Bound in Moonlight and Blood

The laughter followed me before I even reached the academy gates, drifting across the courtyard with the morning wind and settling around me like something I could never quite escape. I kept my eyes on the stone path beneath my shoes as I walked through the crowd, my books pressed tightly against my chest while students moved around me in groups. Some were heading toward their classrooms, others stood beneath the tall oak trees talking about the upcoming Moon Awakening ceremony, but every few seconds I caught another whisper that made it clear I was the more interesting subject. “Is that her?” “The girl without a wolf?” “I heard she’s been here for three years.” “And she still hasn’t awakened?” I had heard every version of the story. At Lunara Crest Academy, everyone knew who Lyra Vance was. They knew I was the girl whose wolf had never answered her. They knew I was different. What they didn't know was that I had spent three years pretending their words didn't hurt. I had almost reached the eastern building when someone stepped in front of me, forcing me to stop before I walked straight into her. Serena Vale stood there with her arms folded, two of her friends lingering behind her with amused expressions that told me they had been waiting for this. “Well, look who finally decided to come out of hiding.” I tightened my grip around my books and tried to move past her, but Serena shifted with me, blocking my path again. “Did you suddenly forget how to hear?” she asked, her smile widening when I refused to answer. I hadn't forgotten. I simply knew better than to give her what she wanted. Serena had spent years trying to make me angry, embarrassed, or afraid, and every time I reacted, she treated it like a victory. Staying quiet was the only thing I had ever found that made her lose interest. Unfortunately, today she seemed determined. “You know what tomorrow is, right?” Her eyes dropped briefly to the books in my arms before returning to my face. “The Moon Awakening.” The words were enough to make my stomach tighten. Tomorrow, the entire academy would gather beneath the Moonstone while the graduating students awakened the full strength of their wolves. It was supposed to be one of the most important days of their lives, a moment when their abilities, bloodlines, and future positions within their packs would become clearer. For everyone except me. I wasn't supposed to have a place there. Three years ago, when I arrived at Lunara Crest, the academy had accepted me despite the fact that my wolf had never awakened. No one had ever explained why, and I had stopped asking after realizing that every question only brought more attention to me. Serena stepped closer. “I wonder what everyone will say when you stand before the Moonstone tomorrow and absolutely nothing happens.” Her friends laughed softly. I looked at her, trying to keep my expression calm even though her words had found the same old wound. She noticed. Of course she did. “Still pretending you don't care?” I shook my head. “No?” She tilted her head. “Then tell me, Lyra. What exactly are you going to do when everyone finally sees that you're not a real wolf?” Something inside me tightened. I had heard that sentence before, but never from her with so much certainty. Not a real wolf. Not one of them. Not enough. My fingers pressed harder into the cover of my book until the edge dug into my palm. Serena reached out and pulled it from my arms. I reacted before I could stop myself. “Give it back.” The words slipped out quietly. Serena froze. Her friends stopped laughing. Even I stared at her for a second. I rarely spoke. Not because I couldn't, but because after years of being mocked for the way my voice sounded, I had learned that silence was safer. Serena slowly looked at the book in her hand, then back at me. “Well,” she said, almost thoughtfully. “You can speak after all.” She tossed the book toward the ground. It landed open on the stone, the pages bending beneath it. I stared at it. Something about seeing my book lying there, its pages exposed to the dirt and passing feet, made the fear I'd carried for years suddenly feel smaller than the anger rising inside me. I bent down and picked it up. Serena laughed. “What are you going to do?” I brushed the dust from the cover and looked at her. “I told you to give it back.” Her smile faded slightly. “I already did.” “No,” I said, my voice steadier this time. “You threw it.” A few students nearby had stopped to watch. Serena glanced around and seemed to realize she was no longer controlling the situation as easily as she usually did. She stepped toward me. “You think you're brave now?” I didn't answer. She pushed my shoulder. The movement wasn't hard enough to knock me down, but it was enough to send my books slipping from my arms again. They scattered across the ground. The laughter returned. Something inside me finally snapped. For years, I had let them take my books, mock my silence, whisper about my wolf, and treat me as though being different gave them the right to decide what I was worth. I had told myself that ignoring them made me stronger. Maybe it had. Or maybe I had simply become very good at being afraid. I slowly straightened and looked at Serena. “Do that again.” The laughter died. Serena stared at me as though she wasn't sure she'd heard correctly. “What?” I stepped closer. “Push me again.” Her eyes narrowed. “You've lost your mind.” “Maybe.” My heart was pounding so hard that I could feel it in my throat, but for once, I didn't care who was watching. “I've spent three years letting you decide how you treat me,” I said, keeping my voice low enough that only those closest to us could hear. “I'm not doing it anymore.” Serena's face hardened. “You're still the same weak girl without a wolf.” The words should have hurt. Instead, they made something strange stir beneath my skin. A sudden warmth spread from my chest to my fingertips, so faint at first that I thought it was nothing. Then it grew stronger, sending a strange pulse through my body that made me instinctively look down at my hands. Serena noticed the change in my expression. “What is it?” I didn't know. The warmth disappeared as quickly as it had come, leaving behind a strange emptiness that made me question whether I had imagined it. Then a low growl rolled across the courtyard. Everyone went silent. It hadn't come from the students. It hadn't come from any of the wolves nearby. It had come from somewhere inside me. My breath caught. For three years, there had been nothing. No voice. No presence. No wolf waiting behind my thoughts. Only silence. But now, for the first time, something had answered. I looked toward the academy entrance just as the doors opened. The crowd parted almost immediately. Kael Draven stepped into the courtyard. The heir to the Draven Pack walked through the students without saying a word, his expression unreadable as conversations died around him. He wasn't supposed to be interested in someone like me, and yet the moment his eyes found mine, he stopped. His gaze shifted briefly toward Serena before returning to me. Then his expression changed. Not dramatically. Just enough for me to notice. He looked confused. Almost alarmed. As though he had heard something that nobody else had. The strange warmth returned to my chest. This time, the voice followed. It was barely more than a whisper, but I heard it clearly. Lyra. My entire body went still. Kael's eyes widened. And before I could understand what was happening, the voice whispered again. Don't trust anyone.