The Cursed Moon

Serena Vale couldn't sleep. Tonight was her twenty-first birthday, and more importantly, the night of her first shift. She paced back and forth in her bedroom, counting down the minutes until midnight.

"Calm down," she whispered to herself, running her fingers through her long dark hair. "Every Vale has been a perfect shifter for generations."

Her heart raced as she glanced out the window at the full moon rising over Silver Ridge territory. The moon seemed different tonight—tinged with red at the edges. A crimson moon. She shivered despite the warm summer air.

A knock at her door made her jump.

"Serena? Are you ready?" Her father's deep voice came through the door. Alpha Caius Vale, leader of the Silver Ridge Clan, sounded unusually nervous.

"Yes, Father. I'm coming." Serena smoothed down the white ceremonial dress that all wolves wore for their first shift. The soft fabric fell to her knees, simple yet elegant.

She opened the door to find her father waiting, his gray eyes—the same shade as hers—filled with pride.

"Tonight, you become who you were always meant to be," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "The future Luna of our pack."

Serena nodded, her stomach fluttering with both excitement and fear. Being chosen as the mate of Elias Storm, the young Alpha who would one day replace her father, was the greatest honor. She had known Elias since childhood, and the thought of standing beside him made her heart skip.

"Is Elias here?" she asked, following her father down the hallway.

"Of course. Everyone is waiting in the Sacred Circle."

The Sacred Circle was a clearing in the heart of the forest, surrounded by ancient oak trees that seemed to touch the stars. As Serena and her father approached, she saw hundreds of wolves gathered in concentric rings around a stone altar in the center. Torches burned brightly, casting dancing shadows across eager faces.

And there, standing at the altar, was Elias Storm. Tall and powerful, with golden hair that caught the firelight. When he saw Serena, his blue eyes lit up, and he smiled—a smile that normally made her feel warm inside. Tonight, however, something felt off. The smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

Whispers rippled through the crowd as Serena walked to the center of the circle. She held her head high, trying to appear confident despite the strange tension in the air.

"Tonight, we witness the first shift of Serena Vale," her father announced, his voice carrying across the hushed crowd. "Future Luna of the Silver Ridge Clan and mate to our next Alpha, Elias Storm."

Elias stepped forward and took Serena's hand in his. His touch was colder than she remembered.

"I have waited for this night," he said, but his voice sounded strained. "We all have."

The pack members began to chant, their voices rising and falling like waves. Serena closed her eyes, feeling the energy building inside her. This was the moment she had dreamed of her entire life.

"It's time," her father whispered.

Serena stepped onto the stone altar, her bare feet cold against the ancient rock. The crimson moon now hung directly overhead, bathing the clearing in eerie red light.

"Embrace your wolf," Elias called to her. "Let her free."

Serena took a deep breath and reached deep inside herself, searching for the wolf she knew was there. She had felt her presence for years—a shadow beneath her skin, waiting to be released.

At first, nothing happened. Then pain shot through her body like lightning. She gasped, doubling over as her bones began to crack and reshape. This wasn't right. First shifts were supposed to be painful, yes, but this—this was agony.

"Father?" she cried out, her voice distorting as her jaw began to elongate.

The crowd's chanting faltered. Someone gasped. Then another.

"What's happening to her?" a voice called out.

Through tears of pain, Serena saw her hands transform not into the silver-white paws of her family line, but into massive black claws, her skin darkening to midnight fur that seemed to swallow the torchlight.

"No," her father whispered, horror etching his face. "It can't be."

The transformation accelerated, bones snapping and muscles tearing as Serena's human form gave way to the wolf within. But as the change completed, an unnatural silence fell over the Sacred Circle.

Where a silver wolf should have stood, a massive black wolf crouched on the altar. Serena's fur was darker than midnight, seeming to absorb the light around her. And her eyes—her eyes glowed a vivid, unnatural purple.

"Onyx wolf," someone whispered, and the words spread like wildfire through the crowd.

"The curse has returned!"

"She's a monster!"

"Run! Protect the pups!"

Serena whimpered, confused by the reaction. She looked to Elias, expecting him to defend her, to calm the pack. Instead, she saw naked fear in his eyes as he backed away from the altar.

"Elias?" she tried to say, but it came out as a low growl.

"Stay back," he said, his voice shaking. "You're not what we thought. You're not who I thought."

Pain lanced through Serena's heart, worse than the physical agony of her transformation. She turned to her father, hoping for support, for an explanation.

But Caius Vale's face had hardened into a mask of disgust and betrayal. "How could this happen?" he hissed. "An Onyx wolf in my bloodline?"

"The prophecy," an elder whispered nearby. "Born under the crimson moon..."

Serena tried to step toward her father, confused and frightened, but as she moved, a surge of strange power rushed through her body. The torches around the clearing suddenly flared higher, then went out completely, plunging the Sacred Circle into darkness lit only by the red moon and her glowing purple eyes.

Screams erupted as wolves scrambled to get away from her. Even in the darkness, Serena could see clearly—see the fear and hatred on faces that had smiled at her just minutes before.

"Seize her!" someone shouted. "Before she brings destruction upon us all!"

"No, kill her now!" another voice called.

Serena backed away, her new wolf instincts screaming at her to run. This couldn't be happening. This was supposed to be her night of triumph, not of terror.

Elias stepped forward, his face grim in the moonlight. "Serena Vale," he announced, his voice now cold and formal, "by the power vested in me as future Alpha of the Silver Ridge Clan, I reject you as Luna and cast you out from our pack."

The words struck her like physical blows. Rejected. Cast out. By the man who was supposed to be her mate, her future.

"You have until dawn to leave our territory," Elias continued. "After that, you will be hunted as the abomination you are."

Serena's new wolf body trembled with shock and grief. But beneath those emotions, something else stirred—something dark and powerful that whispered of vengeance.

A growl built in her throat, and she saw Elias flinch. Good. Let him be afraid.

Before anyone could move to capture her, Serena leapt from the altar and crashed through the circle of terrified wolves. Her powerful legs carried her into the forest, away from everything she had ever known and loved.

Behind her, she heard her father's voice, cracked with emotion: "Find her! The Onyx wolf must not escape!"

As Serena ran deeper into the unfamiliar forest, her heart pounded with one terrible truth: she was cursed, hunted, and completely alone. But something told her this was just the beginning of a much darker story—one written in the crimson light of the moon that had sealed her fate.