Chapter Two: Red Moon Rising
1277 Words
I'm frozen. My feet feel like they're stuck to the ground. All I can do is stare.
This huge black wolf—its eyes are like bonfires—is standing over a body. It's Sasha. Her blonde hair is all messed up with leaves, and her arm is twisted at a crazy angle. She's not moving.
And that man—or whatever it is—in the shadows behind the wolf? He's just watching me. Calm. Silent. Smiling like it's some messed-up game.
I should scream, and I want to, but I can't.
Then the wolf snarls.
Not at Sasha, and not at the shadow-man.
At me.
It shows its teeth, which look like they could snap a pipe in half. It takes a step towards me, its paws crunching on the leaves. I take a step back.
“Nope,” I whisper. “Nope, nope, nope.”
Before I know it, I'm running.
Full speed. Branches hit my arms, roots trip me, and the cold air stings my eyes. I don't know where I'm going; I'm just away. Away from the monster, away from Sasha, and away from whatever just happened.
I can hear it behind me—growls, leaves, and heavy footsteps. It's close.
Too close.
Then something grabs my ankle.
I trip, fall, and roll down a hill like a tumbleweed. I land hard, and my shoulder slams against a tree root. My arm hurts, but I don't scream.
I get up, dizzy, muddy, and out of breath. And when I look up…
The wolf is gone.
So is the man.
Just me. Alone. My heart's still pounding.
But I know what I saw. I know what I felt.
Something's out there, watching me and hunting me. And I have a bad feeling this is just the start.
I get back home before sunrise, covered in dirt and blood. My hair's sticking to my face, and my arm's throbbing. Gran's waiting on the porch, arms crossed.
“Told you, she says, like I just got back from the store.
I sit on the steps. “There was a wolf, a big one. And—Sasha—she was—”
“I know,” Gran says quietly. “I felt it. The blood moon and everything.
“What's going on, Gran?”
She sits next to me. “There are two kinds of wolves, Aria. The natural ones and the cursed ones. You? You’re both.”
“Okay,” I say. “So I’m some kind of freak?”
She doesn’t even react. “No. You’re a Vale, and your family's old and strong. The curse is strong in our family, and now that you’re eighteen, it’s here.”
I stare at her. “You could've warned me, you know? 'Hey, you might turn into a monster on your birthday. '
“I was trying to keep you safe,” she says quietly. “From the truth, and them.”
Them?
“Who's them?” I ask.
She looks at me like I already know.
And I do.
That man in the woods.
The wolf.
The way he smiled.
“Hunters?” I whisper.
“Worse,” she says. “Rogues.”
Later, I went to school. I don’t know why. Maybe I’m just in shock and trying to pretend everything’s normal, even though my best friend might be dead and I'm cursed.
But the minute I walk in, I can tell something's wrong.
People are whispering and staring.
I hear bits and pieces.
—Woods last night—
—didn’t come home—
—Aria Vale was there—
It’s like my name is toxic. Even the teachers are looking at me funny.
I go to my locker, and my heart's pounding.
Then I hear her voice.
“Sasha’s in a coma.”
It’s Marla, Sasha’s cousin, and the biggest drama queen ever. But her voice sounds serious.
“What?” I ask.
“She was found in the woods this morning,” Marla says, walking up to me. “Scratches and broken ribs. And you were the last one with her.”
“I—I didn’t do anything—”
“Really?” she says. “She said your name before she passed out.”
I freeze.
“I was attacked, too! I don’t even know what happened!”
Marla leans in. “If she doesn’t wake up, and you’re lying… you’re next.”
Great. Now I’m a suspect.
I bailed after the second period. I’m almost to the parking lot when I hear a motorcycle behind me.
It’s Jaxon.
Leather jacket, smirk, the whole 'I know things' vibe.
“You look like you saw a ghost,” he says, pulling up next to me.
“Try a monster.”
His eyes change. “Get on.”
“I’m not getting on your bike.”
“Okay,” he says, tossing me a helmet. “But if you want to get eaten again, go ahead.”
That gets me.
I get on behind him, and we take off down a road that goes through the woods. Trees blur past, the wind hits my face, and for a second, I forget about everything.
We stop at this old cabin. It’s covered in moss, and the windows are cracked, but it feels safe.
Jaxon gets off and opens the door. “You want to know what's going on? This is where it starts.”
I follow him inside. There’s a fireplace, books everywhere, and a wall of maps and photos of the forest. And in the middle, a wolf is howling at a blood moon burned into the floor.
He kneels next to it. “This is the mark of the Lunar Order.”
“Sounds like a cult.”
“It’s not,” he says. “It’s the only thing keeping the rogues away.”
I cross my arms. “Start making sense.”
He stands up. “You're not the only one who changed last night, Aria, but you’re different. Stronger.”
I swallow hard. “So what am I?”
He walks up to me, voice low. “You’re the last of the Moonborn, who have been hunted for centuries. Now that you’re awake, they’ll come for you.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re strong, and you're the only ones who can beat them.”
Okay.
A secret war, a bloodline, and me in the middle!
“Why are you helping me?” I ask.
He tenses up. “Because I owe your family.”
“From who?”
He steps closer. “Your mother.”
I freeze. “My mom died in a car accident when I was four.”
“That’s what you were told,” he says. “But she didn’t die in a crash. She was killed.”
Silence.
I’ve believed one thing my whole life, and now he's changing it.
“Who killed her?” I whisper.
He waits.
Then he says it.
“The man in the woods.”
I step back. “The one with the wolf?”
He nods. “His name’s Lucien, and he’s the Alpha of the Broken Fang. He’s been hunting your family forever.”
I want to scream. Cry.
Instead, I ask, “What do I do now?”
Jaxon holds out his hand. “You train, you fight, and you don't die.”
I look at his hand and into his eyes.
There's something there. Not pity or fear, but respect.
Something more.
I take his hand.
And then—
A crash!
The window breaks, and a clawed hand grabs my throat.
To be continued…
- Writer
