~ The Blood Mirror~
Selene couldn't stop shaking.
She had tried to rest, to breathe, to pretend she was normal again, but the truth kept scratching at her skull like claws on glass. Her body no longer felt like her own. Every heartbeat sounded louder. Every shadow seemed to breathe.
And now—visions.
They started when she touched the letter.
"You're not alone," it said.
But alone was safer.
After she read it, her head had begun to pound. A deep, pulsing ache between her eyes. Then came the flashes—not memories, but dreams too vivid to ignore. In them, she saw blood… and a woman who looked just like her, wearing silver robes and a crown of bone. Wolves bowed before her. Then fire—teeth—betrayal.
And a mirror, cracked down the center, showing her reflection with glowing golden eyes.
What am I?
Selene stood in front of her bathroom mirror now, staring at herself. But her eyes weren't glowing anymore. They were just… hers. Tired. Haunted. Human.
But the air told another story.
The glass fogged unnaturally. Her breath came out in soft clouds. The temperature dropped.
And then it happened.
For just a second—her reflection moved without her.
Selene gasped, stumbling back.
Her heart thundered in her ears.
The reflection blinked slowly… and its mouth moved.
"He's coming."
---
Out in the woods, Kael stood motionless at the edge of the Blackpine clearing, his body tense, jaw clenched.
He hadn't slept.
Selene hadn't come the night before, but he didn't blame her. The first transformation left most wolves in denial, wrecked, and confused. But this was different. He felt something darker clinging to the air around her. A scent he hadn't noticed before—old magic, bitter and cold.
Someone had cast a sealing spell on her.
Witchcraft.
That kind of spell wasn't just forbidden—it was punishable by death.
And yet… someone had done it to protect her.
Why?
Kael knew now that Selene wasn't just an anomaly. She was part of something ancient. Something powerful enough that someone had wanted her wolf hidden from the world until now. And that made her not only rare...
It made her hunted.
---
Selene packed a bag with trembling hands.
She didn't know why she was doing it—just that she had to. Her body moved before her mind caught up. The forest was calling. Her wolf itched beneath her skin, restless. Pacing. Urging.
And she felt it: a pull, like a thread tying her to something in the trees.
To him.
To Kael.
She stepped outside just before dusk, hoodie pulled over her head, backpack slung low. The wind was cold. Sharp. But it didn't stop her. Her legs carried her through the narrow town paths until she reached the edge of Blackpine.
The moment her foot touched the soil beyond the pavement, the world changed.
Her senses lit up. The leaves whispered her name. The wind smelled of cedar, pine… and blood.
---
Unseen in the shadows, he watched her.
The Marked Wolf.
Cloaked in black. Eyes like coals. The scar on his chest still glowed faint red—the sign of a blood pact long ago. He had been waiting for this moment. Waiting for her to awaken.
The wolf that belonged to him.
Selene.
He spoke her name like a prayer.
"She doesn't remember," he whispered to the trees. "Not yet. But she will."
He pressed a talisman to his lips—black stone etched with an ancient sigil.
"She will remember me. And she will choose me."
---
Selene moved deeper into the woods, branches brushing her arms, the trail growing narrow.
Then—
She heard it.
A growl.
Not loud. But close.
She froze.
"Kael?" she whispered.
Nothing.
Only the crunch of a branch snapping behind her.
She turned slowly—eyes wide.
And saw nothing.
But she felt it. A presence. Watching. Breathing with her.
Then—movement. To her left. A blur of black in the corner of her vision.
She ran.
Her legs didn't wait for logic. She bolted, heart slamming in her chest, backpack bouncing. The wind howled behind her. She didn't know what chased her—but something was.
A voice followed her through the dark.
"Selene."
Not a question.
A promise.
---
She didn't stop running until she crashed into someone—arms catching her before she could fall.
"Easy," a voice said. Familiar. Deep. Controlled.
Kael.
She clutched his coat, panting. "Something—someone was following me."
He didn't ask who.
He already knew.
His eyes scanned the trees. "We need to move. You're not safe out here alone."
She pulled away slightly, meeting his gaze. "You said I wasn't alone. What did you mean?"
Kael hesitated. Then: "Because you're not. Not anymore."
She searched his face, desperate for answers. "What am I, Kael?"
His jaw flexed. The truth was heavy. Dangerous.
"You're a Luna," he said quietly. "Not just any Luna—you're the last living descendant of the Moonblood line. That makes you heir to power even alphas fear."
Selene shook her head. "That's insane. I'm nobody. I don't even know how to control this thing inside me—"
"That's why I'm here," he cut in. "To protect you."
She blinked. "Why you?"
And that's when he almost told her. Almost admitted the truth.
That he'd been ordered to kill her. That he had chosen not to. That by doing so, he may have condemned them both.
But instead he said: "Because someone else wants you for the wrong reasons."
---
Up in the trees, red eyes gleamed.
The Marked Wolf snarled softly, teeth bared.
"She'll remember. And when she does… she'll come to me."