Chapter 4:Two Bodies One Soul
1093 Words
Luna's POV
The horn's sound made my blood turn to ice. I scrambled to my feet in the forest clearing, my hands still burning from the cracked moonstone. Everything felt wrong. My body was different—stronger, taller. When I looked down, I wasn't wearing my jeans and sneakers anymore. Instead, I had on a rough brown dress that smelled like herbs. "The hunt has begun," Valeria said again. But this wasn't the same Valeria from the gallery. This woman had wild hair and scars on her arms. "You need to run, Luna. Now." Luna? That name made something twist in my stomach. But I wasn't Luna. I was Scarlett. Wasn't I? "I don't understand what's happening," I said. My voice sounded different too—older somehow. "There's no time to explain." Valeria grabbed my arm. "Jericho's pack is coming. If they find you here—" A howl echoed through the trees. Then another. And another. My heart hammered against my ribs. "Who's Jericho?" "The silver wolf who's been hunting you for three hundred years." Valeria's eyes were wide with fear. "He knows you're back." Before I could ask what she meant, something crashed through the bushes behind us. A massive gray wolf burst into the clearing, its yellow eyes locked on me. But this wasn't an enemy. This wolf was limping, blood dripping from its side. Without thinking, I rushed toward it. "Luna, no!" Valeria shouted. But my feet were already moving. My hands reached out to touch the wounded animal. The moment my skin touched its fur, warmth shot through my fingers. Blue light, just like the moonstone, began to glow around my hands. The wolf's wounds started to close. "How am I doing this?" I whispered. The wolf looked up at me with familiar blue-gold eyes. My breath caught. "Magnus?" The animal shifted, bones cracking and reshaping. In seconds, a man knelt where the wolf had been. But it wasn't the Magnus I knew from the gallery. This man had longer hair and ritual scars covering his chest. His eyes were the same though—one blue, one gold. "Damon," he said, his voice rough. "My name here is Damon." "I don't care what your name is," I said, backing away. "What's happening to me? Why can I heal things? Why do I know how to do magic?" "Because you're remembering who you really are." Damon—Magnus—whatever his name was, stood up slowly. "You're Luna Ravenclaw. The most powerful healer the packs have ever known." "I'm not Luna!" I shouted. "I'm Scarlett Winters from Manhattan. I paint pictures and work security jobs. I don't do magic!" Damon stepped closer. "Then explain how you just healed me." I looked down at my hands. They were still glowing faintly blue. I had no answer. More howls sounded, closer this time. "They're tracking your scent," Valeria said. "Luna, we have to go to the safe house." "Stop calling me Luna!" "That's your name here," Damon said gently. "In this time, in this body, you are Luna Ravenclaw. Scarlett is who you became later." My head was spinning. "This is insane." "The moonstone is breaking down the walls between your lives," Damon explained. "Every time you touch it, more memories return." A silver wolf stepped out from between the trees. Then another. Then five more. They formed a circle around us, their teeth bared. "Too late," Valeria whispered. The largest silver wolf shifted into human form. He was tall and handsome, with silver hair and cold gray eyes. When he smiled, I saw fangs. "Hello, my dear Luna," he said in a voice like silk over steel. "It's been far too long." Every muscle in my body went tight. I knew that face. I'd seen it in the painting at the gallery. I'd seen it in my nightmares. "Jericho," I breathed. "You remember me." His smile grew wider. "Good. That will make this so much more satisfying." Damon moved in front of me, crouching low like he was about to shift into wolf form again. "She's under my protection," Damon growled. "Your protection?" Jericho laughed. "You couldn't protect her three hundred years ago. What makes you think you can do it now?" "Because this time is different," Damon said. "Is it?" Jericho's eyes found mine. "Tell me, Luna. Do you remember how you died?" Images flashed through my mind. A knife. Blood. Damon screaming my name. Pain like fire in my chest. "You killed me," I whispered. "I did." Jericho didn't look sorry. "And I'll do it again. Every lifetime. Every cycle. Until you agree to be mine." "Never," I said, surprised by how strong my voice sounded. "We'll see about that." Jericho nodded to his pack. The silver wolves started moving closer. Valeria raised her hands. Strange words poured from her lips. A wall of green fire sprang up between us and the wolves. "That won't hold them long," she said. "Luna, you need to access your power. Now." "I don't know how!" "Yes, you do," Damon said. "It's in your blood. It's who you are." The green fire started to flicker. I closed my eyes and thought about the blue light. About healing. About protecting the people I cared about. Heat built in my chest, spreading down my arms. When I opened my eyes, blue light was pouring from my skin like I was made of starlight. The silver wolves stopped moving. Even Jericho looked surprised. "Impossible," he breathed. "Your power was supposed to be broken." "What do you mean?" I asked. But before he could answer, the light around me suddenly turned red. Pain exploded through my body. I screamed and fell to my knees. "The moonstone," Valeria gasped. "Something's wrong with it in the other time!" I looked down at my hands. The moonstone was still there, but it was cracking worse than before. Pieces were starting to fall away. "What happens if it breaks completely?" I asked. Damon's face went white. "You'll be trapped here forever. And Scarlett will die." The red light grew brighter. The pain got worse. And through it all, I could hear Jericho laughing. "Finally," he said. "The little bird is caught in her cage." The world started spinning. I felt myself falling. But just before everything went dark, I heard a voice whisper in my ear. A voice that sounded exactly like my own. "Don't trust anyone, Luna. Not even yourself. The real enemy is closer than you think." Then everything went black, and I was falling through time again.
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