Third person POV
On the far side of the realm, Queen Lucera labored for days.
Her screams tore through the Moon Realm—raw, brutal, unrelenting, echoing across stone and sky. They were cries born not only of pain, but of fate itself. The mountains seemed to shudder beneath her anguish.
and the night remembered.
It was like that night, a thousand years past, when chaos fell upon the world, when the goddesses walked the mortal realm in wrath and cursed its people.
Those who survived that age and time still whispered of it, of the night that shaped the Moon Realm and every other realm forever.
For a thousand years, the moon realm had known no heir.
Countless times had Queen Lucera climbed the sacred mountain and entered the chamber of the Moon Goddess. Sometimes she prayed. Other times, she only stood before the statue of Selena in silence, her hope thinning with every passing year.
And when all hope was lost, when the realm had resigned itself to never having an heir the queen conceived.
It was a miracle, everyone that heard it, would say, some whispered in awe and dread.
Fragments of the prophecy spoken in a hushed tone.
The dawn they had prayed for… and feared is about to come.
When her labor began six days ago, the great werewolves chiefs and their mates gathered at the foot of the mountain, standing watch beneath the cold sky. They waited in silence for their prince, each lost in their own thoughts.
"Is this normal?" Queen Lucera asked through the mind link, her voice strained. "I have labored for seven days without rest. Why will the child not come?"
"I… I do not know," Beta Senera answered softly. "Perhaps it is because he is the prince that was promised."
Lucera's response came sharp as a blade.
"Why do you whisper? We speak through the mind link no one can hear us."
Then her tone hardened, carrying warning and fury.
"And for the last time, Sen do not speak of prophecy. Do not speak of the curse that has kept my people bound to fur and fang for millennia. We live as beasts, trapped in our wolf form forever."
"I feel like—"
"Get me the sage," Lucera snapped, cutting her off.
Senera knew better than to test the queen's temper and withdrew at once.
When she returned, her voice carried calm reverence.
"She is here, my queen."
"I am here," Sage Gracee answered.
Lucera's pain bled into her thoughts.
"Gracee, tell me the truth. Do not lie to me. Will I die birthing this child? Why does he refuse to come?"
The sage stepped closer.
"If I may speak freely, my queen, your son is ready. But he will not enter this world until you are ready to accept him. He feels you… and all he feels is fear, anger, and resentment."
Lucera fell silent.
In a whisper through the mind link she asked, as if afraid the child might hear her,
"Can he truly feel me?"
"Yes, my queen," Gracee said gently, rubbing Lucera's fur. "He feels everything."
She spoke softly, steady as moonlight.
"Breathe. Let the pressure settle at the lower part of your body. Do not fear the burden fate places upon him. No matter what he becomes, you will be here to guide him. You will protect him."
With a loud howl, Queen Lucera pushed.
The prince was born.
Beta Senera's howl , announcing the heir. The Lycans at the foot of the mountain answered her call, and soon the entire moon citadel echoed in celebration.
But joy shattered in an instant.
Lucera stared at the child before her in disbelief.
He was human.
In a thousand years, no child had been born to their human form.
"By the Goddess," Lucera cried into the mind link. "He is human."
Her voice broke.
"My baby… My baby is human. How do I care for him? What cruel jest is this, Goddess? Have you not taken enough from us? Why do you do this to me? Have I not prayed to you enough?"
She did not realize the mind link was open—that every wolf could hear her despair and feel her pain.
She howled in pain..
Unable to bear the sight of her fragile child, Lucera turned and fled into the woods, her fur still matted with blood.
Gracee lifted the infant gently and laid him upon a bed of grass to keep him warm. Senera sat nearby, afraid to touch him, she had never been a mother.
The city fell silent.
Some pitied their queen. Others feared what this birth might mean.
Whispers arose around the city, mates stayed close to each other. The night stop still.
At the mountain's base stood King Varah, mate to queen Lucera, unmoving for six days and nights.
He had waited for news for the arrival of his son and now that his child had come, he did not know whether to rejoice or feel sad.
Lucera had forbidden him from entering her room where she labored, yet through the mate bond he had felt every scream, every tear, and every pain.
Now she had fled from him again, always wanting to bear her pain alone.
Varah reached out through the mind link.
"My love… are you there?"
When she did not answer, he continued, knowing she was listening.
Lucera, our son is a gift, it doesn't matter which form he is. We will love and cherish him the same way.
"I would give my life to protect you both. All I ask is to stand beside you. Do not bear this alone. Come let's take our son home, we will figure it out together"
Her reply was broken.
"How do we protect him, Varah? I waited thousands of years for this child… and I cannot even care for him.
I prayed he would come as a girl so the prophecy would pass him by, not only is he a boy, he also is in his human form. I am a useless mother."
"You are not," Varah answered fiercely. "You are the strongest wolf I know. Your people need you. Your son needs you. And I need you, it doesn't matter his form or his gender, we will get through this together. I love you."
"I love you too," Lucera whispered.
She returned back to the mountain.
In the cave, she saw her son again, still unclean, waiting for her. Understanding dawned on her. No one will clean him because this was the moment where mothers bond with their children.
She cleaned him herself, sealing their bond together.
His eyes were the rarest form of gold with silver rings. His hair white was like fresh snow. He was beautiful.
Lucera presented him to his father, and they stood together as a family for a while.
"He is beautiful," Varah said. I know Lucera responded heartily.
Together, Lucera and Varah presented him to the clan, their prince, their heir.
A second howl rose, one of reverence and loyalty.
Then Queen Lucera spoke.
"Let there be no celebration. The prince's birth is to remain secret. No one will speak of his birth. In one week, we will convene at the Great Hall."
"Yes, my queen," Senera answered.
Everyone dispersed after the queen's pronouncement and order.
And thus, beneath the moon and silence, destiny took its first breath.