Adrian’s identity
1385 Words
Aurora had never expected friendship to feel so strange.
For years, she had grown used to being alone. It wasn’t something she enjoyed, but it was something she understood. People ignored her, avoided her, or treated her as if she didn’t belong. It had been that way for so long that she stopped expecting anything different.
Yet somehow, things had changed.
Selene and Nyra had become a regular part of her days.
At first Aurora thought it would pass. Most people eventually lost interest in her. But they didn’t.
They kept finding her.
They sat with her during lunch, waited for her after class, and dragged her into conversations she never planned on joining.
“You know,” Nyra said dramatically as she dropped into the seat beside Aurora, “I think history was invented specifically to ruin my life.”
Selene sighed.
“You’re saying that because you forgot the assignment again.”
“I remembered.”
“When?”
“Five minutes before class.”
Selene buried her face in her hands.
Aurora couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped her.
Both girls immediately turned toward her.
“There!” Nyra pointed.
Aurora blinked.
“There what?”
“You laughed.”
Aurora rolled her eyes.
“It wasn’t that funny.”
“It was to us.”
Selene smiled.
“You should do that more often.”
Aurora shook her head and looked away, though she felt a strange warmth settle inside her.
For the first time in a very long while, school didn’t feel unbearable.
Then she noticed Isabella.
Her cousin was sitting several tables away.
Their eyes met briefly.
Isabella looked away first.
Nothing about her expression changed.
Nothing about it should have bothered Aurora.
Yet the feeling lingered.
A feeling she couldn’t explain.
By the time classes ended, dark clouds had gathered overhead.
Students poured through the academy gates while teachers disappeared toward the parking area.
Aurora said goodbye to Selene and Nyra before beginning the walk home
The road was quiet.
Almost too quiet.
At first she thought nothing of it.
Then she heard footsteps.
Slow.
Measured.
Behind her.
Aurora continued walking.
The footsteps continued too.
She stopped.
They stopped.
A knot formed in her stomach.
Slowly, she turned around.
Five boys stood several feet away.
She recognized some of them from school.
None of them looked friendly.
The tallest stepped forward.
“Hey.”
Aurora said nothing.
The boy smiled.
“We just want to talk.”
“I don’t.”
His smile widened.
“That’s not very polite.”
Aurora turned and continued walking.
The footsteps followed immediately.
This time faster.
A hand grabbed her shoulder.
She spun around.
“Leave me alone.”
The boys laughed.
One stepped in front of her while another moved behind her.
Blocking every direction.
Aurora’s pulse quickened.
“What do you want?”
The tallest boy shrugged.
“Nothing serious.”
Something felt wrong.
Not just their behavior.
Them.
The way they moved.
The way they looked at her.
Like predators watching prey.
Aurora took a step back.
The boy in front of her appeared directly in front of her path again.
Far too quickly.
She hadn’t even seen him move.
Her heart skipped.
That wasn’t normal.
The others noticed her reaction and smiled.
One cracked his knuckles.
Another stretched his neck lazily.
“What’s wrong?” one of them asked.
“You look scared.”
Aurora hated the satisfaction in his voice.
“I’m not scared.”
The lie sounded weak even to her.
The tallest boy chuckled.
“You should be.”
The moment he said it, his eyes changed.
Not completely.
Just for a second.
A flash.
Something unnatural.
Something impossible.
Aurora froze.
No.
She had imagined it.
Hadn’t she?
Then another boy moved.
The distance between them vanished instantly.
He was beside her before she could react.
Not human.
Definitely not human.
Fear finally hit.
Real fear.
She tried to pull away.
The boy grabbed her wrist.
Pain shot through her arm.
Aurora struggled.
The grip tightened.
The others laughed.
One shoved her backward.
Another blocked her escape.
Every direction was closed.
Every path cut off.
The tallest boy stepped closer.
“You’ve become very interesting lately.”
Aurora’s stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?”
“It means people are starting to notice you.”
The answer made no sense.
Before she could respond, another voice interrupted.
“Take your hands off her.”
Everyone turned.
Adrian stood a short distance away.
His expression was unreadable.
The tallest boy smirked.
“This doesn’t concern you.”
“It does now.”
Aurora had never been so relieved to see someone in her life.
One of the boys laughed.
“You picked the wrong day to play hero.”
Adrian didn’t move.
“Let her go.”
Something changed.
The atmosphere became tense.
Like everyone suddenly understood something Aurora didn’t.
The tallest boy released her wrist.
Slowly.
Then he smiled.
“So it’s true.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
Aurora looked between them.
“What is true?”
Nobody answered.
The boy attacked.
His fist shot forward.
Faster than any human should have been able to move.
Aurora barely saw it happen.
Adrian caught the punch effortlessly.
The attacker’s smile vanished.
Another charged.
Then another.
The fight erupted.
Aurora stumbled backward.
Everything happened too fast.
Far too fast.
Adrian blocked a strike and drove one attacker into the ground.
Another rushed him from behind.
Adrian spun and threw him several feet away.
The sound of impact echoed through the road.
Yet the boy stood up immediately.
Like nothing had happened.
Aurora’s breathing became uneven.
This wasn’t normal.
None of this was normal.
One attacker launched himself toward Adrian.
Adrian sidestepped and slammed him into a wall.
Another appeared behind him.
Then another.
Numbers began overwhelming him.
The tallest boy smiled.
“Not so tough now.”
Aurora watched in horror as all five surrounded him.
One attacked.
Then another.
Then another.
Adrian fought back, but there were too many.
A punch landed.
Another.
The attackers pressed harder.
One grabbed Aurora again.
This time she couldn’t break free.
“Let go!”
The boy laughed.
“No.”
Something changed in Adrian.
Aurora felt it before she understood it.
The air itself seemed different.
He stopped moving.
Stopped fighting.
Stopped holding back.
A low growl escaped him.
The sound froze everyone.
Including Aurora.
The attackers stepped backward instinctively.
Adrian slowly lifted his head.
His eyes were no longer human.
Golden.
Bright.
Wild.
Aurora’s breath caught.
The growl deepened.
His hands clenched.
Dark claws emerged from his fingers.
Not completely transformed.
Not fully wolf.
Something in between.
Something ancient.
Something dangerous.
The boy holding Aurora released her immediately.
Fear appeared on every attacker’s face.
The confidence disappeared.
The arrogance disappeared.
Everything disappeared.
The tallest swallowed.
“No…”
Adrian took one step forward.
That was all it took.
The attackers retreated.
Another step.
They backed away faster.
Then they ran.
None of them looked back.
Within seconds they were gone.
Silence fell.
Aurora couldn’t move.
Couldn’t think.
Couldn’t look away.
The golden glow slowly faded from Adrian’s eyes.
The claws disappeared.
His breathing steadied.
Yet nothing could erase what she had seen.
It was real.
Every second of it.
Adrian looked at her.
Fear crossed his face.
Not fear for himself.
Fear of her reaction.
“Aurora.”
She stepped backward immediately.
The movement hurt more than she expected.
His expression fell.
“I wasn’t going to hurt you.”
Aurora wanted to answer.
Wanted to ask questions.
Wanted to understand.
Instead, she could only stare.
The world had already become complicated enough.
Magic.
The witch store.
The broken chain.
The healing.
Now this.
Werewolves.
Actual werewolves.
The impossible stood right in front of her.
And somehow she knew this wasn’t the end.
It was only the beginning.
Adrian took a cautious step forward.
“Aurora, please.”
But she wasn’t ready.
Not yet.
Not when everything she believed about the world was falling apart around her.
Not when the boy standing before her was no longer just Adrian.
Now he was something else.
Something she could never unsee.
And for the first time since leaving the witch store, Aurora realized just how little she truly knew.
- Writer
