Farewell to Normal

 

Luna stood in her bedroom staring at an empty duffel bag.

What do you pack when you're leaving your entire life behind?

Her father had said not much. They'd provide everything at Silverwood. But she couldn't just leave with nothing. She couldn't walk away from sixteen years with empty hands.

She grabbed a hoodie from her closet. Miguel's hoodie, actually. He'd left it here months ago and she'd never given it back. It still smelled like him. Like his cologne and laundry detergent and something else that was just Miguel.

She folded it carefully and placed it in the bag.

A knock at the door.

"Luna? Can I come in?" Her mother's voice. Soft. Broken.

"Yeah."

The door opened. Her mother looked like she'd aged ten years in the last hour. Her eyes were red. Her hands twisted together.

"I brought you some things. Basics. Toiletries. A few changes of clothes."

She set a small pile on the bed.

Luna picked up a framed photo from her nightstand. Her and Miguel at homecoming. Both of them smiling. Both of them normal.

"Can I bring this?"

"Of course, mija. Bring whatever makes you feel less alone."

Luna wrapped the frame in a t-shirt and tucked it into the bag. She added her phone charger. A journal she'd barely written in. The necklace her abuela had given her before she died.

"How long will I be gone?"

Her mother sat on the edge of the bed. "I don't know. It depends on how fast you learn control. Some students come home for holidays. Others stay for years."

"Years?"

"The academy is strict. The training is intense. They don't let students leave until they're sure it's safe."

Luna's hands stilled on a sweater. "What if I can't learn control? What if I'm stuck there forever?"

"You'll learn. You're strong. You're smart. You'll figure it out."

"I don't feel strong. I feel terrified."

Her mother stood and pulled Luna into a hug. "I know. But you're braver than you think. You always have been."

Luna pressed her face against her mother's shoulder. She wanted to cry. But the tears wouldn't come. Everything felt numb. Distant.

"Will you tell people where I went?"

"We'll say you transferred schools. Special program out of state. No one will question it."

"What about Miguel?"

Her mother pulled back. "What about him?"

"He knows the truth. He saw the mark. He heard everything."

"He'll keep quiet. He has to. It's safer for everyone if he does."

"He won't understand. He'll think I abandoned him."

"Then you explain when you can. But Luna, you need to prepare yourself. Human relationships don't usually survive this. The distance. The secrets. The changes. Most marked wolves leave their human lives completely behind."

The words settled in Luna's chest like ice.

"I don't want to lose him."

"I know. But you might not have a choice."

Another knock. Quieter this time.

"Luna?" Diego's voice from the hallway.

"Come in, mijo," her mother called.

The door cracked open. Diego peeked around it. He'd been crying. His eyes were puffy and red.

"Are you really leaving?"

Luna nodded.

"When are you coming back?"

"I don't know yet."

"But you are coming back, right? Eventually?"

"I hope so."

He ran across the room and threw his arms around her waist. "I don't want you to go. You're my sister. You're supposed to be here."

Luna hugged him back. "I know. I don't want to go either. But I have to."

"Why?"

"Because if I stay, I might hurt someone. And I'd never forgive myself if I hurt you or Mamá or Papá."

"You wouldn't hurt us. You're not a bad person."

"I know. But the mark makes things complicated. I need to learn how to control it first."

He pulled back and looked up at her. "Promise you'll come home. Promise."

"I promise I'll try."

"That's not the same thing."

"It's the best I can do right now."

He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and ran from the room.

Luna's mother sighed. "He doesn't understand."

"Neither do I."

"You will. Once you get to Silverwood. Once you meet others like you. It'll make more sense."

Luna zipped the duffel bag. It looked pathetically small. Her entire life reduced to one bag.

"They'll be here soon," her mother said. "You should go downstairs. Say goodbye to your father."

Luna picked up the bag and followed her mother down the stairs. Her father stood in the living room looking out the front window. His posture was rigid. Military.

"They're almost here," he said without turning. "I can see the car."

"Already?"

"They don't waste time. The mark appeared. They respond. That's how it works."

Luna set her bag by the door. Her hands felt empty. Wrong.

"Papá, I'm scared."

He finally turned. His eyes were wet. She'd never seen her father cry before.

"I know, mija. But you're going to be okay. You're an Eclipse. We've survived this before. You will too."

"What if I don't? What if I can't handle it?"

"Then you fight harder. You don't give up. Ever. No matter how hard it gets. You understand me?"

She nodded.

He pulled her into a hug. Brief. Tight. Then he let go and stepped back like it hurt to hold her too long.

A knock at the door.

Three short raps.

They were here.

Luna's wrist burned. The mark flared bright enough to see through her sleeve.

Her father opened the door.

Two figures stood on the porch. A woman and a man. Both tall. Both dressed in dark clothes. Both watching Luna with eyes that caught the light wrong.

"Luna Eclipse?" the woman asked.

"Yes."

"I'm Professor Thorne. This is Professor Ashwood. We're from Silverwood Academy. Are you ready to leave?"

"No. But I don't think I have a choice."

"You don't. Get your bag."

Luna picked up the duffel. It felt heavier now. Like it was pulling her down.

"Wait."

A voice from behind her. Miguel's voice.

She turned. He stood in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen. His hair was messy. His eyes were red. He looked like he'd been running.

"I need to talk to her. Before she goes. Please."

Professor Thorne looked at Luna's father. "Two minutes. That's all."

Her father nodded.

The professors stepped outside to wait.

Miguel crossed the room and grabbed Luna's hand. The one without the mark. His fingers were cold.

"I'm sorry. For earlier. For how I reacted. I was scared and I said things I didn't mean."

"It's okay."

"It's not okay. You needed me and I ran. That's not what you do when you love someone."

"Miguel—"

"Let me finish. Please." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small leather cord with a silver charm dangling from it. "I bought this for you. For your birthday. Before everything went crazy. I was going to give it to you after cake."

The charm was simple. A crescent moon with a tiny star beside it.

"It's beautiful."

"I had it engraved. Look at the back."

She turned it over. Two words were scratched into the silver in small letters.

Always yours.

"I know you have to go. I know there's some academy and some mark and some world I don't understand. But I need you to know something. This doesn't change how I feel about you. Distance doesn't change it. Time doesn't change it. Whatever you're becoming, whatever you turn into, you're still Luna. And I'm still yours. Always."

He fastened the cord around her neck. The charm settled just below her collarbone.

"I don't know when I'll see you again," Luna whispered.

"Then I'll wait. However long it takes."

"You don't have to do that."

"Yes, I do. Because you're worth waiting for."

He kissed her. Soft and quick and desperate.

When he pulled back, tears were running down his face.

"Go. Before I do something stupid like try to follow you."

Luna picked up her bag. Her mother was crying. Her father had turned back to the window. Diego was watching from the stairs.

She walked to the door. Professor Thorne and Professor Ashwood waited on the porch.

"There's a car at the end of the street," Thorne said. "Not a car exactly. You'll see. Come on."

Luna followed them down the walkway. She didn't look back. If she looked back, she'd never leave.

The street was quiet. Empty except for a vehicle parked under a streetlight.

Except it wasn't a car.

It was a carriage.

An actual horse-drawn carriage with a black cab and two massive horses stamping their hooves against the pavement.

"You're kidding," Luna said.

"We don't kid about transportation," Ashwood replied. "Get in."

Luna climbed into the carriage. The interior was plush. Red velvet seats. Small lanterns hanging from the ceiling. It smelled like leather and something else. Something wild.

Thorne and Ashwood climbed in after her. Thorne rapped twice on the ceiling.

The carriage lurched forward.

Luna pressed her face to the window. Her house rolled past. Miguel stood on the lawn now. Watching. His hand raised in a wave.

She waved back.

Then he was gone. The street disappeared. The neighborhood vanished.

Trees rose on both sides. Thick and dark. The road narrowed to a dirt path.

"Where are we?" Luna asked.

"Between your world and ours," Thorne said. "The in-between. The path to Silverwood."

"How long does it take?"

"As long as it needs to. Could be hours. Could be minutes. Time works differently here."

Luna leaned back against the seat. The charm Miguel gave her pressed against her skin. Warm despite the cold.

She closed her eyes.

The carriage rattled over uneven ground. The horses' hooves created a steady rhythm. Clip-clop. Clip-clop. Clip-clop.

Something rustled in the trees.

Luna's eyes snapped open. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Ashwood asked.

"That sound. In the forest. Like something moving."

Thorne and Ashwood exchanged a glance.

"You heard that?" Thorne leaned forward. "Already? Your senses are developing faster than normal."

"Is that bad?"

"It's unusual. Most marked ones don't start sensing the forest until they're closer to Silverwood."

Another rustle. Closer this time. Something keeping pace with the carriage.

"What's out there?" Luna pressed her face to the window. The trees were too thick. Too dark. She couldn't see anything.

"Could be lots of things," Ashwood said casually. "Rogue wolves. Forest spirits. Creatures that don't have names. The in-between isn't empty."

"Are we safe?"

"Safe enough. The carriage has protections. Nothing can touch us while we're moving."

"What if we stop?"

"Then we'd have problems."

The rustling grew louder. Multiple sources now. Coming from both sides of the path.

Luna's wrist burned. The mark pulsed in warning.

"They're following us," she whispered.

"They always do," Thorne said. "The forest watches. Especially when fresh blood passes through."

"Fresh blood?"

"You. New marked ones draw attention. Everything in these woods can sense power. And you, Luna Eclipse, you're radiating it."

Another rustle. This one so close Luna could hear breathing. Heavy and deep and wrong.

She pulled back from the window.

"How much longer until we reach Silverwood?"

"Soon," Ashwood said. "Just keep your eyes forward. Don't look directly at anything in the trees. And whatever you do, don't open that window."

Luna hadn't been planning to.

But now that he'd said it, she couldn't stop thinking about it.

The breathing in the trees grew louder.

Closer.

Following.