Chapter 2

I had no idea how long I’d been walking.

My feet just kept moving, pulling me further from the compound lights, away from all their voices, from everything that used to feel like home.

The blood moon stained the world red. Trees loomed overhead, their branches catching at my robe. The colder the air grew, the faster I walked—then I was running.

I needed to be anywhere but there, away from their eyes, their whispers, the echo of Damon calling our years together "friendship,” as if I’d meant nothing.

My breath came in ragged bursts. Thorns tore at my robe, but I didn’t stop.

Finally, I collapsed, lungs burning, at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Twisted trees guarded its entrance, old stone markers carved with warnings. Everyone knew this place was cursed—nothing in these woods cared if you lived or died.

I should’ve turned back. But thinking of their faces, of his betrayal, I found I didn’t care anymore.

At least here, nothing knew or cared what I was.

I stepped beyond the warning stones, deeper into darkness. The compound lights vanished. Just the blood moon now, painting everything red and black.

Ancient leaves softened my steps. Odd flowers glowed beneath the trees—night roses, opening only for the moon. The sweet scent was dizzying.

I stumbled, tripped over roots, tore my robe worse. At last, I slumped to the ground beside a huge oak.

That’s when I broke.

I cried until there was nothing left—ten years’ worth of hope, pain, and lies flooding out of me. My chest ached, my throat burned. I felt empty.

Ten years wasted.

Memories hurt more than ever:

Damon chasing me in the rain, barely twelve—his jacket, smelling of pine, wrapped around my shoulders. "Aria,” he’d whispered, "the bravest people are the ones who get up again.”

I thought he’d always protect me. I was wrong.

Our first kiss at fifteen at the forest’s edge, after another failure. "You’re the strongest person I know. Don’t let them say otherwise.” His lips soft, the happiness like a drug.

Secret promises at eighteen—hidden hands, his voice under the full moon: "When I’m strong enough, I’ll make us official. I’ll face everyone for you.”

Lies. Every word.

When he needed power, I vanished from his plans.

I don’t know how long I sat there. Slowly, the woods quieted—no insects, no birds. The blood moon slid higher, and a wrongness seeped into the air.

Something was watching me.

I lifted my head and wiped my face. Ice crawled along my spine. Something dangerous lurked nearby.

Low growls rumbled from the darkness encircling me. I turned, and my blood froze.

Green eyes glowed in the shadows—dozens of them, perfect circles around me. Shadow wolves. They were larger than normal wolves, dark fur soaking up the moonlight, their eyes burning with unnatural light.

These were not simple forest creatures. They were the cursed guardians of the Forbidden Forest, and I was trespassing.

The largest stepped forward. Its shoulders reached my waist even on four legs. As it snarled, I glimpsed fangs like ivory daggers. Its growl vibrated through my bones.

More of them emerged from the gloom—a full pack, all fixed upon me.

"Perfect ending," I whispered hoarsely. "Dying in the Forbidden Forest after betrayal. How poetic."

The lead wolf advanced. The others tightened their circle with hunter precision.

I should have been terrified, screaming for my life.

Instead, I felt a strange calm. After tonight, after losing everything, perhaps this was how my story ought to end.

I closed my eyes and waited.

Then—

A shadow dropped from above, landing between me and the lead wolf with impossible grace.

The figure straightened slowly. When he turned toward me, I beheld the most incredible eyes—one golden as sunlight, one silver as moonbeams. They glowed with inner fire, and when they found me, something stirs inside: hope?

"Don't move," he said. His voice was low, commanding, enough to still even my breath.

The shadow wolves circled, their growls deepening. Wariness entered their posture—not mere hunger.

The stranger's mismatched eyes suddenly blazed—one flaring like a sun, the other shining like starlight. The lights merged as a tidal wave of power that thrummed in the air.

I felt it wash over me. Ancient, primal, indomitable.

"Leave," he commanded the wolves, his voice ringing with absolute authority.

The lead wolf resisted for a moment, massive body tensing. Yet beneath that dual-colored gaze, even this apex predator relented.

One by one, the shadow wolves slipped into darkness until only the hush of the forest remained.

The stranger's eyes faded to normal, though power stirred just beneath the surface. He turned to face me fully—younger than I'd first assumed, perhaps just a few years older, sharp-featured, dark hair catching traces of moonlight.

"You're safe now," he said, reaching out his hand.

I stared at that offered hand but didn't take it. After tonight, after Damon's betrayal, how could I trust anyone?

"Who are you? What are you?" I asked, scrambling backwards against the oak tree.

"Someone who knows what it means to be abandoned," he said, but kept his distance, seeming to understand my wariness.

The word hit with physical force: abandoned. That is what I am. But that didn't mean I had to be stupid about it.

"Why should I trust you?" My voice came out harsher than intended, but the pain was too fresh, the betrayal too recent.

His mismatched eyes softened with something like understanding. "You shouldn't. Not yet." He lowered his hand slowly. "But those howls are getting closer, and you have two choices—come with a stranger who just saved your life, or wait here for the hunting party that's definitely not coming to rescue you."

Far-off howls sounded through the trees—closer, sharper: werewolves in hunting formation.

"They're searching for you," he said grimly. "Do you want to be found?"

I think of returning to the compound. Their pity and gossip—the sight of Damon with his perfect Luna—being the pack's eternal failure.

No. I do not want that.

"No," I replied, my voice steadier than I'd thought possible. "I don't."

He nodded, unsurprised. "Then come with me, pup. It's time you discover who you truly are."

The howls grew closer. We had run out of time.

Without hesitation, I reached out and took his hand.