CHAPTER 5: THE MOON'S WHISPER

The weekend rolled into Cold Valley with soft spring winds and golden sunlight that filtered through the leaves like scattered dreams. Birds chirped along telephone wires, and every storefront carried the subtle hum of excitement. With graduation just a few days away, the whole town buzzed with the thrill of change.

Inside her room above the diner, Alison stretched across her bed with textbooks piled around her, half of them open, half forgotten. A soft breeze blew through the window, making the sheer curtains flutter like ghostly dancers.

“ Ahh! Only a few days to go ” She encouraged herself as she looked at the textbooks scattered around the room like a library

She glanced down at her silver crescent bracelet, twisting it slowly around her wrist. Ever since that night with the wolf, something inside her stirred. A tingle in her bones. A whisper in her blood.

A call she couldn’t name.

“ Althea.” the name rolled out smoothly as she asked herself why does the name feel familiar, even though she just heard it from the constant strange dreams.

“Ally! Your friends are here!” Mr. Fisher’s voice echoed from downstairs.

Mr Fisher stopped her from working at the diner so she can prepare for her final exams which were only a few days to come and not to mention the graduation preparation.

Alison blinked and sat up. “Coming!”

She slid into a hoodie, tucked a pencil behind her ear, and ran down the stairs to find Sara and Kira standing by the counter, already sipping on milkshakes.

“Took you long enough,” Kira said, nudging a strawberry shake in her direction.

“We brought reinforcements,” Sara grinned, waving a test-prep book. “Because the real exam isn’t next week, it’s surviving this math review.”

Alison groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

The girls spent the afternoon in their usual booth, working through flashcards, laughing at Sara’s dramatic rants, and planning for graduation. The camp trip, scheduled for the weekend after graduation was a major topic.

“ I printed the checklist for camping stuff,” Kira announced. “We’re going to need snacks, a lighter, pullovers, hoodies,… and maybe a werewolf repellent.”

Alison blinked. “Don’t joke about that.”

“Still thinking about your mystery wolf?” Sara asked, lowering her voice.

Alison hesitated. “Kind of. It just felt real.”

“Maybe it was,” Kira said. “Maybe you’re cursed. Or chosen. Or secretly a woodland princess with hidden powers.”

“Don’t tempt fate,” Alison said with a soft laugh.

“ A bug spray ” Alison added

“ Yeah, that's VIP ” Sara noted down

But inside… part of her wondered if Kira’s joke wasn’t far from the truth. But she brushed it off

« Final exams are making me think of impossible things, I hope I don't go crazy »

………

Meanwhile, in the neighboring town…

The first day of school in a new human town was boring, to say the least.

Damian stared at the board in the back of the classroom, eyes glazed with boredom. The human school was smaller than he expected, the ceilings lower, the colors dull. Kevin, seated beside him, was taking diligent notes while their biology teacher droned on about cell structures.

Damian passed Kevin a note: "How do you live like this?"

Kevin scrawled back: "By remembering we’re free."

Damian smirked and slouched lower in his chair.

During lunch, the two sat at the edge of the outdoor courtyard. Damian picked at his sandwich, ignoring the lingering glances from nearby girls.

"You look like a prince," Kevin teased.

"Because I am one."

"Not here you’re not. You’re just a broody transfer student who never smiles."

"Good."

Kevin shook his head. "You could at least pretend to enjoy this. You wanted this "

Damian looked up at the sky. "I enjoy the air. I enjoy not being followed."

Kevin quieted. "Well, enjoy it while it lasts. You don't know when your parents are going to catch you and bring you back to Arvendale"

Despite his complaints, Damian sensed something strange last night. A pulse. A whisper on the wind. Something that called to the wolf in him. Not loud, just a flicker. But it was enough to make him restless.

………

Back in Arvendale…

The royal palace was quieter than usual.

King Varkas stood by the throne, his fingers tapping against the stone armrest. “No word yet from the scouts?”

“Not yet, my king,” a guard responded.

Queen Selene walked in moments later, her eyes soft but strained. “Give them time. Damian is strong. He can take care of himself.”

Varkas scowled. “That’s not the point. He is the heir. His place is here. With us. With his future Luna.”

Selene gave him a warning look. “He ran because we pressured him. Because we didn’t listen.”

“Betha is the right choice,” the king insisted. “She’s strong, smart, and respected by the packs.”

“And she adores our son,” the Queen added gently, unaware of the truth.

Neither of them saw the obsession hiding behind Betha’s soft smiles.

Elsewhere in Betha's place of evilness

Betha paced in the chamber not known by anyone but her spies , she paced like a lioness in a cage.

Her hands clenched tightly around the map one of her spies had just marked. “You’re sure?” she asked.

“Yes, my lady,” the cloaked scout said. “The prince and his companion crossed through a veil hidden in the Eastwood Glade. They’re likely in one of the smaller towns beyond the human border.”

Betha’s lips curled into a dangerous smile. “Finally.”

The guard hesitated. “Will you inform the Queen and King?”

Betha’s eyes glinted. “No. Not yet. This is… personal.”

When the the spy left, she turned toward the window and whispered to herself.

“You thought you could run from me, my prince… but I will find you. And this time, I won’t let you go.

……..

Back in Cold Valley

As night fell, Alison climbed onto the diner roof with a blanket and her stargazing journal. She had started sketching the moon phases weeks ago, tracking them without even knowing why.

She looked up at the stars, heart beating softly.

Somewhere out there, the one meant for her was moving too.

That night, as he stood on the roof of the house Kevin rented, gazing at the moon, he felt it again.

A hum.

A pull.

Not strong. Not clear. But… present.

“Did you feel it too?” he asked when Kevin joined him.

Kevin shook his head. “Nothing. What kind of feeling?”

“Like the moon’s trying to say something.”

Kevin glanced sideways. “You think it’s her?”

Damian shrugged. “I don’t know. But if she’s out there, I want to find her.”

“ You are very determined to find her,how sure are you that she's here in the human world ” Kevin asked

“ I don't know, a guy feeling ” Damian replied