Chapter 2 The Moonless Shift

The king's private chambers smelled of medicine and old wood. A fire cracked low in the hearth, throwing shadows across the stone walls. Alaric sat propped against a mountain of pillows, his silver hair spread loose, his hands resting on the fur blanket. He looked smaller here. Not the wolf who had once led armies. Just a dying man.

Sera closed the door behind her. "You wanted to see me."

"Yes." His voice was rough, scraped raw. "Sit."

She did not sit. She stood at the foot of the bed, arms crossed. "You let Voss speak for you today. You let him threaten me in front of the entire court."

"I let him think he was speaking for me."

Sera's jaw tightened. "What does that mean?"

Alaric studied her. His eyes were still sharp, still the color of winter storms. "It means the council believes I am too weak to rule. Voss believes he can control the throne through you. And Darius believes he can own you." He coughed, pressing the handkerchief to his lips. No red this time. Not yet. "They are all wrong."

"Then why didn't you defend me?"

"Because I needed to see what you would do." He set the handkerchief aside. "And you did well. Better than I expected."

Sera's hands curled into fists. "You were testing me. While they humiliated me."

"I was preparing you." His voice hardened. "Sera, listen to me. I am dying. The healers give me two moons, perhaps three. The council knows. Darius knows. By the time the next full moon rises, they will move against you. Not openly-they are too clever for that. But they will chip away at your claim piece by piece."

"Then give me the crown now," she said. "Name me regent. Let me rule beside you while you still breathe."

Alaric shook his head. "The Blood Treaty forbids it. An unwed heir cannot sit the throne, even as regent. The council would use it as grounds to challenge you. To declare you unfit."

"Then change the treaty."

"I cannot." He said it quietly. "The treaty was sealed with blood. With magic older than this kingdom. Only a full-blooded wolf can break it. Or-" He stopped.

"Or what?"

He looked away. "Or a half-blood who has fully shifted."

The words hung in the air. Sera felt her heart slow. "You knew. You knew all along that my shifting would matter."

"I suspected." His voice dropped. "Your mother was human. The old laws never accounted for a child like you. But the prophecy-"

"What prophecy?"

Alaric reached beneath his pillow. He drew out a small leather-bound book, its pages yellowed with age. "Your mother found this in the temple ruins the year before you were born. It speaks of a half-blood heir who would rise during a blood moon. One who would either save Xiayoa or destroy it."

Sera took the book. It was warm in her hands. The writing was in the old tongue-she could barely read it. But one symbol caught her eye. A wolf. Half white. Half black.

"That's why the council fears me," she said slowly. "Not because I can't shift. Because of what I might become if I do."

"Yes."

She looked up. "And you never told me."

"I was afraid." Alaric's voice cracked. "Afraid you would try to force the shift. Afraid you would break yourself trying to become something you're not ready to be."

Sera's throat tightened. "I'm not a child anymore, Father."

"No. You are not." He reached out, and after a moment, she took his hand. His grip was weak. "That is why I need you to listen. The moon tomorrow night will be dark. No light. No pull. It is the safest night for you to try. I have spoken to the Moon Priestess. She will meet you at the old shrine beyond the east wall. If you want to claim the throne without a husband, you will need to shift. There is no other way."

Sera's heart pounded. "And if I can't?"

Alaric's eyes met hers. "Then you will marry Darius. Or Voss will choose someone worse. And Xiayoa will fall into the hands of men who see you as nothing more than a womb with a crown."

She pulled her hand away. The fire popped. Somewhere beyond the walls, a wolf howled-long and lonely.

"I will go," she said. "Tomorrow night. I will meet the priestess."

Alaric closed his eyes. "Good."

But as Sera turned to leave, he spoke again. "Sera."

She paused at the door.

"Your mother believed in you. Even before you were born, she believed you would be the one to change everything." His voice was barely a whisper. "Do not let her be wrong."

Sera did not answer. She walked out into the cold corridor and closed the door behind her. Her chest ached. Her wolf stirred, restless and afraid.

Tomorrow night, she would face the moon.

And the moon would decide if she was worthy.

---

Later that night, Sera could not sleep. She paced her chambers, barefoot on the cold stone, her mind racing. The book from her father sat open on her table. She had tried to read more of it, but the old tongue was a maze she could not solve. Only fragments made sense. Blood of two. Heart of one. When the moon bleeds, the half shall become whole.

She stopped at the window. Outside, the sky was black. The moon was a sliver, fading. Tomorrow it would disappear entirely.

A knock came at her door. Soft. Quick.

"Who is it?"

"Your Highness." A woman's voice. "I bring word from the Moon Priestess."

Sera crossed the room and opened the door. A servant girl stood in the corridor, hooded and shivering. She held out a folded piece of paper.

"She said to give you this. And to tell you-" The girl hesitated.

"Tell me what?"

"That the shrine is not empty. Someone else knows you are coming."

Sera's blood chilled. "Who?"

"I don't know, Your Highness. She only said to be careful." The girl bowed and hurried away.

Sera unfolded the paper. Inside, in elegant handwriting, were three words:

Trust the wolf.