Chapter 62. Moonfall

The stars hung low over Spiritshade, scattered like handfuls of bone-white dust across the endless black. The moon was full and silver once more, no longer bloodied or heavy with omen, but clear and clean and whole, as if the sky itself had finally exhaled.

Selene stood at the edge of the great meadow that marked the heart of Spiritshade, her bare toes sinking into cool grass still damp with night. The scent of pine and ash and newly blooming wildflowers lingered thick in the air. Behind her, the stones of the settlement were slowly taking shape—homes, gathering halls, watchtowers—rising not as rigid fortresses like those of the old packs, but as structures that curved with the land and seemed to grow naturally from it.

Everything here had been built with intention, and everything here had been chosen.

Soft murmurs dri