeled. The betrayal I had suffere

mother?" I asked,

t her lips. "I am. And you..." Her voice w

zed at her. This woman-this broken, ancient

had never known my own mother. But here, in the heart of the wilderness

e stared at me, her eyes glistening. I reached out, takin

," I said quietly, my vo

bling as she gazed down at the child. Her tears fell freely now,

er voice trembling with emotion. "I never thoug

nt was more than words could express. I wanted to reach o

ere?" I asked softly, thoug

her lips curling i

he was still a baby," she

ir, like the last breat

ut you-you must never go back to that pack ag

a shroud. "How do I escape?" I asked, feeling the need to leav

, a glint of some

cape. When it's daylight,

seemed, had

when the first sound of

strident. I rushed back, my heart pounding in my chest

d her,

whispered, my

e didn

ered my mouth in horror. The woman, my unexpected g