>Luna Blackwell
I ran.
Through the woods. Through the cold. Through the taste of blood in my mouth and the roar of panic in my ears.
Branches whipped my face, dirt caked my shoes, but I didn't stop. I couldn't. Not after what I saw. Not after what I heard.
A wolf. My mom. That thing with red eyes.
I didn't even realize I was crying until I tripped and hit the ground, hard. My palms stung, but I barely felt it.
I crawled into a shed at the edge of an abandoned property, the kind of place kids dared each other to explore and never returned to.
I pressed my back to the wall and slid down, gasping.
My wrist was still burning. The mark shimmered faintly, like it was pulsing to some rhythm only it understood.
I tried calling my mom again.
No answer.
No signal.
Tears welled up, but I shoved them back. I had to think. I had to breathe.
Then I heard footsteps.
Crunch. Crunch.
Someone was out there.
I froze, barely breathing.
A figure appeared in the doorway, tall, hooded. I grabbed the rusted metal bar beside me like I could fight off a monster with a broken mop handle.
He raised both hands. "Easy."
I didn't lower the weapon.
He stepped forward slowly. His hood fell back.
He looked about my age. Maybe eighteen. Messy black hair, sharp jaw, piercing grey eyes. Not like the red-eyed demon, these eyes were alive. Focused. Almost too calm.
"You're Luna Blackwell," he said. Not a question.
My grip tightened. "Who the hell are you?"
"My name's Kai." He nodded toward my wrist. "I saw the mark. That means they'll be hunting you now. And not just the red-eyed ones."
"Why should I trust you?"
"You shouldn't," he said. "But I'm your best shot at staying alive."
Great. Exactly the kind of sentence that meant I should run the other way. But something about him felt… solid. Like he wasn't lying.
Still, I didn't move.
He sighed. "Look, if they've found you, that means your bloodline's awakened. That's not supposed to happen without a Moonbound elder guiding the process."
"My mother..."
"She's probably already gone. Or captured." His voice dropped. "I'm sorry."
The floor beneath me felt like it cracked. I wanted to scream. Instead, I whispered, "Why is this happening to me?"
He hesitated, then sat across from me.
"Because you're the last," he said. "Your blood is old. Powerful. You're Moonborn. The scar's not a curse, it's a calling. You were hidden for years to keep you safe, but now it's too late. The balance is shifting, and they want what's in your blood."
I stared at him.
None of it made sense.
All of it made sense.
"What do they want from me?"
"Your power. Your death. Depends on who gets to you first."
The silence between us was heavy.
Finally, he stood. "There's a safehouse a few miles from here. We leave now, or we don't make it to morning."
I looked at my hands, at the glowing mark, at the fear tightening my chest.
Then I looked at him.
"Take me there."
>Later, in the Safehouse
It was an underground bunker, hidden under an abandoned church. It smelled like dust, old metal, and forgotten secrets.
Kai moved like he belonged there. I just tried not to fall apart.
He gave me water. A place to sit. A blanket.
"You'll need answers," he said.
"No kidding."
He sat across from me. "Moonbound protect the veil between realms. The mark only appears when one of us is awakened. The fact that yours appeared on its own... that means the Veil is thinning."
"What's the Veil?"
"A barrier. Between our world and theirs. Between light and shadow."
I swallowed. "And the thing I saw in my house…?"
"From the other side. Shadowmarked. They serve the Hollow King."
I blinked. "That sounds like a fairy tale."
He looked me dead in the eye. "Does this feel like a fairy tale?"
I looked away.
"You have a choice," he said after a beat. "Ignore it. Pretend it's not real. Or learn to fight. Learn to survive. There are others like me who'll help train you. But it's your call."
I took a breath.
Everything in me wanted to say no.
But something deeper whispered yes.
"I'll fight."
Kai nodded, like he expected that.
>That Night
I couldn't sleep.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw red. I saw teeth. I saw my mother.
Then, just as I was starting to drift off…
A voice, low and cold, whispered inside my head:
"You're mine, Moonborn."
My scar flared.
I sat up,
heart racing, eyes wide...