Chapter 74 The Voice in the Woods
POV: Luna
I freeze, every muscle in my body tensing.
"Who are you?" I demand out loud, even though the voice is in my head.
Laughter. Dark and amused.
"You don't recognize me? How disappointing. Though I suppose we've never properly met. Not face to face, anyway."
"Show yourself."
"Not yet. I'm not ready for that particular reunion. And neither are you, little Eclipse."
The presence pulses again, and I feel it probing at my defenses. Testing my mark. Trying to read me.
I throw up mental walls the way Ryder taught me during training.
More laughter.
"Oh, you've learned some tricks. Good. You'll need them."
"What do you want?"
"What I've always wanted. What I've been working toward for centuries." The voice drops to something almost tender. "You, Luna. I want you."
Terror shoots through me.
I turn and run.
Back toward the Academy. Back toward safety.
Behind me, I feel the presence following. Not chasing. Just... accompanying. Like a predator keeping pace with prey.
"Running won't help," the voice says. "I'm already inside your head. Inside your mark. We're connected now, whether you like it or not."
"Get out!"
"Make me."
I push harder, my wolf lending me speed. Trees blur past. My heart pounds so hard I think it might burst.
The Academy walls come into view, and I've never been more relieved to see them.
The moment I cross the ward line, the presence vanishes.
Cut off completely, like it hit a barrier it couldn't pass.
I stumble to a stop, gasping for air.
"Luna!"
Ryder is running toward me from the training grounds. Nova close behind.
"What happened?" he demands. "You were gone for hours. We were about to send a search party."
"Hours?" I look at the sky. The sun is setting. I thought I was only in the forest for maybe thirty minutes.
"You've been gone since this afternoon," Nova says, worry written all over her face. "Where were you?"
"The forest. I found magical residue. Evidence that rogues were gathering recently." I grab Ryder's arm. "But that's not the worst part. Something spoke to me. Someone. In my head. Like the goddess did, but different."
Ryder's expression darkens. "What did they say?"
"That they've been waiting for me. That they want me. That we're connected now." I can't stop shaking. "They were inside my mark, Ryder. I could feel them probing it."
"Show me exactly where this happened."
We head back into the forest with Ryder and Nova flanking me protectively. Plus two faculty members Ryder summoned with some kind of magical signal.
Professor Cael and Professor Thorne arrive within minutes.
"Miss Eclipse," Professor Cael says. "Ryder said you encountered something in the woods?"
I lead them to the cluster of trees where I felt the magical residue.
The shimmer is still there. Faint but visible.
Professor Cael runs his hands over the bark, his expression growing more troubled by the second.
"This is old magic. Very old. And very dark." He looks at me. "You said someone spoke to you?"
"In my head. Male voice. He said he's been waiting for me. That we're connected."
Professor Thorne examines the trees as well, his face unreadable.
"Did you recognize the voice?" he asks.
"No. But it felt..." I struggle to find the words. "Familiar somehow. Not like I've heard it before. But like I should know it."
The two professors exchange a look.
"We need to inform the Headmaster," Professor Cael says. "This is serious."
We head back to campus as a group. Professor Cael and Thorne break off toward the Headmaster's office while Ryder escorts Nova and me to the dorms.
"You're not going anywhere alone anymore," Ryder says firmly. "Not after this."
"I can handle myself."
"Against a voice in your head that can make you lose track of time? That can probe your mark?" He shakes his head. "This isn't about whether you can handle yourself. This is about being smart."
I want to argue, but he's right.
Losing hours without realizing it is terrifying. What else did that presence do while I was under its influence?
"Fine," I agree. "No more solo forest trips."
That night, I can't sleep.
Every time I close my eyes, I hear that voice.
"I want you, Luna."
What does that mean? Want me for what?
And why does it feel like I should know who it is?
The next morning, the Headmaster calls an emergency assembly.
The entire Academy gathers in the Great Hall, everyone looking nervous.
"We have two announcements," the Headmaster begins. "First, security protocols are being enhanced. No student is to enter the forest without faculty supervision. The wards are being strengthened. Anyone who sees or hears anything unusual must report it immediately."
Whispers ripple through the crowd.
"Second, we have a new faculty member joining us. Professor Cole Mercer will be teaching advanced combat and magical defense."
A young man steps forward from the faculty section.
He looks barely older than the fifth years. Maybe mid-twenties. Fresh out of whatever wolf college exists.
But there's something about him that makes the room go quiet.
An intensity. A presence.
Like he's barely containing something dangerous beneath a calm surface.
"Thank you, Headmaster Sterling," he says, his voice smooth and controlled. "I look forward to working with all of you. Combat isn't just about strength. It's about instinct. Agility. Understanding your opponent before they understand you."
His eyes scan the assembled students.
And for just a moment, they land on me.
My mark burns.
Not painfully. But aware. Alert.
Like it recognizes something.
I press my hand over it, trying to suppress the reaction.
Cole's expression doesn't change, but something flickers in his eyes.
He knows.
He felt my mark react to him.
"Classes begin tomorrow," the Headmaster continues. "Dismissed."
As students file out, I catch Nova staring at the new teacher.
"He's cute," she whispers. "In a dangerous, mysterious way."
"He's a teacher, Nova."
"A young teacher. There's a difference."
But I'm not thinking about whether he's cute or not.
I'm thinking about the way my mark reacted to him.
The way it only reacts to powerful magical signatures.
Who is Cole Mercer?
And why does my Eclipse mark recognize him?