Chapter 4 – The Calling
643 Words
Rina waited until morning before confronting Luka. She hadn’t slept at all, not after seeing the silver mark on his wrist… the same one burning softly on hers.
At sunrise, she walked to the old barn.
Luka was already there, leaning against the wooden wall, hands in his pockets, watching her as if he’d known she would come.
“Last night…” Rina’s voice trembled slightly, “why did you show me your wrist?”
He exhaled, slow and steady.
“Because you needed to know you’re not alone.”
Rina lifted her sleeve. The silver crescent glowed faintly, even in the morning light.
“What is this?” she whispered.
Luka stared at the mark with the familiarity of someone who had lived with it far too long.
“It means the moon has chosen us.”
“Chosen for what?”
“To change.”
Rina stepped back. “No. I’m not a monster.”
“I never said you were.” Luka’s eyes softened, but there was something ancient in his expression. Something resigned.
“You think I want this? You think I asked for it?”
The silence between them grew heavy.
Then he said the word that chilled her completely.
“Inheritance.”
Later that day, Rina ran to the only person who knew more about the old stories than anyone—Grandmother Elsie. The old woman lived alone in a small cottage near the river, surrounded by herbs and whispers.
Rina knocked.
“It’s open,” Elsie’s voice called from inside.
The cottage smelled of dried leaves and smoke. Strange symbols decorated the wooden walls, and old books filled the table—books with drawings of wolves.
Elsie’s silver eyes watched Rina closely.
“You’ve seen it, haven’t you? The mark.”
Rina slowly raised her sleeve.
The old woman closed her eyes. “So it has begun.”
“What has begun?” Rina asked, her voice small.
“The calling,” Elsie whispered. “The moon is waking up the bloodlines.”
“What bloodlines?”
The old woman opened a heavy book. Its pages were yellowed, the ink fading with age. On one page, three wolves howled toward a single moon.
“Long ago,” Elsie said, “there were three ancient clans. Each clan carried the crescent mark. They swore to guard the mountain… until one clan betrayed the others. Their Alpha hungered for power, and so the curse was born.”
“Alpha?” Rina echoed.
“The first wolf,” Elsie murmured. “The most powerful. The one who still lives… somewhere on this mountain.”
Rina’s stomach tightened.
“Why am I marked?”
Elsie looked at her with quiet sorrow.
“Because your blood is not fully human. Someone in your family once belonged to a clan.”
Rina’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“My father…”
Elsie didn’t answer. She simply looked away.
That evening, the hunters arrived.
Three black trucks rolled into the village, engines rumbling like distant thunder. Men stepped out, dressed in dark coats and carrying weapons—silver-edged, cold, lethal.
Doors slammed shut. Children were pulled inside. Curtains trembled.
Rina hid behind a tree, breath held tight in her chest.
One of the hunters lifted his head and sniffed the air—like a wolf searching for its prey. His eyes were empty. Merciless.
Aiden had warned her.
They weren’t just hunting him.
They were hunting anyone marked by the moon.
Rina pressed a trembling hand over her wrist. The mark burned hotter than ever, pulsing under her skin like a heartbeat that didn’t belong to her.
Her breathing quickened.
Because deep inside, a single truth rose like a scream—
They weren’t just here.
They were getting closer.
And then, between the trees, a shadow moved…
facing directly toward her hiding place.
- Writer
