Lunar Claimed

Chapter 5

I stormed into the cabin and slammed the door behind me so hard the walls rattled.

“Grandpa!” My voice echoed through the wooden house. “We need to talk. Now.”

Elias was sitting at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of black coffee. The shotgun from last night rested against the wall like a silent threat. He didn’t even flinch at my tone.

“Sit down, Nova.”

“I don’t want to sit,” I snapped, standing across from him. “The twins cornered me again tonight. Darius said something about the full moon and that I don’t know what I am. What the hell is going on?”

Elias stared into his coffee for a long moment. When he finally looked up, his eyes were heavy with exhaustion and something that looked dangerously like guilt.

“You need to stay inside after dark,” he said quietly. “Lock your windows. Don’t go near the woods.”

“That’s not an answer!” I slammed my hands on the table. “They’re acting like I belong to them. Like I’m some kind of… prize. Tell me the truth.”

He stood slowly, his old joints creaking. “The truth will only make things worse right now. Just trust me and stay inside. Please.”

I laughed bitterly. “Trust you? You’re the one who brought me here knowing exactly what would happen.”

Elias didn’t deny it. He simply turned and walked toward his bedroom, leaving me standing there with my anger and fear boiling over.

I barely slept that night.

The next morning, I felt… wrong.

My skin was too hot. Every sound in the house — the creak of the floorboards, the wind outside, even my own heartbeat — seemed amplified. I pressed a cool cloth to my forehead, but it didn’t help. A strange restlessness crawled under my skin, like something inside me was trying to wake up.

By the time I reached school, the symptoms had worsened.

The chatter in the hallways was deafening. I could smell everyone’s perfume, sweat, and shampoo all at once. My vision felt sharper, almost painfully clear. And the heat… God, the heat in my body refused to fade.

I kept my head down and walked faster.

It didn’t matter.

The twins found me within minutes.

Damien appeared on my left, Darius on my right, falling into step beside me like silent bodyguards. Students immediately moved out of our way, eyes wide with fear and curiosity.

“You look flushed, little moon,” Darius murmured, leaning close enough that his breath brushed my ear. “Feeling warm today?”

I ignored him and kept walking, but my traitorous body reacted anyway. The heat inside me flared hotter at the sound of his voice.

Damien didn’t speak. He simply walked so close that his arm brushed mine with every step. Possessive. Territorial. Like he was marking me in front of the entire school.

By third period, the isolation was complete.

No one sat near me anymore. No one even looked at me directly. The twins had successfully turned me into a ghost — visible but untouchable.

During lunch, I tried to hide in the library.

Bad idea.

I had barely found a quiet corner when Darius appeared like a shadow. He didn’t say anything at first. He simply backed me up against the bookshelves, one hand planted beside my head.

“You’re changing,” he said, voice low and rough. His silver eyes were darker than usual. “We can smell it on you.”

My breath hitched. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He leaned in until our foreheads nearly touched. “Your scent is getting stronger. Sweeter. It’s driving us insane.”

My heart hammered wildly. The heat in my body surged again, pooling low in my stomach. I hated how much I wanted him to close the distance.

“Darius…” I whispered, my voice shaky.

He groaned softly, like he was in pain. “I’m trying so hard not to touch you right now. My wolf wants to pin you down and—”

His lips were inches from mine.

For one dangerous second, I thought he was going to kiss me.

Instead, he pulled back with visible effort, jaw clenched tight. “Not yet. Not until you understand what this means.”

I stood there trembling as he walked away, leaving me breathless and confused.

The final blow came during the last period.

Sienna cornered me near the lockers, flanked by two of her friends. Her smile was pure venom.

“You think you’re special because the twins are obsessed with you?” she hissed. “They always destroy what they want. Always. When they’re done playing with you, they’ll toss you aside like trash. Just like they do with every girl.”

Her words hit harder than I expected.

I wanted to argue. I wanted to tell her she was wrong.

But deep down, a small, terrified part of me wondered if she was right.

I drove home in silence, mind spinning.

The cabin was quiet when I arrived. Elias wasn’t on the porch. I let out a tired breath and headed straight to my room, desperate for a shower and sleep.

The moment I opened my bedroom door, I froze.

My window was wide open.

Cool night air poured in, carrying the scent of pine and moonlight. On my bed sat a beautiful bouquet of glowing white moonflowers, their petals shimmering faintly in the dark.

A small folded note rested on top.

With trembling fingers, I picked it up and opened it.

You can’t lock us out.

My breath caught sharply.

They had been in my room.

While I was at school. While I thought I was safe.

I backed away from the bed, heart thundering. The heat under my skin flared hotter than ever. My silver eye — the one that sometimes looked strange in the mirror — began to burn.

Something was waking up inside me.

And the Blackthorn twins were no longer waiting outside.

They were already inside.