Fallen Luna Rise

The moon had barely begun its descent when my eyes snapped open, my body rigid with tension. Another night of restless sleep, haunted by dreams I couldn't quite remember but left me with a lingering sense of dread. My wolf, Luna, whimpered softly in my mind.

*Something's wrong, Sophia. I can feel it.*

I pushed myself up from the thin mattress in my small room at the back of the Silverfang Pack House. Three years I'd been Nathan Sterling's chosen mate, yet I still occupied this humble space when he wasn't parading me around as his Luna-to-be. A convenient arrangement, he'd called it. Now, in the cold light of dawn, it felt like something else entirely.

"It's nothing," I whispered to Luna, though the unease had been growing for weeks.

*Lies don't become us,* she replied, her voice tinged with a wisdom I sometimes resented.

I slipped into my drab gray uniform—the mark of an Omega serving the pack—and tied my hair back with practiced efficiency. The garment hung loose on my frame; I'd lost weight in recent months without really noticing. Nathan had commented on it yesterday, his fingers digging into my waist as he'd frowned. "You need to take better care of yourself, little wolf," he'd said, but his eyes had already drifted over my shoulder.

The pack house was stirring as I made my way through the corridors. The morning run would begin soon—a tradition Nathan maintained with military precision. I joined the gathering wolves in the courtyard, keeping to the edges as always. My position was... complicated. Not quite Luna, no longer truly Omega, existing in a liminal space of Nathan's creation.

"Morning, Sophia," a voice called, falsely bright. I turned to see Victoria Walsh approaching, her blonde hair gleaming in the early light. My oldest friend. The only connection to my past life I still maintained.

"Victoria," I nodded, forcing a smile.

Luna growled low in my mind. *She smells wrong.*

I inhaled subtly. There was something different about Victoria's scent—the usual floral notes seemed stronger, more pronounced. Before I could analyze it further, Nathan emerged from the pack house, commanding immediate attention.

His powerful frame moved with casual authority as he surveyed his pack. When his eyes found mine, he smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. Something cold slithered down my spine.

"Let's run," he announced, his Alpha tone rippling through the gathering.

As we shifted and took to the forest trails, I felt Luna's agitation growing. She pushed against my control, urging me to break formation, to run anywhere but alongside these wolves. I forced her down, maintaining my place behind Nathan as protocol demanded. But her whimpers grew more insistent with each passing minute.

*Danger,* she kept repeating. *Betrayal.*

After the run, I showered quickly and made my way to the grand hall. Breakfast was a formal affair in the Silverfang Pack, with Nathan seated at the head of the long table, his Beta and Gamma flanking him. My place was