CHAPTER 2

The sound of the rain is loud and clear in her ears, but even so, her whole body feels warm and comfortable; a stark contrast to the cold and harshness of the previous night. She tried to open her eyes, but a sharp pain in her head and chest made itself present the moment the light touched the slight opening of her eyes, so she closed them again.

— Rest a little more, — a deep voice says gently — the doctor said you were close to death.

That voice wasn't her father's or anyone she knew. "The doctor said?" So, she had managed to escape that wolf, they had found her, and now she was in a hospital, right?

— You have no idea how scared I was, my moon.

"Moon"? That was the word that had echoed in her head during the night while the wolf stalked her, and that voice was the same voice that had uttered it. Her body was begging for more sleep, but her instinct, well, it was torn in half. One part told her she should get out of there as soon as possible, while the other made her feel safe, that there was no reason to fear or run, but she chose to silence the latter. She opened her eyes abruptly, ignoring, or at least trying to ignore that constant ache; her head was pounding horribly, while her heart seemed to be breaking little by little.

— I see you're stubborn. — The sound of footsteps accompanied the new words. — But also foolish enough not to listen to your body, even when it asks you to rest.

When her gaze could finally focus on her surroundings, she became aware of the room she was in. The cabin was small, but still cozy; the bed on which she rested was located in a corner of the room next to the window. The fireplace was centered on the right side of the room, and the heat from it kept the place warm. A three-seater sofa, another single one, and a table for six completed the space. But something was missing, someone had spoken, she had heard footsteps, then...

— Where... — she murmurs softly, her words completing her thoughts, thoughts that are cut off by the response she receives.

— I thought you might be hungry when you woke up. — that deep voice resonates in the room once more, but this time it is accompanied by the sound of a door opening. — I prepared some meat for you. - that stranger emphasizes his words by lifting the food tray he's holding.

As she looked at the owner of that voice, she felt the air catch in her lungs once again. That man must be around thirty years old, or maybe just a couple of years older, close to two meters tall with well-defined muscles, a few strands of red hair framing his face, which is adorned with two deep gray eyes; a color so pale that for a moment she could swear it was like looking at the moon in them.

— Is everything okay? — he asks as he approaches her a little more. — You look like you're going to faint again.

— Don't come any closer! — her body trembles with fear, she doesn't know where she is, who that man is, and she doesn't understand what's happening, she just knows she wants to get out of there and go home.

— It's okay, — he says, stopping his steps. — I won't get closer if that's what you want, but you need to calm down and eat a little.

— Where am I? — she asks as she recoils on the bed.

— You're safe, in the Southern pack, - he responds calmly as he places the food tray on the dining table. - I brought you with me a few days ago. I was planning to respect your decision not to show yourself to me yet, but when the rain started and you still hadn't moved from that place. I was worried that your heart rate was so low, so I crossed the river; that's when I noticed you had passed out, so I couldn't just leave you there.

"Pack"? "A few days"? No, this is just absurd. First, because packs are things of animals and... No! She scolds herself for thinking of those old stories her mother used to tell her. Second, it was just the night before that she had hidden among the rocks on the riverbank to escape the wolf that was following her.

— You gave me a big scare; you were so pale and cold, — he says, cutting off her train of thought. — The doctor said you were close to death, but thanks to the Mother Moon, your vital signs calmed down when I approached, so I stayed by your bedside for the last five days. You don't know the peace I felt seeing your color return; your cheeks are even more beautiful when bathed in their natural blush.

But what on earth is that guy talking about? She doesn't know, but she doesn't plan to stay to find out.

— I want to leave here, please — she says with a trembling voice.

— Well, it's still raining a bit, and it's not good for you to go out in this weather, — he responds calmly — As I told you, the doctor...

— I want to go home! - she shouts, giving in to fear. — I want to leave now!

— Calm down, if you let me, I'll explain it to you.

— I don't want an explanation! — she says, raising her voice even more. — I want to get out of here; I don't know who you are or where I am, I just want to go home.

— This is your home now, — he replies calmly.

— You're crazy! — she can't exactly explain where her courage comes from, but she makes a move to get out of bed. — You...

She doesn't know exactly when that imposing figure crossed the room; what she does know is that in the blink of an eye, she was cornered on the bed. In other times, she would have worried about the hand that firmly held her waist or the one that encircled her wrists, but that's the least of her concerns now; in that moment, all she wants to understand is how it was possible for that stranger's gaze to change in such an inhuman way. His eyes, now bathed in a deep red color, are like those of a beast, a beast that, for some reason, is wounded. Amidst her denial and horror, her memory allows her to recognize where she has seen that look before.

— The wolf...

— Sleep, my stubborn moon, now.

After those words spoken in a deep tone, Lían watched as the other's eyes slowly closed; he never took his eyes off those two pieces of sky adorning his Moon's face. Adjusting her body on the bed, he covers her to keep her warm; the weather is still inclement and cold, and he's had enough of her being upset; he doesn't need her health to deteriorate again.

As he takes the meat he had left on the table, he hears a mournful howl in the distance; a howl he recognizes instantly. Approaching the window, his wolfish gaze manages to pierce through the mist, discerning a gray wolf in the distance, his exiled and aging father. Letting out a warning growl, the wolf's backward steps indicate that he was noticed by the elder; stepping away from the window, he turns to go to the kitchen and put away the food, then he would talk and explain things to his Moon.

...

— Something is moving from the human border, - that man explains as they walk through the cobbled corridors of the place.

— Yes, I've also felt the strange presence of a deep darkness running in the wind. It's as if something threatening our packs is already in motion.

Both wolves fall silent for a moment, each lost in thought, each searching for an explanation for what is happening.

— During the solstice, there was a bright light covering the forest with its harmony. I couldn't identify what it was, but I know it wasn't like anything I've felt before.

— Times have changed since we were young. Our packs have faced many changes over the years, but this seems different, more subtle, but no less dangerous.

With slow steps, both wolves stopped in front of one of the main windows of the place. After a moment, the elder leader spoke: We must prepare to protect the weaker ones.

— If you suspect something so serious, wouldn't it be best to warn the packs and prepare them for whatever is about to happen.