My Dearest Anastasia,
If you are reading this, then our fears have become truth, and the world took you from us before we could teach you who you are. Before we could watch you grow. Before we could place you on the path Mother Rhiannon marked for you at birth.
I pray the Goddess guided this letter into your hands when you needed it most.
I must write this quickly, quietly, and in secret. Eyes are everywhere. Ears press against walls. Even within our own ranks, allies have turned into shadows. The truth is dangerous, littlest one, and we are hunted for keeping it.
On the night you were taken, they came in the darkness, cloaked in moonless magic, the kind that wolves do not wield. They were led by one of our own- a wolf whose name I will not stain this letter with. Let history curse him.
The Unseelie sensed Mother Rhiannon in your blood. The possibility of a wolf who could bridge ancient magics, heal wounds, or -if twisted- unleash power unlike anything our kind has ever seen. If you are reading these words, then you have survived every force that tried to erase you. That means the Goddess is still guiding you.
You will meet wolves who stand at your side. You will meet an Alpha who will see your light instead of fearing it, and if the Goddess wills it- your mate will be strong enough to hold the truth with you, not against you. Trust yourself, Trust your magic, and when the time comes to claim your throne as Luna, do so with your head high.
With all the love in the Moon, Your Father, Alpha Edward of the Bloodborne
Stacy sat besides Colt with the letters spread across the floor, her heartbeat hammering loud enough she swore everyone in a ten mile radius could hear it. Colt gently rubbed her back as she finished reading the letter. The tears flowed gently now, and Stacy was careful not to let her tears stain the letters her parents left her. "Are you ok?" Colt asked. Shakily, she took a deep breath "Yeah, I just wished that I had been able to know them to say goodbye". She stood up with the letters in her arms, held tightly against her chest. Stacy used a free arm to wipe the tears from her face. "Lets go get dinner".
He smiled at her with all the love and admiration in his heart. When Colt stood, he glimpsed at the safe. A flat metal disk had caught his attention etched with full moon and star burst. It was the Bloodborne family crest. "Hey what's this?" He looked at the item curiously and passed it to Stacy to examine. The moment her fingers brushed the cold metal, the room vanished.
Stacy wasn't in the former Luna's study anymore. She stood inside a cavern of black stone. Veins of silver pulsed like a dying heartbeat through the walls. A cold wind howled from the tunnels that stretched endlessly into darkness. Before her-shackled to a monolith of enchanted obsidian-was a man.
A man with her eyes, her jawline, an Alpha aura. Her father.
His head snapped up as if he sensed her presence through the sliver of magic connecting them. Chains wrapped around his wrists, glowing with runes meant to drain power, not contain it. "Anastasia?" His voice was a hoarse whisper, as though he hadn't spoke in years "My little star..."
A sob broke from her chest.
Behind him, two more figures were bound- her mother and the Beta pair. Weak, pale, but alive. Her mother tried to lift her head "My sweet daughter.."
Dark magic crackled along the cavern walls, humming with the malice of something ancient and forbidden. A shadowed figure stepped forward, obscured by black mist. "You grew stronger than expected, child of moonlight, blessed by Rhiannon." a voice slithered through the vision. Stacy felt it reaching for her across the mate bond. Colt's voice snapped the connection-"Stacy!"- as he grabbed her shoulders and yanked her back into the real world.
She collapsed gasping, tears spilling down her cheeks. "They're alive Colt" she whispered. "My parents- the Beta and his mate- they are still alive. Trapped in a mountain, bound by dark magic. They weren't killed"
Colt's face was a mixture of relief and fury. "That means someone kept them alive intentionally. Someone needed your Alpha line contained, someone more powerful than George and Vivian. Someone needed them alive, but silent."
Stacy wiped tears from her eyes, anger mixing with horror. Her magic flared beneath her skin like a silver fire. "I'm going to find them, I'm going to bring them home."
Colt had summoned the only people they trusted. The people that had become their family. When Stacy entered the room, every head lifted toward her. The all felt the shift in her aura- strong, trembling, and blazing. Colt stood behind her, his hand resting reassuringly at the small of her back.
Isaac, leaned forward "Stacy? You look like you've seen a ghost." She swallowed hard "not a ghost, something worse, something...impossible."
Stacy placed the stack of aged letters onto the wooden table. The red twine binding them had unraveled during her vision and the papers fanned out like fragile relics. "These were hidden in a safe, behind a painting in the old Luna's study" Stacy said "My parents letters, Their real letters."
Isaac frowned. "But Stacy, your parents died years ago." Stacy shook her head, her voice breaking "No, they didn't".
Then she placed the metal disk in the center of the table, Even inactivated, it pulsed faintly- like a heartbeat trapped inside steel. Charlie recoiled slightly "Where did you get that?"
"It was hidden with the letters." Stacy said softly. "When I touched it...I saw them. My parents. The Beta, his mate. All four of them. Alive."
The room erupted in startled whispers. Colt lifted his hand, steady and commanding. "There's more". Stacy inhaled shakily. "They're inside a mountain. Bound by dark magic...the kind created to suppress Alpha bloodlines. Their power is being drained- not killed, but kept dormant."
Dixie's eyes widened "Why keep them alive?". "To silence them" Colt answered grimly. " To keep Stacy from ever learning the truth."
Stacy pressed her hand to her chest, remembering the cold air, the silver-veined stone, the sound of her father's voice whispering her name after years of imprisonment. "I saw their chains. I saw the runes burning into their skin. I saw the shadow man." Dixie's voice trembled "A shadow man?" Stacy nodded. "A being cloaked in dark magic. I don't knew much more his features were a dark mist."
Charlie swore under his breath. "This is bigger that we think, someone wanted the bloodline controlled. Silence fell again-but this time it was sharp, focused, filled with loyalty, ready to ignite. Dixie stood first. "We'll find them Stacy. Your parents, your pack. The mountain. Whatever binds them, we will find a way."
Hunter spoke, "I think we need to consult with Nessa and Niall, possibly the Queen. Look here guys" and pointed to the metal disk." Look hard, do you see that?". As everyone stared intently at the disk, Stacy caught what Hunter had seen. I slight whisp of darkness.
Nessa and Niall met with the family in the den. Colt explained to them everything that has had happened at this point. Fae can not do a blood oath, it would kill them so that was out of the question, but they could promise. When a Fae makes a promise, their magic responds instinctively. Every vow becomes a thread of energy that wraps around their spirit. To break it is to tear their own essence apart. Once the promise was made to only share information to the queen, Colt showed them the disc.
The thing pulsed faintly, a soft blue glow radiating form the silvery surface. It looked alive... and in a way it was. Colt stood close behind Stacy, one hand on her shoulder, grounding her. Stacy swallowed. "This was found hidden in the safe where we found the letters. My parents wrote that it was the key to everything."
Nessa walked forward to examine the disc and her breath hitched "Oh my Goddess!" Her eyes were wide in excitement. " I never thought I'd see on in my lifetime".
"You know what this is?" Hunter asked incredulously. Nessa nodded. "This" she said reverently " is a moon forged disc. Crafted not by fae, but by the moon goddess herself. There were once seven of them, created long before written history. Each tied to a lunar aspect-light, shadow, binding, truth, memory, life, and death."
Nessa exhaled shakily "This one is the Disk of Binding". Gasps echoed around the room. Stacy felt a chill travel up her spine "Binding...as in magic used to trap someone?". Nessa nodded. " A disk like this can anchor a spell so powerful it would take an entire group of high fae to attempt to break it. Whatever has your parents, your Beta...this is the anchor."
Colt gently said in the link, "Show them what happened when you touched it". Stacy hesitated , and reached out to the disk. As her fingertips brushed to cold metal, the disk sparked to life-glowing brighter, pulsing like a heartbeat. The Bloodborne sigil floated above the disk like a holographic light. The room filled with a low hum, resonating through bone and soul.
Niall's expression grew grave. "It recognizes her. Only someone of her bloodline- or someone with the Goddess's favor- could activate it. This is proof of your parents claim, proof of your lineage. And..." he hesitated "and proof of the one who sealed them." Stacy's stomach knotted "The letters said one of our own betrayed them. Someone from my pack." The words felt like fire.
Niall stepped forward, closer to the disk, eyes narrowed. "Luna...did the letters mention anything about the disk's memory imprint?" Stacy blinked "Memory?". Niall nodded "These disks store not only magic-but truth. Every spell cast through them, every command given, every binding woven...leaves an imprint.
Colts eyes sharpened "You're saying we can see who used it?" Niall and Nessa nodded in agreement. "Yes. But only if the Luna completes the activation. The disk has accepted her touch-it will obey only her. She may be able to reveal every hand that ever cast magic through it." The room grew deathly quiet. Nessa broke the silence "Luna I can help you. Consider this your first lesson in controlling your magic."
"You're not alone in this" Colt murmured. "Whatever truth comes out, I will face it with you. We will face it with you". Feeling steadied by Colt's vow, she placed a palm on the disk, with Nessa holding her other hand.
The light flared, filling the room with violent silver radiance that buzzed like an incoming storm. The room dimmed and silver light flashed before subsiding. Stacy and Nessa were guiding the moon magic in Stacy. The disk hummed deeper now, the notes vibrating like a song sung by ancient stone. Symbols crawled across the surface like living moonlight, forming constellations, and runes. Colt tightened his grip around Stacy's waist. Stacy nodded at Nessa and said "start the sequence"