Reborn Of The Moon

The forest whispered her name again. Aria stood at the tree line, one hand brushing the rough bark of an old pine. The woods behind Duskwind weren’t part of any hiking trail, and students were warned to avoid them “too wild,” “too dark,” “too dangerous,” they said. But tonight, they didn’t feel dangerous. They felt... familiar. The full moon hung unnaturally low in the sky, burning with a reddish hue that painted the clouds like blood-soaked silk. It should have unsettled her. Instead, she found herself breathing slower, calmer, like she belonged to this moment. She took a step forward. The earth felt warm beneath her boots. The breeze whispered across her skin like fingertips brushing a memory she couldn’t reach. She didn’t know why she was here. She just knew she needed to be. Then snap. A twig cracked behind her. She turned sharply. Nothing. Only the shadows shifting between trees. Her heart raced, but not out of fear. Out of instinct. Something about this p

Aria didn’t sleep that night. Not because she couldn’t, but because sleep would mean surrendering to the memories waiting behind her eyes. She lay in the dark, her sheets kicked aside, the ceiling above her painted with moonlight. The world outside was quiet, but inside her everything screamed. Her skin still tingled from the change. Her muscles ached like they’d been broken and rebuilt. And in the silence, she started to wonder... What if I was never normal to begin with? Her thoughts drifted back to when she was little. She had always been... different. When other kids played tag, she ran faster than everyone. Teachers said she had “sharp hearing,” because she always turned around just before someone called her name. Animals liked her too much. Dogs would follow her on the street. Cats purred when they saw her. And when she cried at night, she could feel the moonlight through the window, soothing her like a whisper. Once, when she was nine, she got lost in the woods

Aria avoided school for two days. Not because she was scared of being seen but because she didn’t know how to pretend anymore. Her senses were too sharp. Her skin too alive. Her mind kept drifting to that ring of ash in the forest... and the cracked pendant that now sat hidden beneath her mattress. But mostly, she couldn’t face Tasha. Not yet. How do you explain that you’ve been reborn as a mythical wolf and someone from another life is trying to kill you? Still, when her phone buzzed for the sixth time that morning with a message from Tasha “We need to talk. Now.” she knew hiding was no longer an option. She met her in their usual spot: a bench near the back of the library, where no one ever really paid attention to them. Tasha was already there, arms folded, legs crossed, eyes fixed like lasers. “You look like you haven’t slept in a year,” she said without blinking. “And you ran out of school like a crazy person. Then disappeared. Again. So unless you're in witne

(Part 1 ) The water lapped gently against her skin, steam curling upward like whispers. Aria lay motionless in the tub, her arms floating on the surface, her eyes fixed on the ceiling tiles above. The warmth helped ease the tension in her body—the aches from training, the sharp sting from the rogue’s claws. But her mind was a storm. She hadn’t been able to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she heard that voice again. “He remembers you.” And then the flash, his red eyes watching her bleed out in the snow. The man who killed her wasn’t a stranger. He had once stood at her side. Maybe even loved her. Her stomach twisted. She poured water over her shoulders, hoping it would wash away more than just dirt. But no amount of bathing could clean away the growing anger. Her wolf stirred beneath her skin, pacing like a caged animal. Aria pressed her hand against her chest and whispered, “Not now.” The instinct settled. Barely. She stayed in the water longer than she ne

The first thing Aria noticed was the scent of blood. It hit her the moment she opened the front door, a metallic tang on the breeze, sharp and invasive. The morning light filtered through the trees, painting shadows across the porch. But the air was too still. Too silent. She stepped outside slowly, barefoot, still wearing her what she wore from the night before. Something tugged at her gut, a warning from the wolf within. She followed the scent, moving toward the wooden fence behind the house. That’s when she saw it. A crow. No, not just a crow. Dead, hanging upside down from the top of the fence, wings outstretched unnaturally. Its eyes were missing, sockets scorched black. Beneath it, carved deep into the wood, was a single crescent moon split down the middle with a crimson streak of blood. Aria’s breath caught in her throat. It wasn’t just a threat. It was a message. Her fingers curled into fists. “He knows.” The red-eyed wolf. Whoever he was—whatever he had be