Marked Before the Moonn

Lena pov “Oh.. s**t, I hate this job!” I muttered. By the time I lock up the café, my feet feel like they’re filled with sand. It’s almost midnight. The streetlights outside flicker like they’re tired too, casting long, and uneven shadows across the empty sidewalk. Everyone else in the city is either asleep or pretending they don’t hate their lives as much as I do. I tug my jacket tighter around myself and shove my hands into my pockets. Another double shift. Another day surviving instead of living. The night air feels wrong. Not cold…heavy but thick. Like the world is holding its breath. “Get it together,” I mutter, starting down the street. I’ve walked home this way a hundred times. Nothing has ever happened. The city isn’t dangerous. Not really. That’s what people say before something happens. My phone buzzes in my pocket. A reminder notification flashes across the screen. RENT DUE IN 3 DAYS I scoff quietly and slip the phone away, quickening my pace. The main road is louder, and brighter…but longer. The shortcut cuts through the edge of the forest reserve, a stretch of road most people avoid at night. I hesitate at the corner, staring down the dimly lit path. The moon hangs low tonight. Too bright and too close. A shiver slides down my spine. “I’m tired,” I tell myself. “That’s all.” I turn down the shortcut. The city noise fades the farther I walk. My boots scuff against the pavement, and the sound was too loud in the quiet. Trees line the road on one side, dense and dark, their branches tangled together like claws. That’s when I hear it. Footsteps. I slowed down. They slow too. My heart skips. I glance over my shoulder, but the road behind me is empty. The shadows stretch long and thin, swallowing everything they touch. Probably someone walking their dog, I tell myself. Or another late-night worker. I keep going. The footsteps get faster and heavier. My breath stutters. Every instinct I’ve ever ignored starts screaming at once. I grip my keys between my fingers, and metal biting into my skin. “Hello?” My voice sounds stupidly small. No answer…The air shifts. Something moves in the trees…too fast, and too low. Leaves rustle violently, as branches snapping under weight that shouldn’t exist. I break into a run. The sound explodes behind me. I don’t even have time to scream. Pain slams into my shoulder as something massive crashes into me, knocking the air from my lungs. I hit the ground hard, and the taste of blood filling my mouth. My vision blurs, as stars bursting behind my eyes. A weight pins me down. Hot breath washes over my face. I force my eyes open and met with glowing eyes…they stare back at me from the dark. Not human and not animal…it was something else. Teeth flash inches from my throat. A low, guttural growl vibrates through my bones, and freezing me in place. My body refuses to move, terror rooting me to the ground. “Oh my God,” I whisper. Claws dig into my arm. Pain rips through me as teeth sink into my shoulder, tearing my flesh. I scream…raw and broken…but the sound vanishes into the trees. The creature pulls back, and blood dripping from its mouth. My blood. Something changes. The growl falters. The thing’s head tilts, as its nostrils flaring as it inhales sharply. Its eyes narrow, confused. Almost… startled. I don’t understand it. I don’t get a chance to. A thunderous roar splits the night. The weight disappears as something else slams into the creature, sending it flying off me. I roll onto my side, gasping, and barely conscious. Another shape bursts from the trees…bigger and faster. Black as the night itself. Two massive bodies collide in a blur of teeth and claws. The sounds are inhuman with snarls, as bones cracking, and flesh tearing. I try to crawl away, but my body won’t listen. Blood pools under me, warm and slick. The fight ends suddenly. Silence crashes down, heavy and absolute. I blink, and struggling to focus. A massive wolf stands a few feet away, with its fur dark and matted with blood that isn’t all its own. Its golden eyes lock onto mine. They don’t look wild. They look… aware. The wolf steps closer. I flinch, lifting my arm weakly. “P..please…” The wolf freezes. For a moment, the world holds still. Then it shifts. The wolf isn’t there anymore. A man kneels in front of me instead. Tall, broad-shouldered with a dark hair falling into his eyes. His clothes are torn and stained, his chest rising and falling like he’s just run miles. But it’s his eyes that trap me. Gold, burning and familiar in a way that makes my chest ache. He looks at me like he’s seeing something impossible. “Lena,” he says. I frown weakly. “How… do you know my name?” His jaw tightens. His hand hovers over my wound, and when his fingers touch my skin, heat floods through me…too intense, and too real. “Stay with me,” he orders softly. “Please.” My vision darkens at the edges. The last thing I see before the world goes black is his expression of fear, shock, and something darker under it. Like destiny just found him.