The Rejected Luna Who Became His Obsession

Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 — “THE NIGHT OF SHADOWS”

The forest had swallowed me completely.

Shadows twisted around the trunks like fingers, and the cold night pressed against my skin, chilling me to the bone.

My legs ached from running, my palms were scraped and bloody, and my chest heaved with shallow, ragged breaths.

I had no strength. No protection. No one to call for help.

Just me… and the forest.

A twig snapped behind me, and my body froze.

Heart hammering, I turned slowly, eyes wide.

Two amber eyes glinted from the underbrush.

A wolf, large and lean, stepped into the faint moonlight. Its teeth were sharp, its gaze hungry.

I stumbled backward, panic clawing up my throat.

I had nothing to defend myself with. Nothing. Not even courage, it seemed.

I gripped a branch, small and fragile, shaking in my hands.

The wolf crouched, tense, ready to strike. I swallowed, barely able to form a thought.

Then… instinct took over.

I threw the branch, not at the wolf, but toward a patch of leaves.

It rustled loudly, drawing the wolf’s attention. For a moment, I caught a glimpse of its hesitation.

I ran.

Not fast. Not strong. But I ran.

Branches whipped my face, roots caught my feet, and my lungs burned.

Yet somehow… I stayed ahead.

I stumbled into a small clearing, panting, shivering.

The forest whispered around me, leaves brushing together like voices warning of unseen eyes.

I crouched behind a fallen tree, trying to quiet my shaking hands and rapid heartbeat.

I felt a flicker—a soft warmth at my fingertips.

A pulse of energy, faint, almost imperceptible, like a heartbeat not my own.

I touched it, startled. The glow responded to me, tiny, weak, but alive.

I didn’t understand it. I didn’t know what it meant.

But it gave me hope.

Minutes passed. Shadows shifted. I stayed low, listening, moving only when necessary.

Every sound was amplified—the snap of a twig, the whisper of wind, the distant howl of a predator.

The forest was alive, aware, testing me.

I realized something slowly, painfully.

I was fragile. I was weak. I was alone.

And yet… I was still standing.

I let myself shiver against the cold tree trunk, tears stinging my eyes.

Somewhere deep down, a tiny spark whispered:

You can survive.

You might not be strong now…

But you are clever. You are quick. You can learn.

And tomorrow… tomorrow I would try again.