5

Emily had always loved flying.

As a little girl, she pressed her face against airplane windows, convinced that if she looked hard enough she might see the curve of the Earth.

At twenty-four, not much had changed.

She sat by the window as the plane crossed over the Rocky Mountains, headphones resting around her neck while soft piano music played.

The flight attendant's voice crackled over the intercom.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be beginning our descent into Bozeman in approximately twenty minutes. Current weather is sixty-four degrees with clear skies."

Emily smiled to herself.

She looked out the window.

The view stole her breath.

Towering snow-capped mountains stretched farther than she could see. Thick evergreen forests blanketed the valleys, broken only by sparkling rivers that wound through the landscape like ribbons of silver.

Nothing looked familiar.

Everything looked beautiful.

She reached for her phone, already knowing there was no service, and snapped a dozen pictures anyway.

"Jess is going to lose her mind when she sees these."

---

An hour later she stepped outside the airport.

The air felt...

Different.

Cleaner.

Cooler.

She inhaled deeply.

Pine.

Wildflowers.

Fresh rain somewhere in the distance.

She smiled without realizing it.

"This smells incredible."

A shuttle driver loading luggage into the back of a white SUV laughed.

"First time in Montana?"

Emily nodded.

"Is it that obvious?"

"You've had the same look on your face since you walked outside."

"What look?"

He grinned.

"Like you just found somewhere you've been trying to remember."

Emily laughed politely.

It was a strange thing to say.

And yet...

Somehow...

It felt true.

---

The drive to Black Hollow would take nearly three hours.

Emily rented a dark green Jeep Wrangler, loaded her luggage into the back, plugged the address into the GPS, and started west.

The farther she drove...

The fewer cars she saw.

Cities became towns.

Towns became scattered ranches.

Eventually, even those disappeared.

It was just road.

Mountains.

Trees.

Sky.

She rolled the windows down.

The breeze rushed through the Jeep, carrying the scent of pine needles and damp earth.

Without thinking, she turned off the radio.

The silence wasn't empty.

Birds sang from the treetops.

Wind whispered through the branches.

Somewhere in the distance, she heard water rushing over rocks.

It was peaceful.

More peaceful than she'd felt in years.

---

Nearly two hundred miles away...

Kael stood on the balcony outside his office overlooking the valley.

His eyes closed.

Noah stepped outside carrying two mugs of coffee.

"You've been doing that all morning."

Kael didn't answer.

Noah handed him a mug anyway.

"What are you listening for?"

Kael accepted the coffee.

"I'm not listening."

"Then what?"

"I'm waiting."

Noah leaned against the railing.

"You really can feel her?"

Kael nodded once.

"It isn't words."

"What is it?"

He searched for an explanation.

"It's like..."

He looked toward the mountains.

"...hearing music from another room."

Noah smiled.

"So she's close."

Kael took a slow breath.

"Closer every minute."

---

Emily stopped just outside a small town to stretch her legs.

A weathered wooden sign welcomed visitors.

BLACK HOLLOW

Population: 3,847

Below it someone had carved another message into the wood years ago.

"Respect the Forest."

Emily smiled.

"I think I can do that."

She climbed back into the Jeep.

The moment she crossed the town limits...

Something changed.

It wasn't dramatic.

No lightning.

No strange voices.

Just...

A feeling.

Warmth spread through the silver crescent moon pendant resting beneath her shirt.

She frowned.

"That's odd."

She pulled it out.

The metal felt warm against her fingertips.

Almost...

Alive.

After a few seconds, the warmth faded.

Emily shook her head.

"Maybe it's just the sun."

She tucked it back beneath her shirt and continued driving.

She never noticed the flock of birds overhead suddenly changing direction to follow her vehicle.

---

Inside the Black Hollow Sheriff's Office, Sheriff Daniel Reeves looked up from his paperwork as his deputy hurried inside.

"She's here."

Daniel's expression grew serious.

"You're certain?"

The deputy nodded.

"Green Wrangler. Massachusetts plates."

Daniel sighed.

"So it begins."

He reached for the phone sitting on his desk.

There was only one person he needed to call.

---

Kael answered on the first ring.

"Yes?"

"She's entered town."

For a long moment, Kael didn't speak.

Then he quietly replied,

"Thank you."

He hung up.

Noah was already standing.

"So?"

Kael set his untouched coffee on the railing.

"She's here."

The words spread through the lodge faster than wildfire.

Doors opened.

Conversations stopped.

Wolves looked toward the windows.

After twenty-five years...

The last Moonblood had finally returned.

---

Emily's GPS led her to a charming two-story cabin owned by the conservation agency.

It sat at the edge of town with a wraparound porch overlooking a meadow filled with late-summer wildflowers.

"This is mine?"

She couldn't stop smiling.

The cabin was perfect.

A rocking chair sat on the porch.

Flower boxes overflowed with purple asters.

Behind the cabin stretched endless forest.

Emily unloaded her luggage and unlocked the front door.

Inside she found polished hardwood floors, a stone fireplace, exposed wooden beams, and enormous windows that framed the mountains like paintings.

"This is definitely better than my apartment."

After unpacking a few essentials, she decided to explore the town before sunset.

The main street was exactly what she imagined a mountain town should be.

Children rode bicycles.

Neighbors chatted outside the bakery.

An elderly man tipped his hat as she walked past.

Everyone smiled.

Everyone seemed...

Friendly.

Almost too friendly.

Several people looked at her with expressions she couldn't quite place.

Recognition.

Curiosity.

Wonder.

A little girl holding her mother's hand stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.

She stared openly at Emily.

"Mom..."

The woman looked down.

"What is it?"

"That's the moon lady."

Emily smiled awkwardly.

The mother immediately looked embarrassed.

"I'm so sorry."

She gently tugged her daughter along.

"She's been making up stories all week."

Emily laughed.

"It's okay."

As they walked away, she heard the little girl whisper,

"But it is..."

Emily looked down at the crescent moon pendant resting against her shirt.

A strange chill ran down her spine.

---

Across the street, from the window of a small coffee shop, Kael watched her for the first time.

She wasn't what he'd imagined.

She was laughing as she admired a display of handmade pottery, completely unaware that nearly everyone on the street had subtly taken notice of her arrival.

Her chestnut-brown hair caught the afternoon sunlight.

The silver pendant rested against her pale blue blouse.

She looked...

Happy.

Normal.

Human.

His wolf stirred inside him so suddenly that he had to grip the edge of the windowsill.

Mate.

The word echoed through every part of him.

Not because of magic alone.

But because seeing her somehow quieted a loneliness he'd carried for most of his life.

Noah stepped beside him.

"Well?"

Kael didn't answer immediately.

Finally, without taking his eyes off Emily, he said softly,

"She has no idea."

"No."

"And I'd like to keep it that way..."

He watched as she stopped to pet an elderly golden retriever outside the bookstore, smiling so brightly that even the dog's tail wagged harder.

"...for just a little longer."

Across town, hidden behind the darkened windows of an abandoned church bell tower, another pair of eyes had already found her.

Magnus watched silently.

Unlike Kael, he did not smile.

Instead, he whispered to himself,

"Welcome home, Emily."

Then he turned and disappeared into the shadows.