The old council chamber rang with Damien's voice.
> "Selena White has turned her back on this pack," he declared, pacing before the assembled wolves. "She consorts with shadow-aligned Alphas and brings war to our doorstep."
Most nodded in silence. Others,especially the younger wolves, looked uneasy.
Rhea watched from the crowd, her hands clenched. She could feel it: the fear Damien was feeding off. The control he now wielded
Far from the packhouse, deep in the Whispering Woods, Selena stood before a ring of loyal wolves, warriors, outcasts, healers, and seers who had followed her despite the danger.
Some were from Bloodfang.
Others had come after hearing the legend.
> "You are here," Selena said, "because you see what they fear, that I am not broken. That I am changing… and the world is changing with me."
She lifted her hand.
Her mark glowed silver and blue.
> "I will not be ruled by fear. I will not bow to a council that hides behind tradition while shadows devour us."
She looked around the circle—every gaze locked on hers.
> "From this day on, we are no longer Bloodfang.
We are Moonbound."
A roar rose from the wolves around her—feral, defiant, free.
Kael stepped beside her, resting a hand on the hilt of his blade.
> "It begins," he said quietly.
Back in Bloodfang, Damien smiled coldly as a scout rushed to whisper in his ear.
> "She's forming her own faction," the scout reported. "They call themselves the Moonbound."
Damien's smirk widened.
> "Then let her gather her strength," he said. "Because when I dest
roy her next… there will be no one left to rebuild her."