Chapter 4

The apartment was dimly lit, shadows pooling in the corners as the warm hum of the evening settled in.

Ivory stood near the door, brushing off invisible lint from her sleek black outfit. Her earrings shimmered faintly under the hallway light. She looked effortlessly radiant. I leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching her.

“Where are you going?” I asked, my voice low.

Ivory looked up, surprised. “Oh, hey. I’m heading to work.”

“You already went this morning,” I said, raising an eyebrow.

“Morning was the café shift,” she replied with a casual shrug. “This one’s the club.”

I blinked. “You work both?”

Ivory smiled. “Welcome to rent in a city.”

“You’ll be back late?” I asked.

“Probably around two or three.” She smoothed her jacket, then glanced up at me. “Why? Want me to bring you something?”

I shook my head. “No. Just I was wondering if there are any jobs around here. I can't sit in this apartment all day. It’s frustrating.”

She studied me for a second, then her expression softened.

“Tell you what, come by the club tonight. After my shift, we can hang out a bit. And maybe I’ll ask around. They’re usually short-staffed.”

I hesitated.

“No pressure,” she added quickly. “Just… if you feel like it. Might be fun.”

I gave a small nod, my gaze dropping to the floor. “Alright. I’ll think about it.”

Without another word, I turned and walked back toward my room. My footsteps were soft, but I knew the weight behind them. Behind me, I could feel her watching.

Ivory folded her arms and sighed.

"Why is she always so cold?" she wondered.

"Not harsh. Not rude. Just... closed off."

She grabbed her bag. “Anyway, if I don’t leave now, I’m getting fired, not her.”

With that, she slipped out the door and disappeared into the night.

I stood by the window, resting my arms on the sill as I looked out over the dark horizon. The night had settled like a velvet cloak, deep, endless, still. In the distance, the forest loomed, wrapped in shadow. It didn’t feel threatening. Not exactly. It felt alive, waiting.

A soft breeze drifted in through the barely cracked window, carrying the scent of pine and earth. I closed my eyes for a moment, letting the air brush against my skin.

And then, quietly, I whispered to no one,

“Staying locked in this room is driving me insane.”

***

The night was quiet, draped in shadows, yet oddly peaceful.

I wandered deeper into the forest, my boots sinking softly into the damp earth. The wind slipped through the tall trees like a whisper, carrying the scent of moss and distant memories. I paused beneath the open sky. The canopy broke above me, revealing the moon — not quite full, but still luminous and commanding, hanging like a sentinel above the treetops.

I looked up at her. At the Moon. My creator. My curse.

“It’s been so long,” I whispered.

"So many years locked behind walls, locked away from the sky, from this." I had almost forgotten what it felt like — the wind on my face, the breath of the trees, the light brushing my skin like a memory.

The moonlight wasn’t full, not yet. But it didn’t need to be. This glow... it was bold, beautiful and unapologetically bright. And for the first time in years, so was I. I felt it, the pulse of the earth. The world was alive tonight. And maybe, just maybe, I was too.

I stood there for a long time. Letting myself remember what it felt like to be something more than a cage of skin and silence. Then the thought slipped out before I could stop it.

“Why me?”

“Why can’t I feel her?”

The words left my lips like a confession.

“What did I do so wrong that even my own soul won’t answer me?”

I looked up again, not just at the moon this time, but at the Goddess who was supposed to be watching.

“You gave everyone else their wolves,” I said, voice tight. “Their strength, their identity.”

“But me?”

I touched my chest, fingers curled like I could claw the truth from my own ribcage.
“You made me a bloodsucker.”

"A monster. A curse."
"You could’ve made me anything else. A fighter, a healer, even powerless."
"But instead, you made me... this."
"Something no one understands. Something they all fear."

I closed my eyes, reaching inward like I had done so many times before — hoping, begging to feel something stir within me. Some voice, some echo, some shred of the wolf I was supposed to be. But there was nothing. No whisper, no growl, no presence. Just silence, like always.

I sighed. Swallowed the ache. And then, something shifted. The air changed. Subtle, soft. Almost fragile. I stilled, caught in it.

A scent.

It wasn’t wild or sharp. It was warm, gentle, familiar in a way that didn’t make sense. I had never smelled it before, and yet…

My chest tightened. It smelled like home.

It wrapped around me like a memory I hadn’t lived. One I didn’t even know I missed. And deep inside me, something stirred.

“What was that?” I murmured, heart hammering. “Did something just… growl inside me?”

I turned slightly, searching the air again.

"What is this smell?"

"Why does it feel like something I’ve been waiting for my whole life?"

"And why, after all this time, does it feel like the answer is finally walking toward me?"

I didn’t think. I just moved, chasing the scent like it was part of me, like it called to something buried beneath my skin.The wind rushed past me as I darted through the trees, faster than anything human. Faster than fear. My boots barely touched the ground as I cut through the forest, a blur of breath and instinct.

Then suddenly I stopped. Crouched low behind a dense patch of bushes, I let the leaves swallow me whole, shielding me from sight. And that’s when I saw it.

A massive black wolf exploded into the clearing ahead, its paws hammering the earth like thunder.

Its body rippled with muscle, power written into every step. But it wasn’t the strength that struck me. It was the eyes. Glowing blue. Desperately searching.

It halted abruptly in the moonlight, lifted its head to the sky —

And howled.

The sound wasn’t just wild. It was raw, wounded, haunted. Then, silence. Just the silver wash of moonlight, and that creature — still, almost reverent. Its glowing eyes shimmered like liquid, too human in their emotion, a haunting blend of pain, longing, and need.

He looked like he was searching. For something or for someone. Then came another howl. And something in my chest clenched. A strange, tight ache I couldn’t name. For a moment, it felt like that cry was meant for me.

I narrowed my eyes, still hidden behind the leaves. My breath caught, my thoughts scattering.

“Why does it feel like I know you?”

“What the hell is this feeling?”

I hated it. I hated how the scent had wrapped around me like a chain and dragged me here. I hated the tug in my chest, the part of me that wanted to answer.

“Stop it,” I snarled inside my head.
“Don’t make me feel sorry for you.”

“I don’t do that anymore.”

And yet…

That damned scent. It clung to me like a memory I never made. It felt like it belonged to me. I clenched my fists, scowling.

“Get a grip,” I snapped.
“You’re not some love-starved pup.”

I took one last look at the wolf, still there, glowing, waiting —

Then I turned and walked away.

Into the trees. Into the dark. Leaving the moment behind like it never touched me. Like I didn’t care. Even if something inside me whispered...

That I already did.