Chapter six (The pull between us)
1151 Words
The early morning air is sharp and cold, but Luna doesn't flinch as she jogs across the training grounds with the rest of the Blood Claw warriors. Her breath comes in steady puffs, and sweat beads on her forehead, but she keeps going, pushing herself harder than everyone else. Not to prove a point—just to survive.
“You’re slow again,” a voice snaps beside her. It's Beta Mira, always watching. Her eyes are sharp, her tone colder than the air. “Pick up your pace, rogue.”
Luna clenches her jaw but says nothing. She’s used to the nickname by now—rogue. A title spoken with disgust by most of the pack. Except by him.
Alpha Zayn.
He stands at the far end of the field, arms crossed, watching silently like he always does. He never corrects Mira. He never praises Luna either. But his eyes always find her.
Every time.
Luna’s feet hit the ground faster now, and something inside her shifts again. That strange pressure in her chest—like energy pushing to the surface. She's felt it before during training. A soft hum in her veins. It feels ancient, wild... dangerous.
“Shift into your wolf,” Mira commands once the jog ends.
Everyone around her obeys instantly, fur and bones ripping through skin. The snapping and growling fills the air as warriors stretch their limbs in wolf form. Luna hesitates.
She still can’t shift.
Not fully.
Her wolf is there. Inside. Growling. Scratching at the surface. But no matter how hard she tries, she can't bring her out. Only fragments appear—claws, heightened senses, glowing eyes. But never the full shift.
Zayn notices. He always does.
Mira sighs, frustrated. “You’re holding back.”
“I’m not,” Luna replies, voice flat. “She won’t come.”
“Then push harder,” Mira snaps.
Zayn steps forward finally, his boots silent against the grass. The moment his presence gets close, Luna’s skin tingles. She doesn’t turn, but she feels him—his power, his scent. Pine, storm, and something darker.
“Enough, Mira,” Zayn says. “I’ll take over.”
Mira stiffens, clearly annoyed, but she bows and walks off.
Luna finally turns to face him. His golden eyes are locked on hers, unreadable.
“You need to stop fighting her,” he says.
“I’m not,” she whispers.
“You are. You fear something about your wolf.”
Luna looks away. “I don’t even know what she is…”
Zayn steps closer. “Maybe she’s more than just a wolf.”
Luna blinks up at him, heart pounding. “What do you mean?”
He doesn't answer. Instead, his hand lifts slightly, like he’s about to reach for her, but he stops himself. His fingers curl into a fist and drop to his side.
“Meet me at the cliff tonight,” he says quietly. “Alone.”
Before she can speak, he walks away.
The cliff is colder than usual, the wind biting hard. Luna hugs her cloak tighter around her as she waits under the silver moonlight. The moon is full, bright and round, and for some reason, her skin burns beneath it. Her crescent-shaped birthmark glows faintly on her shoulder under the fabric. She's never told anyone that it does that.
She hears his footsteps before she sees him. Slow, sure, commanding.
Zayn steps out of the trees. His eyes instantly land on her shoulder, as if he can see through the fabric. Her heart races.
“You came,” he says.
“You asked,” she replies.
Silence.
He walks past her and stops at the edge of the cliff, looking out into the night. “This was where I shifted for the first time,” he says quietly. “I was sixteen. My father brought me here. Threw me off.”
Luna’s eyes widen. “He what?”
Zayn chuckles bitterly. “He said fear was the fastest way to trigger a shift. And he was right.”
She steps closer, standing beside him. “Did you hate him for it?”
“I did. Then I hated myself for becoming like him.”
Luna watches him, the cold wind playing with his hair. “You’re not like him.”
He turns to her, eyes glowing in the moonlight. “You don’t know what I’m like.”
“I know what I feel,” she says, surprising even herself.
Something shifts between them. Heat in the air. Tension. Desire.
“Then what do you feel when I’m near you?” Zayn asks, stepping closer.
Luna’s breath catches. “Like I can’t breathe… but I also don’t want to step away.”
Zayn’s hand rises again, but this time he doesn’t stop. His fingers brush her cheek, then trail down to her shoulder. He gently pulls her cloak down, exposing the crescent birthmark glowing softly under the moonlight.
His eyes widen. “It’s real…”
“You’ve seen this before?” she asks, confused.
“My father mentioned a mark… before he died.” Zayn’s voice is low, strained. “Said it belonged to the lost heir of the Moon Stone bloodline. The royal line.”
Luna steps back. “No… that can’t be me.”
Zayn watches her carefully. “You smell different. Your energy is unnatural. You don’t shift like a normal wolf. Luna… who are you?”
She has lost track of the number of times he he had asked her this question, and yet her answer is still the same.
“I don’t know,” she whispers. “I swear I don’t. The woman who raised me never told me anything. I thought I was just a rogue.”
Zayn stares at her for a long moment, then takes her hand. “There’s more to you than you know. And I think… I was meant to find you.”
Luna’s eyes meet his. For a second, the world is silent. Just the wind, the moon, and two souls on the edge of something powerful. There is a sense of purpose for their paths crossing. She feels like she was guided to him by the Moon Goddess, while he also feels like she is his responsibility, not in a liability way.
Then suddenly—snap.
A branch breaks in the forest behind them.
Zayn turns instantly, eyes darkening. “We’re being watched.”
Luna stiffens. Her senses flare—something’s wrong. Her wolf growls inside her, more alive than ever.
“Go,” Zayn orders. “Back to the pack house. Now.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll deal with it.”
Luna hesitates, torn, but runs. Her feet pound the ground, heart racing. Behind her, she hears growls—loud, inhuman, not from the Blood Claw Pack.
Enemies.
Whoever they are… they were watching her.
Not Zayn.
Her.
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