THE UNIQUE LUNA

CHAPTER 8: CHANGES

I thought I had finally escaped. With my modest savings from part-time jobs and the money Jimmy had given me, I could live for years without worry. I had even rented a small apartment near my campus, far from neighbors, far from prying eyes, far from the chaos that had once consumed my life. For the first time in two years, I allowed myself to imagine peace—a life where I could be just Freya, an ordinary human, free from monsters, experiments, and blood.

But fate, it seemed, had other plans.

I woke up to a strange sensation that immediately set my heart racing. My right hand felt… wrong. It itched, a deep, unsettling prickling sensation crawling up my arm. I looked down and froze.

White fur coated my skin, soft but undeniable. Sharp claws extended from my fingers, glinting in the morning light that streamed through my apartment window. My ears were ringing from some invisible noise, like a constant, high-pitched alarm vibrating in my skull. Every sound around me—the hum of the refrigerator, the distant chatter of students in the street below, the wind brushing against my window—was amplified a hundredfold. My vision sharpened to a painful clarity; every tiny detail, every imperfection, every speck of dust in my apartment screamed at me.

“No, no, no! This can’t be real! I can’t be like this!” I screamed, pressing my hands to my ears as if I could shut out the world.

I stumbled to the mirror. My reflection froze me in terror. Golden eyes stared back at me—eyes that were not mine, alive with an animal’s predatory alertness. My pupils were narrow, sharp, impossibly aware. My breathing quickened, shallow and frantic.

“s**t! This can’t be happening!” I yelled, punching the wall in a blind panic. Concrete cracked under my fist, chunks falling to the floor. My strength—raw, unnatural—surged through me like electricity. I could feel it pulsing in my muscles, in my bones, in every fiber of my being.

Panic clawed at my chest. I stumbled out the door and into the woods behind my apartment, the fresh smell of trees doing nothing to calm me. My legs moved faster than I had ever moved before, carrying me over roots, streams, and fallen logs. I leapt over trees as though gravity no longer applied. My body sliced through the air with terrifying speed. I was a human no longer. I was something else. Something inhuman.

And then I remembered Alexei.

He had done this.

I sank to my knees, hands clawing at the earth. The memories hit me like a tidal wave—Donna and Drake screaming, the laboratory smelling of iron and chemicals, Alexei laughing as he injected, dissected, and experimented on me. If he came back… I would be his again.

If I asked anyone for help… who could I trust? The werewolves? They had their own codes, their own justice. Alex had helped me, yes, but even she had been tied to a system that viewed me as a tool, an experiment. I had no one.

I was alone.

Then, I heard it.

‘Donna?’

I froze.

‘Donna… is that you? Are we… alive?’

“No. Donna is dead. She died in the laboratory!” I whispered, clutching my head as if it might explode.

‘Freya…?’

“Yes… Who are you? Why are you in my head?”

‘I… I’m Diane. Donna’s wolf. Her other self. Somehow… I’m attached to you.’

I staggered back, my mind reeling. “How is that possible? Donna is dead… and now you’re inside me?”

‘I don’t know. I thought I died with her. But then I awakened… inside your body. I became part of you.’

I shook my head violently. “This is insane! I’m not human anymore! I can’t be like this!”

‘Calm down, Freya! Control yourself, or you’ll hurt yourself!’ Diane’s voice was calm, soft, commanding.

I looked at my hands again. My claws gleamed dangerously. Panic surged, and in a blind reflex, I slashed at my arm. Blood flowed—deep, dark, warm.

And then it vanished.

Impossible.

I cut myself again, harder this time, trying to prove that this was real. The wound disappeared just as before, leaving my skin unbroken, unmarked. My eyes widened in terror.

‘Freya…’ Diane’s voice was filled with compassion.

“No! No! No! I just want to be normal! I want a life without monsters, without werewolves, without Alexei! I’m done! Please… Diane… help me!” I begged, my voice breaking.

‘I… I don’t know how this happened. I can’t leave you. My soul is already part of you. But I will respect your wishes. I’ll stay silent, watch over you… and protect you when you need me. That is my promise.’

Slowly, miraculously, my hands returned to normal. My eyes shifted back to their natural color. My claws retracted. My heightened senses quieted.

For the first time in days, I felt fragile relief. But it was fleeting, like mist slipping through my fingers. Deep down, I knew this was only temporary.

I was no longer just Freya.

I was Freya… and something else.

Something dangerous.

Something powerful.

I sank to the floor, wrapping my arms around myself, trembling, trying to comprehend the reality that had been thrust upon me. My life would never be ordinary again. My body was no longer entirely mine. My mind had a new occupant. My heart carried the weight of survival, of experiments, of loss.

And now, I had to learn to live with it.

I stood slowly, testing my strength. My hands were human again, but the potential for something far greater pulsed beneath the surface. Diane’s presence in my mind was comforting but also a stark reminder that I was no longer alone in my own body.

If Alexei ever came back—and I knew he would—he would find me different. Stronger. Faster. Dangerous.

But could I survive what was coming? Could I protect myself when I barely understood what I had become?

I didn’t know.

All I knew was that for the first time in years, I was awake, alive, and somehow… more than human.

And for better or worse, my life had changed forever.