CHAPTER 003_THE RED MOON
Morning came slow. The smell of wet grass and smoke still hung in the air. I was the first to wake. Sleep never lasted long anymore not with everything that happened. Enoch's words still echoed in my head. Be prepared for what's coming.
How can anyone prepare for a prophecy
Mia was still asleep beside the small fire, her arm thrown over Sofia's leg. Sofia was snoring softly, drooling on her sleeve. I smiled a little. It was the first time I had seen them sleep in peace since the attack.
I stretched and stood. "I'll get some mushrooms before breakfast," I whispered. Nobody answered.
The forest was quiet. Too quiet. The trees swayed gently, the leaves whispering things I couldn't understand. My boots pressed into the damp soil as I walked.
I tried not to think about Enoch but it was hard. The way his eyes glowed faint blue when he spoke still haunted me. He said the child inside me could save or destroy the world. How could someone say that so easily
I touched my stomach. "You're just a baby," I whispered. "You're not a curse."
But my hand shook. I didn't even know who the father was. That was the worst part.
A sound came from behind me. A rustle. I froze. The hair on my neck stood up. Slowly I turned.
Nothing. Just trees and wind.
Then I saw it. Something golden between the bushes. Maybe sunlight on dry leaves I thought. But when it moved again slow and heavy I knew it wasn't the wind.
"Hello?" I said, my voice shaking.
The golden thing moved again. My heart jumped. I dropped the mushrooms and stepped back.
Then it came out.
A wolf. But not just any wolf. Its fur shimmered like sunlight. Its eyes glowed amber. It was beautiful and terrifying.
I stumbled back. "No no no."
It growled low like thunder. I turned and ran. Branches hit my face roots caught my feet but I didn't stop.
Behind me I heard paws hitting the ground fast and heavy.
"Somebody help!" I screamed.
The sound stopped. Everything went still.
I turned slowly. The wolf stood a few feet away watching me. Its chest moved fast. It didn't look like it wanted to eat me. It looked like it knew me.
"You saved me once," I whispered. "That night in the storm."
Its ears twitched. The forest held its breath.
Then I felt it.
A pull deep inside me like something tightening. My chest burned. My pulse raced. The air shimmered.
"What's happening," I whispered.
The wolf's eyes widened. He stepped closer. The ground shook under his weight.
The sky dimmed. The sun faded. The moon appeared in the middle of the day and it was red. A blood moon.
My heart pounded. I could hear his heartbeat too. It matched mine. My body burned like fire under my skin.
"Who are you," I asked.
The wolf shimmered and changed. His body twisted and turned until a man stood where the wolf was.
He had golden hair messy and glowing a bit. His eyes still burned. His chest was bare, full of scars that looked like stories.
He looked at me like he knew me too.
"I'm Dante," he said. His voice was deep and tired. "And you shouldn't exist."
"What," I said, stepping back.
He frowned like he was trying to remember. "I saw you before. You were dying. I saved you. But now…" he looked at the blood moon. "This wasn't supposed to happen."
"What's happening," I said again.
He didn't answer. He just asked, "Do you feel that"
I didn't need to answer. The pull between us got stronger. My knees went weak.
"I don't understand," I said.
"You're not supposed to," he said. "The bond chose."
"The what"
"Mate bond," he said.
My heart stopped. "No. I'm human. I'm not one of you."
He stepped closer. "Then why does your heart beat like mine"
Before I could answer something burst inside me. My veins burned. My vision blurred. The world spun.
"Leah," he shouted but I could barely hear.
Then a strange voice spoke in my head.
The Chosen Luna has awakened.
I screamed. My eyes burned bright. The light around me changed.
The ground cracked. My bones shifted. My skin stretched. I fell to my knees as white fur broke from my skin.
"No," I cried but it was too late.
I shifted.
Power rushed through me wild and alive. I looked down and saw paws instead of hands. My reflection in the water was a white wolf with silver eyes.
A howl came out of me full of pain and fear and something else.
The forest shook. Birds flew. The sky pulsed red.
Dante stared at me. Then he shifted too turning back into the golden wolf.
Our eyes met and something clicked between us. Our howls rose together filling the forest. It felt like a song written before we were born.
For a moment I forgot everything. We were one.
Then the blood moon pulsed and began to fade. My body trembled as the fur vanished and I fell naked on the cold ground.
Dante shifted back too. He looked at me with eyes that held too many secrets.
"It's started," he said.
I covered myself with my arms. "What has"
"The prophecy," he said. "The world won't survive what's coming."
"You're lying," I said.
He looked away. "I wish I was."
We stood there in silence. The forest quiet again.
Then from far away I heard Enoch's voice through the wind.
The blood moon has chosen.
I turned to Dante but he was gone.
I was alone. Under the fading red sky. My heart still pounding.
And from deep in the woods I felt it again.
Someone was watching me.