Chapter 1
_The forest whispers
_
(Set between a whispering forest and Luna's home, the story introduces forbidden bloodlines, a living diary, a vanished father, and a love triangle sealed by an ancient law.)
The wind moved softly through the trees, carrying secret only Luna could feel.
It brushed her face and slide through like fingers that knew her name, her hearth beat too also went pounding fast for no reason, like part of it did not belong to her anymore.
Something was moving in the forest behind her home, something that had been calling her in dreams for weeks.
Not with words.
With feelings.
With weight.
With fear and warmth mixed together.
She stopped walking and held the diary closer under her arm. The leather felt warm, too warm, like it had been resting near fire. There was a pull deep in her chest that she could not explain. It was not pain. It was not joy. It was like missing something she had never touched before.
Her skin tingled.
Inside her was heat and warning fighting each other.
A normal human would feel nothing.
But she felt everything.
Every leaf that shifted.
Every dry twig that snapped.
Every breath the forest took.
The forest felt alive. Not like plants. Not like animals. Like a mind watching quietly. Shadows drifted across the ground as the wind moved overhead. They stretched long and thin, then pulled back again. Luna hugged the diary tighter.
Its leather cover throbbed slowly.
Like a heart.
Words flickered across the pages, glowing faintly then fading.
"Begin… follow… beware."
She swallowed.
Her grandmother's voice returned in her head as clear as the last time they spoke.
"The diary will come when it is time.
Listen closely, Luna.
Always listen."
Luna squeezed her eyes shut for a second. She wished her grandmother was here. She wished someone would tell her what was happening, instead of leaving her to feel it all alone in her chest.
Then her thoughts drifted to her father.
Marcus.
The man who vanished without goodbye.
People spoke his name in soft voices. The elders whispered about a powerful wolf roaming the forest at night. A beast with fire in its eyes. A wolf too strong for any pack. A creature that did not belong to one form.
Was it him?
Was her father still alive, running somewhere in the dark?
Or trapped in something he could not escape, just like her dreams showed her?
Her throat tightened.
A cold breeze swept past her arms.
The forest went silent.
No leaves.
No insects.
No sound.
She felt it before she saw it.
Something moved.
Light footsteps.
Smooth.
Quiet.
Amber eyes appeared in the dark.
Glowing.
Watching.
Her heart jumped hard in her chest.
She knew the name before it ever reached her mouth.
Aiden Blackfang.
She did not know how she knew.
She just did.
Luna looked around in fear. Every small sound made her chest tighten.
"It is just the trees," she whispered.
"Or the wind."
"Or him."
Her voice sounded thin in her own ears.
She leaned down slightly and sniffed the air without thinking. The wolf inside her stirred awake. A warm rush moved through her bones. Someone was close.
Very close.
"Who are you?" she whispered into the dark.
A tiny laugh left her before she meant it to.
"Do you think I am normal?" she said quietly.
"Do you think I can just walk away from this?"
Her feet shifted in the leaves.
Ready to run.
Ready to stay.
Both at once.
"Show yourself," she said again, a little stronger now.
The footsteps stopped.
The forest held its breath.
"Who are you?" a voice asked.
Low.
Careful.
Curious.
"I do not know wolves walk like this," she replied before she could stop herself.
He stepped closer.
Every movement smooth like water.
Controlled like fire.
Strong like stone.
He was no ordinary wolf.
She felt it in her bones.
The diary twitched hard against her chest.
"You are not fully human," he said slowly.
"Are you?"
"I…" She paused. Her fingers tightened around the diary.
"I am different."
He gave a faint smile.
"Different is not even close."
A strange silence stretched between them. Her instincts shouted loudly inside her chest.
Trust him.
Fear him.
Both at the same time.
The diary glowed again.
One word appeared.
"Danger."
A low growl echoed somewhere deeper in the forest.
Something else was moving nearby.
Her breath caught.
Aiden's expression changed. Something protective slipped into his eyes.
"You should not be out here alone," he said.
"And you should?" she shot back.
He studied her carefully before speaking.
"Follow me.
This place… it is not safe for someone like you."
Every part of her screamed to run back home.
But something stronger pulled her forward.
So she nodded.
As they walked deeper into the trees, everything sharpened.
The smell of wet ground.
Crushed leaves.
Cold bark.
The diary buzzed lightly in her hands like it was alive.
"You feel it too," he said quietly.
"This forest… it watches. It tests."
She nodded.
Her mouth was too dry to speak.
The diary glowed brighter.
"The triangle begins.
Watch carefully.
Decide wisely."
Her chest tightened at the words.
"Why me?" she whispered.
"Why now?"
He stopped walking.
Light spilled through the trees into a small clearing. It touched the ground like soft gold.
"This is where things change," he said.
"You are being tested."
"For what?" she asked.
"Truth."
"Power."
"Survival."
"And choice."
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
Then everything in her spilled out.
"Why were you here?
Who is in this forest?
Are you really a werewolf?
Why does this diary know things?
why do I feel like have met you before?
(Will I see you again?)
Her voice shook.
She looked up.
He was gone.
Only shadow and silence remained.
The forest moved like nothing ever happened.
The diary flashed one last time.
"He is the beginning…
and the end."
Luna turned and ran.
Her feet flew across the path.
Branches brushed her arms.
"her breath burned in her throat". All she knew was that she have to get home. When she reached the door her hands were shaking as she pushed it open,
Inside felt small now.
Too quiet.
Too normal.
She shut the door but couldn't be able to leave it. Luna sat down on the floor gazing at the whole house with her can't even figure out one thing she's looking at, the diary also on her lap heavy unlike before.
Her heart still pounded.
Her hands still shook.
Now she knew the truth.
She was not alone in this world.
And something ancient had just opened life's door in front of her.
Love.
Danger.
Power.
All waiting.
Just beyond the trees.