Chapter 1: The Eclipse Child Author:Rosie Alcoph Last Updated:2025-03-03 12:39:29 LIRA The moon looked wrong tonight.
It hung lower than usual, cloaked in shadows, tinged with a dull red that bled into the dark sky.
The air felt heavy, like the whole forest was holding its breath.
I stood alone in the clearing, arms wrapped around myself, listening to the silence that pressed in from all sides.
Something wasnt right.
Not with the moon.
Not with me.
I had no words for it, just a gnawing feeling under my skinlike a thousand tiny sparks waiting to ignite.
Lira! I turned at the sound of my name.
Koras voice cut through the quiet, loud and urgent.
She pushed through the tall grass, face flushed, golden eyes scanning until they landed on me.
There you are, she exhaled, brushing wild strands of hair from her face.
Youre not supposed to be out here.
I needed air, I said, not bothering to lie.
Too many eyes back there.
She frowned, stepping beside me and glancing at the sky.
You see it too, dont you? I nodded.
The moon looks… off.
Its not just the moon.
She dropped her voice.
The Leaders are asking for you.
Again.
I sighed.
Of course they are.
They always wanted somethinganswers to questions I couldnt give, explanations for things I didnt understand.
Id grown used to the stares, the whispered conversations behind my back.

The girl who hadnt shifted.
The one who didnt fit.
Kora touched my arm gently.
Theyre not in the mood to be ignored tonight.
Somethings going on.
Somethings always going on, I muttered.
And somehow its always about me.
She hesitated, then said, Theyre talking about Grimhowl.
My breath caught.
What about Grimhowl? Kora looked uneasy, her voice lower now.
Rumors.
Scouts near the northern border.
The Leaders think its a warningor a sign.
A sign of what? She didnt answer right away.
Her silence spoke louder than anything she couldve said.
Caius Vexmoor, she finally whispered.
The name alone sent a chill racing down my spine.
Alpha of Grimhowl.
Ruthless.
Unforgiving.
The stories about him were half-myth, half-terrorhis wolf black as death, his eyes silver and cold.
He was the kind of Alpha who didnt bother with threats.
Just action.
They think hes preparing for something, Kora went on.
And they think… it might involve you.
My heart thudded against my ribs.

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Me? Why? I dont know, she said.
But theyve been whispering all evening.
They wont say anything directly, but I think they believe its connected to why you havent shifted.
I looked away, jaw tight.
I hated that wordwhy.
As if there had to be a reason I was different.
As if I hadnt asked myself the same question a thousand times.
At nineteen, I should have shifted years ago.
All the others hadmost before they turned sixteen.
But my wolf had never come.
No howling under my skin.
No clawing at the surface.
Just silence.
I tried to laugh, but it came out bitter.
So now they think Caius Vexmoor has something to do with my defective wolf? Youre not defective.
You dont have to say that.
Koras brows pulled together.
I mean it, Lira.
Youre not broken.
Youre not some mistake the Moon Goddess forgot to finish.
Whatevers happening, I dont believe its about you.
Not really.
They just want something to blame.
Blame.
Thats exactly what it felt likebeing a problem they couldnt solve, a question they couldnt answer.
I stared at the trees surrounding us, tall and unmoving.

Its like Im waiting for something I dont understand.
Every day I wake up hoping something will feel different.
But nothing ever does.
Kora stepped closer, her voice firm.
Then maybe different is coming.
Maybe its already here.
A shiver ran through me.
The wind stirred the grass, whispering secrets I couldnt quite hear.
You think Grimhowls coming? I asked.
That Caius… hes coming? I dont know, she admitted.
But the Leaders are scared.
Thats never a good sign.
I hated the fear in her voice.
I hated that mine echoed it.
What do I do, Kora? I asked.
What if all of this leads to something I cant handle? She looked me dead in the eye.
Then you wont handle it alone.
And just like that, the knot in my chest loosened.
She always had a way of grounding meof reminding me that no matter how twisted the path became, I didnt have to walk it in the dark.
We should go, she said, glancing toward the trees.
The Leaders wont wait much longer.
Even if you dont want to hear what they have to say, its better to be there than let them spin more stories in your absence.
I nodded, casting one last look at the strange, pale moon.
It felt like it was watching me.
Like it knew something I didnt.
As we started walking back toward the village, I couldnt shake the feeling crawling up my spinelike something had just shifted, and I wouldnt understand it until it was far too late to turn back.