Anabella the heroine

The night was thick with the scent of fog. It stroked the tall trees and swept me up into the moonlight, cloaking me in a veil of shining light. I stood at the edge of the woods, bare feet on wet and cold grass, then the hem of my white nightgown brushed against my skin in the chill wind. I had no idea how I got here, but there was a very strong urge that drove me to this dark alley. Everything returned once again after a nightmare that tormented me all night long. The nightmare was magical and horror-filled, complicating me even more. There was a blood moon illuminating the sky while I caught a glimpse of a thin silver wolf running across the fog, and there was a fire burning on the horizon, casting shadows across the sky. I heard a low voice speak to me from overhead. It used an old language that was somehow familiar but also far away. I echoed through my mind. None of this meant anything. I tried to focus on the actual and just believe in what I could see and touch, but as the dreams began, my world was unveiled. I started to think in ways I never knew existed. I could hear the leaves whispering, the soft wind chattering, and a distant hooting owl. I even sensed the rain before a drop ever touched down and listened to a haunting howl tonight. It echoed in me, causing me to feel things I never knew existed before. My legs walked me forward into the dark playground of water, seemingly under some form of external force. I paused a while and started breathing hard as my heart beat with noises everywhere. As I stepped forward, leaves crunched beneath my feet, and everything sounded threatening. As I walked further, tension increased. Something seemed to lurk behind the darkness, watching me. Then I saw a naked man come from the clearing and stand at the edge of the moonlit area and his body shine in the silver light. He is muscular and powerful; his physique was intimidating, with dark tattoos that drawn across his arms like serpents. His dark hair swirled in the wind. When he came to stand before me, the world seemed to lean. His wolf-like eyes burnt with strong feelings that made my skin tingle. I stood back and could barely speak. "You shouldn't have come," he said to me, his tone harsh. Yet in his voice there was a heat that stirred something basic inside me. I overheard something I didn't want to hear. I was tense, trapped in his assertive presence." "You felt it," He interrupted me, his strides slow and measured towards me. "Didn't you? My eyes were wide with shock. "Felt what?" He looked at me like he was searching for the truth in my eyes. "The bond." A shiver of recognition went down my spine. "Who are you?" Tension vibrating just under his skin. "Damian Blackthorn. Alpha of the Nightfang Pack." I was confused by what he was telling me. "Pack? You mean like wolves? His eyes flared by the supernatural tension. "Like werewolves." The reality of his words hung over me, flooding my understanding. That could not be true, could it? Then I saw the mark on my wrist, radiating with a strange light. It was a crescent moon that shouldn't be there, pulsing with power like a heartbeat. "Tell me what this is." I breathed, shaking as I attempted to comprehend the impossible. Damian whispered, his power causing shivers on my skin. "The moon chose you, Anabella. You're no longer human." Lightning split the sky, lighting the trees for a brief moment before sending them and everything else into darkness. I stood in awe, my head spinning as I searched for my voice. Barely a second ago, I had deemed werewolves to be fiction. Now I am standing in front of undeniable proof, and my head spun like leaves caught on a gust of wind. My gaze fell to the crescent moon imprint on my wrist, its silver glow strong in the darkness. I stood still, frozen where I was as if time itself had stopped. The air was electrified and thick with the presence of a coming storm when I looked at Damian, the mysterious stranger who somehow seemed familiar to me. Although I had never seen him before, I was intensely drawn to him as if we shared a bond that defied explanation. His deep, golden eyes fixed on me and made me feel uneasy. They promised some primal power and seemed to foretell something that was buried deep within him. Then I looked at His face and it suggested he accepted me, and this was too much. "This is crazy," I managed to get out to say, my voice shaking as I moved back hesitantly. My legs shook. “You'll have to come with me," Damian stated firmly, his voice commanding. "It isn't safe for you to be out here alone." "I don't even know you!" I spat, my eyes blazing. "You're spewing this about werewolves and some eerie magic scar on my arm. Why would I ever go anywhere with you?” "Because you are no longer a girl," he whispered hard. "You're one of us now. Your smell is altered. If I can catch it, the others will as well. Less noble wolves." I instinctively flipped up my wrist and sensed the heat of the silver crescent moon mark. It was real evidence of something more. "How do I know this isn't a dream?" I whispered softly. "Because if it were, I wouldn't say," he answered, and I caught a note of regret in his tone. A flash of lightning illuminated his face, which was rough-hewn and large, with a thin scar above his eyebrow. He was coiled tight, ready to spring into action but holding back. "Why me?" I cried, stunned. "Why now?" Damian approached slowly, his movements careful yet determined. “You just turned twenty-one. The magic hiding your true self is fading. That mark shows your real bloodline is awakening. Soon, the supernatural world will know you’re alive.” I shook my head angrily, my thoughts racing. “This is crazy. I’m just Anabella Gomez. No wolf. No pack. No family.” His eyes darkened, revealing a growing storm inside them. “That’s not entirely true.” "By what?" I asked, shaking with terror. "You don't remember the fire," he said cautiously. "Do you?" I opened my eyes in horror, my heart racing. "What fire?" "Sixteen years ago, the Silverclaw Pack was burnt. They said no one survived. There were rumours, though, of a child that was hidden by magic." A cold chill gripped my stomach. "What do you mean?" "I'm warning you, you're no ordinary wolf," Damian warned, his voice firm. "You've got royal blood. If anyone discovers that before you can learn to protect yourself, you're in deep trouble." I took a step back, gasping. “Royal blood? A pack?” I'd had disjointed recollections of my life before five as a foster home and rumours of a brutal fire in West Virginia. "What do we do next? Are we going to your pack?” “I don't want to," he said, attempting to be convincing. "But it's not my decision. I'm responsible for you now." I let my brow rise in scepticism. "Why?" His gaze was fixed and firm. "Because the Moon decided we should be together, We are mates." The words hit me like a punch, rendering me mute. "Mates?” My voice trembled with disbelief. Damian's face darkened, shadows falling across his features. "Bound by the moon. For better or worse." Fear flooded my veins and awoke my instincts. Damian braced himself, body tense and alert. "We need to get out of here. They've found you."