#Chapter 108: Moonlit Shift

ELENA The embers of the children’s Bondfire still glowed behind us, pulsing warm and steady like the heartbeat of the pack. Aiden had long since been swept off by one of the older cousins, yawning mid-sentence and insisting he wasn’t tired. I’d kissed the top of his head before he vanished into the house with the other kids, already halfway to sleep. Now, the courtyard had changed. The noise was quieter. More reverent. There was no music, no speeches, no clinking glasses. Only the shifting of bodies, the rustle of leaves, the rise and fall of breath. It was midnight. Time for the Moonlit Shift. The moment every wolf waited for. The full moon hung above us like a pearl, casting everything in silver and shadow. The scent of pine, dew, and woodsmoke wrapped around us, thick and intoxicating. Lanterns had been extinguished. Only the moon lit our way now. I took a breath and let it settle in my lungs. This—this part of the festival—had always been my favorite. No perfor