The moon remembers her name

orne had learned in seven cen

ouch he

d her-every time the universe saw fit to spit her back into existence-Adrian tried to be care

rld responded with violence. Sometimes it was an "accident." Sometimes it was a

with bare hands. It accelerated the curse. It pulled the inevitable tragedy forward, l

d

ing when the sou

the sharp, sour tang of human fear. It was a place where life and dea

place among the scuffed linoleum and buzzing fluorescent tubes. He was too sharp, too still, too... unmoving. He

there to hide the fine tremor in his fingers-the physical manifestatio

d at him once, their eyes widening, before darting away. They didn't know he was a werewolf. They didn't know he was seven hundred

glass wall of Room 4

small. So te

eep. Beep. Beep. Every sound was a reminder that her heart was a mus

ble, Mr. B

ooking at the clipboard in his hands as if it were a shield. "But we're seeing things we can't explain. The neurological spike

is eyes were fixed on Lena's

g, really. It's not a tattoo. It's not a burn. It's as if the pigmentation of her skin has

't a suggestion. It was a command

ed to run m

leave her room. You will tell your staff that Miss Ashcroft is under my private care. You will take the generous do

ied. He nodded once, jerkily, and turned on his hee

locals again, Adri

l, weary, and dry

ate thirties, dressed in a battered leather jacket and heavy boots, but her eyes held the exhaustion of a

re, Morgana," Adrian said,

she replied, leaning against the wall. She pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, look

e admission felt like a confession. "In

happen. Not in Arc One. Not before the first full moon of the cycle. If

kno

ropping an octave. "Lucien won't wait for her to understand who she is. He'll strike while she

Hale, near Lena made the air in the hallway turn cold. S

him," Adria

mmortal as you are, Adrian, just for different reasons. You can't

lights overhead flicker. "The truth is a weight she can't carry until her power stabilizes. If I tell

hated. "Maybe. But look at her. She's not the girl from the 1500s anymore. She's not

rt monitor inside

eep-be

lerated into a

moved through the space with a blur of sp

ets, her dark hair a tangled mess against the white pillow. Her skin was no longer just pale; it

ian's voice

e the air. It wasn't just a sou

as gasping for air, her hands clutching at her throat,

out. "The smell of...

ead, her gaze cl

rld st

outside, the rustle of the wind-all of it fade

en a stranger. She looked like a woman who had finally found the mi

as hoarse, raw from screaming. "The ma

s. He was fighting every instinct he possessed to reach out and pull

ry. "I'm nowhere. I'm everywhere. Why do I remember your hands? W

rian. Over and over. I see myself falling. I see you catching

it never got easier. "Because I am a man who has lived too long,

, her voice dropping to

her face unreadable. He looked back at Lena-the girl

a heavy stone. "I am the Alpha of a pack that died out before your great-gra

eam. He expected her t

ysterical laugh. "A werewolf? Re

" Adrian asked,

e shaking. "No. Because the weirdest pa

ime, the fear in her eyes was replaced by

pendant broke... I felt something click. Like a lock being

na whispered from the

e. You have to stay calm. Your power-it's tied to your emotions. I

e. The glass of the water pitcher on her bedside table began to spiderweb with crac

ward, reaching

e was too slow-or perhaps, deep dow

finger

ct was a

and gold light exploded from the point of contact, ripping outward with enough forc

ody arching as the bond finally

EMORY

ion this time.

he saw them on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic, huddling together against the spray of salt water as they fled a plague. She saw them in a

nt of mundane, beautiful life they had

in a single,

he felt the weight of every grave he had stood over.

he felt the

ar power that didn't care about "Lena." It cared about the stars. It cared about balanc

t just an Alpha anymore; he was the anchor for a goddess. He gripped her hands,

a vortex of w

y as it had beg

m was a wreck-glass everywhere, the monitors fried, the w

still locked in Adrian's.

er brown. They were the color of the moon du

voice was different. It carr

chest, which was now glowing w

back at Adrian. "I chose to be human so I could love y

ong. "They're coming, Adrian. I can feel them. Lu

out the doctors or the nurses or the mess. He only cared

n the wreckage of the room. "I've spent seven hundred year

ng over a dagger hidden in her jacket. "We nee

s still red, but as she watched, a rip

touching her lips. "I'm done being

ha

ed with a new, terrifying authority. "And if they want the So

ixture of awe and absolut

who didn't believe

he monste