Chapter 2: Blood Moon Rising

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 place awakened something deeper than panic, deeper than logic. A pull. A pulse.

“Aria!”

startled.

Tasha’s voice cut through the tension like a blade. Aria turned to see her friend jogging up the hill, Her breath visible in the cold air.

“What are you doing?” Tasha asked, glancing toward the woods. “You’ve been standing here for like ten minutes.”

“I... I needed air,” Aria lied, brushing her hair back with a trembling hand. “That’s all.”

Tasha’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve been off all week. Nightmares. Zoning out. You didn’t even hear Mrs. Collins call on you today.”

“I’m fine,” Aria said quickly, stepping back from the tree line.

“Are you sure?” Tasha tilted her head. “Because you keep looking at those woods like they’re calling you.”

Aria opened her mouth, then closed it again. What could she say? They are?

Instead, she nodded. “It’s nothing. I just haven’t been sleeping well.”

“Then promise me you won’t come here alone again,” Tasha said, more serious now. “Just... don’t.”

Aria hesitated.

“Okay,” she said quietly. “I promise.”

Later that night

She dreamt again.

This time, the air was thick with the scent of pine and blood. Her body twisted in motion, muscles coiling, paws pounding the dirt. Not feet. Paws.

She wasn’t running away. She was hunting.

The moon glowed red above her, casting her silver fur in ghostly light. Other wolves flanked her, howling in unison. Then an ambush. Snarls. Claws. Fangs. And above it all, a figure with red eyes watching her from a cliff.

“You will fall again,” he whispered.

She turned to fight but teeth sank into her neck.

She felt pain and darkness around her

it was suffocating.

Aria woke up screaming.

She clutched her sheets, heart slamming against her ribs. Her room felt too small. Too bright. She stumbled into the bathroom and gripped the sink.

Her reflection stared back at her.

Same tangled hair. Same pale skin. But her eyes

They were gold.

Glowing faintly.

She gasped, stumbling back, and the glow faded. Her hands were shaking. Her skin felt hot, pulsing from the inside out. She held her palm up and, horrified, watched her fingernails stretch and sharpen into points before snapping back to normal.

“What’s happening to me?” she whispered.

With her mind filled with thoughts and worries

she got ready for class

At school, everything got worse.

Sounds were louder. Lights were harsher. She could smell perfume from across the building, hear every pen click, every footstep. The cafeteria was unbearable. Too many voices. Too much movement. Her head throbbed.

When a dog barked outside the office, something inside her snapped.

She growled. Actually growled.

Students turned. Tasha stared at her like she’d just spoken in another language.

Aria bolted.

She didn’t stop until she reached the woods again. She didn’t know how she got there.

only that her body had taken over. Her skin burned. Her breath came fast. Her vision blurred.

Then came the howl.

Clear. Close.

Her knees gave out. Her hands hit the dirt. She screamed, but it came out wrong.

Her back arched, bones shifting. Claws erupted from her fingers. Her body changed.

She didn’t know what she was becoming.

but the forest knew

When it ended, she was trembling, human again, skin slick with sweat. She gasped, barely able to breathe.

Then she heard movement within the woods,

A figure stepped out behind the trees. Calm. Tall. Familiar.

Aria froze.

The boy from the hallway.

But it wasn’t just his face, it was his eyes. That same sharp, silver gaze.

The wolf.

“You’re not crazy,” he said softly, as if he’d been waiting for this.

She didn’t speak. Couldn’t.

Because now she understood.

Aria could barely speak. “Who are you?”

His grey eyes didn’t blink. “Someone who remembers who you were.”

She backed away. “You’re insane.”

“No,” he said. “But you’re waking up. And soon, you’ll remember too.”