A New Name

Ten years.

Ten years had passed since the night Silver Moon fell.

Ten years since I lost my parents.

Ten years since I stopped being Seraphina Vale.

The girl who laughed freely, stole honey cakes during festivals, and dreamed of becoming an Alpha like her father had died in the flames of Silver Moon.

The world believed she had perished alongside her family.

I intended to keep it that way.

The cold morning air brushed against my face as I stood alone in the middle of the training grounds. A thin layer of mist covered the earth, while the first rays of sunlight peeked over the distant mountains. Birds had only just begun to sing, and the forest was still wrapped in silence.

Perfect.

I tightened my grip on the sword in my hand.

"Again," I whispered to myself.

With one smooth movement, I lunged forward.

The blade sliced through the air with a sharp whistle.

Step.

Turn.

Strike.

Every movement was precise.

Every attack carried years of relentless practice.

Sweat trickled down my forehead, but I didn't stop.

Pain had become an old friend.

The burning in my muscles reminded me that I was alive.

Alive for one reason.

Revenge.

I spun, bringing the sword down onto the wooden training post with enough force to split it in half.

The loud crack echoed through the clearing.

Wood scattered across the ground.

I lowered my sword slowly, my chest rising and falling with steady breaths.

Still not enough.

No matter how much I trained, it never felt enough.

Not until the people responsible for my parents' deaths were lying at my feet.

A cool breeze lifted a loose strand of my long raven-black hair. I brushed it behind my ear before instinctively reaching beneath the collar of my training clothes.

My fingers wrapped around the silver pendant resting against my chest.

The crescent moon.

The last gift my father had ever given me.

I closed my eyes.

For a moment...

I wasn't twenty-three years old anymore.

I was ten.

I could hear Father's laughter as he chased me through the Harvest Moon Festival.

I could feel Mother's gentle hands brushing frosting from my cheeks.

Then...

Everything changed.

Flames.

Screams.

The smell of smoke.

The sound of warriors dying.

And a cold voice ordering—

"Bring the Alpha's daughter to me alive."

My eyes flew open.

My grip on the pendant tightened.

"I remember," I whispered.

"I remember every single word."

The memory of the mysterious cloaked warrior surfaced next.

Even after ten years, I still couldn't remember his face.

Only his voice.

"Learn the truth before you seek revenge."

Truth?

There was only one truth.

The Bloodfang Pack had destroyed Silver Moon.

Kael Draven would pay for his father's sins.

A familiar voice interrupted my thoughts.

"If you keep swinging that sword like that, there won't be any training posts left."

I turned.

Lyra stood at the edge of the clearing, balancing a wooden tray with two steaming cups and a basket of fresh bread.

She was the closest thing I had to family.

Ten years ago, after the river carried me miles from Silver Moon, I had been found unconscious near a small border village. Lyra's parents had taken me in without asking questions. They gave me food, shelter, and a chance to survive.

When they later learned who I truly was, they swore to protect my secret.

Even after they passed away, Lyra never broke that promise.

She smiled as she walked toward me.

"You've been training since before dawn again."

"I couldn't sleep."

"You never sleep."

She handed me one of the cups.

I accepted it with a quiet nod.

The warmth seeped into my cold fingers.

For a while, neither of us spoke.

Lyra was the first to break the silence.

"You dreamed about them again."

It wasn't a question.

I stared into my tea.

"Yes."

"The same nightmare?"

"There hasn't been a different one in ten years."

Her expression softened.

"Sera—"

I looked at her sharply.

She immediately corrected herself.

"Raven."

That was my name now.

Raven Ashford.

A name created to bury Seraphina Vale forever.

Outside this cottage...

No one knew the truth.

No one could.

If the wrong person discovered I had survived, they would finish what they had started ten years ago.

Lyra sighed.

"I still think you're carrying this burden alone."

"I have to."

"No, you don't."

"I do."

I met her gaze.

"If I let go of my hatred..."

I touched the pendant again.

"...what would I have left?"

Lyra didn't answer.

Because she didn't have one.

She knew revenge had become the foundation of my life.

Without it...

I wasn't sure who I was anymore.

Suddenly, the sound of galloping horses echoed from the road leading into the village.

Both of us looked up.

A royal messenger rode into the square, wearing the crest of the Werewolf Kingdom.

Villagers quickly gathered around him.

Curiosity spread like wildfire.

Lyra frowned.

"That's unusual."

Royal messengers rarely visited forgotten villages.

Something important had happened.

I sheathed my sword.

"Let's see."

As we approached the growing crowd, the messenger unrolled an elegant scroll sealed with black wax.

He raised his voice so everyone could hear.

"By order of the Bloodfang Pack..."

The name alone made my body stiffen.

"...Alpha Kael Draven announces that he is seeking a Luna."

Excited whispers immediately swept through the crowd.

"They say he's the strongest Alpha alive!"

"I heard he's never been defeated in battle."

"Any woman chosen as his Luna will become queen of one of the richest packs in the kingdom."

The messenger continued.

"Women of noble blood and exceptional ability may present themselves before the Bloodfang Council during the next full moon."

The villagers erupted into excited chatter.

But I heard nothing after one name.

Kael Draven.

Bloodfang.

The pack I had sworn to destroy.

Without realizing it, my hand closed around the pendant beneath my shirt.

My heartbeat slowed.

Not with fear.

With purpose.

A plan was beginning to take shape.

One that would change everything.

I looked toward the distant mountains where the Bloodfang Pack ruled.

My voice was barely above a whisper.

"I've found my way in."

The villagers continued talking excitedly around me.

"Imagine becoming the Luna of Bloodfang."

"They say Alpha Kael is unbelievably handsome."

"I've heard he's ruthless."

"Ruthless or not, I'd still accept."

Laughter rippled through the crowd.

I couldn't laugh.

The name Bloodfang echoed in my mind like a curse.

The pendant beneath my shirt suddenly felt heavier against my chest.

I remembered the burning village.

The screams.

The smell of blood.

The promise I had made as a frightened little girl drifting down a raging river.

"I'll avenge you."

My fingers tightened into fists.

Lyra gently touched my arm.

"Raven..."

I looked at her.

She already knew what I was thinking.

"Don't."

"I haven't said anything."

"You don't have to."

She searched my face.

"I know that look."

I forced a calm smile.

"Do you?"

"It means you're about to do something reckless."

I looked back at the royal messenger.

Perhaps...

The Moon Goddess had finally answered my prayers.

For ten years, I had searched for a way to get close to Bloodfang's Alpha.

And now...

He had opened the gates himself.

That evening, the sky was painted with shades of crimson and gold.

I walked alone through the forest until I reached a quiet hill overlooking a small clearing.

Two simple graves rested beneath an ancient oak tree.

No names were carved into the weathered stones.

Only I knew who lay there.

Not their bodies...

But their memories.

I knelt before them and carefully placed a bouquet of white moon lilies on the ground.

The flowers had been Mother's favorite.

A gentle breeze stirred the leaves above me.

For a moment, it almost felt as though someone was standing beside me.

I closed my eyes.

"I'm sorry."

My voice trembled.

"I couldn't save you."

Silence answered.

Tears filled my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.

"I've become stronger."

I rested my hand on the silver pendant.

"I can finally fight."

Another deep breath.

"I found him."

The wind seemed to stop.

"Alpha Kael Draven."

I stared at the graves.

"The son of the man who destroyed our family."

"I'll go to Bloodfang."

"I'll earn his trust."

"I'll become his Luna."

A long silence followed.

Then I whispered the words that had lived inside my heart for ten years.

"And when he loves me..."

"I'll destroy everything he holds dear."

A twig snapped behind me.

I instantly drew my sword and spun around.

Lyra stood there.

She had heard everything.

Her face had gone pale.

"You're serious."

"I've never been more serious."

She walked closer.

"You can't do this."

"I have to."

"You don't even know him."

"I know his name."

"That's enough."

Lyra shook her head.

"No, it isn't."

"What if he's not the monster you think he is?"

I laughed bitterly.

"The Bloodfang Pack slaughtered innocent children."

"They murdered my parents."

"They burned my home."

"My revenge isn't a choice."

"It's justice."

Lyra's eyes glistened.

"And if revenge costs your own life?"

I looked toward the distant mountains.

"Then at least I'll die keeping my promise."

Far away...

Beyond forests, rivers, and towering cliffs...

The Bloodfang Pack stood like an unbreakable kingdom.

Its enormous stone walls surrounded a magnificent castle built into the mountainside.

Warriors patrolled every entrance.

Their discipline was unmatched.

Inside the grand throne hall, silence filled the room.

A tall man stood before a massive window overlooking his kingdom.

His broad shoulders were draped in a black fur cloak.

Golden armor covered his forearms, while the sleeves of his fitted black tunic revealed powerful, muscular arms marked with old battle scars.

He stood over six feet tall, his physique built through years of war.

Every movement carried quiet authority.

Without turning around, he spoke.

"How many applications?"

A man with short brown hair stepped forward.

"Nearly three hundred, Alpha."

Kael Draven remained silent.

His Beta placed a thick stack of scrolls onto the table.

"Daughters of Alphas."

"Noble families."

"Warriors."

"Healers."

"Every powerful pack wishes to become allied with Bloodfang."

Kael finally turned.

His piercing gray eyes swept across the pile without interest.

"Political ambition."

The Beta nodded.

"Mostly."

Kael began reading the names one by one.

He discarded the first.

Then the second.

Then the third.

None of them interested him.

Suddenly...

His hand stopped.

One scroll remained in his grasp.

Raven Ashford.

No noble family.

No pack.

No political connections.

Only one line beneath her name.

"Independent warrior. Undefeated in the Northern Trials."

Kael read it twice.

Then a third time.

A strange feeling settled over him.

Almost...

Recognition.

His wolf stirred uneasily inside him.

The Beta noticed.

"Something wrong?"

Kael kept staring at the name.

"No."

A pause.

"Find out everything about Raven Ashford."

The Beta frowned.

"She's only a rogue."

Kael slowly rolled up the scroll.

"I don't believe in coincidences."

He looked once more at the name.

Then quietly ordered—

"I want her brought to Bloodfang."

Miles away, I stood beneath the moon, unaware that the man I intended to destroy had just spoken my false name for the very first time.

Neither of us knew it.

But fate had already begun weaving our paths together.

And before long...

One would become the other's greatest enemy.

Or the only person capable of revealing the truth buried beneath the ashes of Silver Moon.