LUNA RISING

The town of Silverpine smelled like pine needles, rain-soaked earth, and something else,something feral. Luna Hart stepped out of the car and took a deep breath, hoping to find comfort in the crisp mountain air. Instead, she felt a shiver crawl up her spine. It wasn’t the cold. The town was small quiet, cloaked in fog, with winding roads that cut through towering evergreens. It looked like the kind of place where secrets liked to bury themselves deep in the soil. Luna hadn’t even unpacked yet, and already, she hated it. “Come help with the boxes, Luna,” her mother called, slamming the car trunk. Luna turned. Rhea Hart was dressed in her usual flowy black skirt, her silver hair tied up in a bun that made her look more like a gothic poet than someone’s mom. But beneath the crystals, incense, and soft-spoken smiles, Rhea was steel. Luna didn’t argue. She never did anymore. Not since everything had changed last spring the fire at their old house, the dreams, the strange shadows in the mirror. They’d moved three times in six months. Luna had stopped asking questions. But deep down, she knew this place Silverpine was different. This time, they weren’t running from something. They were running to it. The new house was perched at the edge of the forest, its porch sagging and its windows smudged with years of mountain weather. It was the kind of place that had history, the kind that creaked at night for no good reason. “You’ll like it here,” Rhea said, carrying a box inside. “It’s quiet. Private. You need quiet, after everything.” Luna bit her tongue. “Yeah. Quiet is great.” They unpacked for hours. Boxes filled with herbal jars, candles, old books, and a few of Luna’s things mostly clothes and sketchpads. Her mother’s things always took up the most space, but Luna didn’t mind. She liked the smell of sage and lavender. It reminded her of childhood. Of peace. Of the time before the dreams started. She paused, setting her journal on the windowsill. The view looked out into the trees,dense, endless, ancient. Something about them felt..alive. Not in a poetic way, but in a watching way. Like something in there was holding its breath, waiting for her to step closer. She turned away quickly. That night, Luna couldn’t sleep. The wind whispered through the trees like voices just out of reach. Her room felt too dark, too silent, except for the occasional creak of the floorboards and the steady rhythm of her heartbeat. She turned over and pulled the blanket tighter. Then she heard it. A howl. Low. Distant. But unmistakable. Goosebumps pricked her skin. There were wolves in Silverpine. Of course, there were. The whole town was surrounded by forest, and locals had probably seen wild animals before. It was normal. It was nature. She told herself that over and over. Still, her heart pounded harder. She got up and moved to the window. The forest stood still in the moonlight, but something shifted at the edge of the trees. A flicker of movement. A shape. Eyes. Bright. Yellow. Watching her. She gasped and then it was gone. “Must’ve been a deer,” she muttered to herself the next morning, pouring cereal into a bowl. “A deer with creepy glowing eyes.” Rhea looked up from her herbs. “Did you sleep?” Luna shrugged. “More or less.” Her mother studied her like she always did too long, too quiet. Luna hated it. Like she was some puzzle Rhea was trying to solve. “You’re not dreaming again, are you?” Rhea asked gently. “No.” Lie. Rhea nodded. “The land here is strong. Old. It might affect you at first. You’re sensitive to that kind of energy.” “You mean crazy.” “I mean powerful.” Her tone was even, calm. “There’s more to this town than what you see. But you’ll understand soon.” That was the last thing Luna wanted to hear. Her first day at Silverpine High was… uncomfortable. Small-town schools were their own strange ecosystems. Luna felt like a foreign species. Everyone seemed to know each other, and their glances told her two things immediately: 1. They didn’t get many new students. 2. News traveled fast. She found her locker, kept her head down, and made it through three periods before something shifted in the air. Like a chill running down the back of her neck. It happened in the lunchroom. She was picking at a sandwich when the door opened and he walked in. Tall. Broad shoulders. Dark hair that curled just slightly at the collar. His walk was slow, confident, almost predatory. He didn’t speak. He didn’t smile. But when his eyes swept across the room, they landed on her. And held. Locked. Luna couldn’t breathe. A boy at the next table leaned toward her. “That’s Kael Thorn,” he whispered. “Future Alpha of Silverpine.” Luna blinked. “Future what?” The boy chuckled nervously. “Oh. It’s just a nickname. Pack stuff. You’ll get used to it.” She didn’t respond. Because Kael Thorn was still staring. Not like he was curious but like he knew her. And Luna had the terrible, skin-prickling feeling…that she knew him, too.