Luna of Two Lifetimes

Chapter 4

I didn't recognize the aroma of pine, wet earth, and something deeper, almost familiar, that the breeze carried.

I opened my eyes and blinked. My head was crushed against the curved wall covered in moss while I lay on a cold stone. The courtyard of the pack's manor was illuminated by the silvery, full moon that hung high. I have no recollection of coming here.

I forced myself to stand. The smell of wolves filled the air. My heart was thumping, a cadence that seemed natural, primordial. My human, pale, unscarred hands clenched. Something changed inside of me in response to the smells, the night, and the whispers I couldn't quite place.

"Aria?”

I was surprised by the voice. Soft and feminine, but strong. With amber eyes examining me, a figure emerged from the shadows. Her features softened with relief.

"You're conscious," she said. "We believed " She looked from me to the courtyard and back again. You may not. However, here you are.

I shook my head, feeling bewildered. "Who am I?"

She made a small line with her lips. "Aria. Your name is that. Your new life.

fresh life. I should have been frightened by the words. They did, but not entirely. Something tugged at the corners of my consciousness, like a recollection I couldn't access, and twisted in my chest.

"I... I should remember, I think. However, I don't," I acknowledged.

Her eyes were calculating and piercing. "You'll. on schedule. But you must move for the time being.

From the other side of the courtyard, footsteps resounded. Alpha wolves, humans in mid-form with faces grizzled from years of survival, came closer. They measured me with suspicious eyes, as if I were a puzzle piece they couldn't figure out.

"Aria," one said firmly. "Lingering here is not safe. Come with me.

The courtyard was large and unfamiliar, so I hesitated. Every wind gust seemed to whisper secrets I couldn't comprehend, and every shadow seemed to watch. However, I was grounded by the woman's hand on my shoulder. I gave a nod.

The home of the pack wound about me, with stone walls, tall ivy, and hallways that turned at inconceivable angles. Life hummed in the air. Every nook and cranny, every aroma, and every murmur revealed a world that was both familiar and strange.

"Now, this is your home," the mother declared. "Your pack. They'll defend you, mentor you, and teach you. But watch who you put your trust in. Looks can be deceiving.

Stones sunk beneath her words. Though instinct kept me quiet, I needed answers.

I was assigned a tiny, unfurnished, yet cozy room. The moonlit gardens were framed by a window. It was all familiar but completely alien. I smelled the air, touched the moss, and traced the stone walls. Sensing a link I couldn't see, my inner wolf awoke uneasily.

I couldn't sleep that night. The corners of my thoughts were squeezed by shadows. Snatches of silver hair, storm-gray eyes, and the scarlet glare of a Blood Moon were among the dreams that darted at the edges of awareness. I woke up startled, my chest thumping, not remembering everything, but feeling the weight of an unplaceable bond, the taste of blood, and the sting of betrayal.

It was morning.

There was a lot of activity on the training grounds. I imagined the wolves were packmates, as they transformed and sparred, sharpening their jaws and claws. The person who had spoken authoritatively, the leader, looked at me calmly.

"You'll train," he murmured plaintively. "The shadow outside our boundaries is not there to await us. The internal enemy won't either.

I winced. internal enemy. I couldn't identify the strain that wrenched something in my chest.

"Why me?"

His gaze grew gloomy. "Because you made it through." because you were selected by the Blood Moon. Some debts can't wait to be paid off.

In the days that followed, I adapted. The group wasn't cruel, but it was odd. They taught me how to change in the moonlight, hunt, and follow scents. Although my wolf felt imprisoned in strange flesh, instinctual movements, blows, and senses came easily.

I sensed it every night, the pull of a past I couldn't quite remember. Like mist, the name Luna hovered at the periphery of my thoughts. I dismissed it, claiming it was only a dream or a figment of my imagination. Every heartbeat and instinct, however, hinted that there was more.

The stranger with the silver hair showed up in the woods close to the estate one evening. At first, she just observed without saying anything. My wolf gave a warning snarl. There was something wrong with her, not just wrong, but deadly, purposeful. I felt a knot in my stomach as she turned and vanished into the starry trees.

Fitful sleep was punctuated by visions of fire, crimson light, and a guy whose storm-gray eyes tormented my thoughts. I woke up shaking, feeling like I had lost something.

I followed the curvature of the stone walls as I strolled through the gardens. Then I noticed a faint symbol carved under a very old tree. Old and strong, yet not freshly carved. I touched it, and my fingers tingled. I experienced every emotion for a heartbeat: anger, grief, love, and betrayal all connected to a name I was still unable to say out loud.

My consciousness was pricked by a whisper. They're on their way.

The trees remained motionless as I spun. Just shadows stretched in the moonlight, swaying.

Then I heard a voice, low, recognizable, unthinkable.

"Aria.”

I made a quick turn. The shadowed figure stood at the edge of the clearing. The silver glints at his wrist, the same curled mark I had previously seen under the Blood Moon, glinted in the moonlight.

I went cold. My instincts told me to flee, yet a deep, primordial part of me knew he was there.

With a simultaneous lullaby and knife voice, he said, "You don't remember."

"No," I muttered as I retreated. With its claws biting into the soft ground, my wolf snarled.

The moonlight glinted in his eyes. "All right. That implies that I have time to complete the task at hand.

The shadows shivered behind him. From the edge of the tree line came a low snarl. There, an elderly, patient, and hungry thing moved.

My heartbeat quickened. Luna's name scream

ed to be recalled, burning at the corners of my consciousness.

Then he lunged.