Chapter 2 CHAPTER 2

The last thing she remembered was running through Eden Forest, chasing fireflies under the full moon. Everything after that was a blur, like pieces of a dream that refused to come together.

She glanced at her alarm clock.

7:32 a.m.

She was definitely going to be late for algebra.

Rolling out of bed, she felt a strange soreness in her body, her muscles tender in a way that made no sense, and her thighs hurt. Her vagina felt heavy, like it had done some work; she only felt that way when she had heavy flow. She brushed it off as part of her transformation; new wolves often felt a different kind of ache after a night of shifting. After all, she is still new to all of this.

But when she glanced in the mirror, her reflection made her pause.

There was a faint silver glow on her neck, a small crescent mark that hadn’t been there before. Nothing seems to amaze her again; her life is one discovery after another. It pulsed once, then faded, and between her thighs she could see faint blood stains, shocked to think her period had returned when in fact she just finished 4 days ago.

Luna frowned.

Probably just a scratch from the forest. Still, something about it felt… personal and comforting.

She threw on her usual outfit: an oversized/overworn brown hoodie, worn blue jeans, and those old canvas sneakers she never bothered to wash. It always looks okay to her; she wasn't looking to impress anyone. Her glasses sat crooked on her nose. She didn’t care. She never cared about the things other girls obsessed over: makeup, popularity, and attention. "Little Miss Nonchalant," she called herself and giggled.

She was just Luna Rivers, the quiet nobody with perfect grades and no friends, just Loner Luna in her own world.

Across town, at the Blackwell Mansion, Damian hadn’t slept at all.

He sat on the edge of his new bed, elbows on his knees, staring at the floor as the first rays of light crept into the room. His wolf had been restless all night, pacing, growling, and searching.

He couldn’t get the image out of his mind: the flash of silver fur, the eyes that met him in the dark, and the way everything had stopped when they touched. It didn’t feel like rage or lust. It felt like destiny, something sacred, terrifying, and binding. He had explored sex with his friends in New York and had the best of both worlds, male and female, and none felt like last night and in his wolf form, shocking to him. He knew whoever she was, no man/wolf had ever touched her; in fact, she was new. It was different and almost made him claim ownership without knowing who she was. Deep down, he knew he needed to experience it all over again; it felt like a drug he wouldn't let go of.

He rubbed the part of his neck where his wolf form had collided with hers and felt it: heat, faint but alive, pulsing beneath his skin.

Whatever happened in that forest wasn’t normal. It was supposed to happen. Fated to happen and arranged by the gods.

And every part of him wanted to find that silver wolf again.

At Saint Remy Academy, the day had only just begun.

Luna hurried through the halls, late and distracted, clutching her books to her chest. Damian, the new transfer student with a sharp, wicked jaw and colder stare that made people walk past him while looking at the ground, stepped through the main doors just as the bell rang through the building.

Neither of them looked up or noticed the other.

Damian didn't do regular girls; he rolled with the best of the best exotic women and sometimes men, depending on the state of his mind and urge.

But the moment they passed each other, the air shifted softly, almost imperceptibly, like the whole school had exhaled, held their breath, and gone still and was waiting for something to happen. The whole school looked at them like they knew something they shouldn't. She suddenly felt alive as she walked past Damian. Damian felt irritated; he was used to feeling like a celeb and getting that reaction, but they looked hungry.

They made his skin crawl; this was not the crowd he intended to impress. He knew he was irresistible, but people should know their place. He wished he could will them all to go blind so he would have his way and be done in this damn town.

He reflected on the ordinary girl who just caught his attention with nonchalance and arrogance. Who was she, and what just happened?

Arghh!! He sighed in irritation; he did not appreciate the fleeting moment that passed between them, and it confused him further.

His mind wandered back to his unforgettable night with the silver wolf at Eden; he needed more of that to be sane in New Orleans.