Chapter 85 — Beneath the Moon

Chapter 85 — Beneath the Moon
The moment Jared’s hand closed around Kori’s, her body jolted like it had been struck by lightning. The strange hum she had tried so hard to ignore seemed to surge at his touch, filling her veins, rattling her bones. Her legs buckled, but he didn’t falter—he caught her, steady and immovable, even as she trembled against him.

“Outside,” he murmured, his voice low, commanding, laced with urgency.

Her lips parted, but no words came. The buzzing in her skull, the pins-and-needles fire crawling beneath her skin—it drowned out everything else. She couldn’t fight him, couldn’t resist when he half-lifted, half-guided her down the hall.

The house felt suffocating. Too small. Too close. Each step they took echoed like thunder in her ears until Jared shoved the front door open and cool night air rushed to meet them.

Kori gasped.

It wasn’t relief, not exactly—but the world seemed to lurch into sharper focus. The scent of pine and damp earth filled her lungs, richer and clearer than it had ever been. The burn beneath her skin didn’t vanish—it intensified—but it no longer suffocated her. Instead, it felt… alive.

Jared led her barefoot into the grass, the blades wet with dew. The moment her toes touched the ground, a pulse shot through her. It ran up her legs, through her spine, colliding with the buzzing in her head.

The two forces fused.

Kori dropped to her knees with a strangled cry, her palms pressing into the dirt as though it was the only thing keeping her tethered. She clawed at the soil, breath coming in ragged gasps, her body wracked with tremors she couldn’t control.

Jared was with her instantly, kneeling at her side, one hand pressed firmly against her back. “Breathe, Kori. I’ve got you. Just let it happen.”

His voice anchored her, but the storm raging inside refused to quiet. Her skin burned, her muscles quivered, and her heart hammered so violently she thought it might break free from her chest.

Above them, the moon hung swollen and silver, bathing her in its glow.

Kori lifted her face toward it, tears stinging her eyes as another wave of raw energy crashed through her. She couldn’t understand it, couldn’t name it—but deep in her soul, she recognized it.

The buzzing in her mind sharpened. It wasn’t random noise. It was something more. A voice—distant, muffled, but insistent. Calling to her.

Calling for her.

A choked whimper escaped her throat as she doubled forward, her fingernails digging trenches in the earth. Jared’s hand moved with her, steady circles rubbing over her spine. He was calm on the outside, but inside, fear burned. His jaw clenched, his heart twisted—he had no answers for how to help his mate.

Yet as he watched her, kneeling in the moonlight with the world itself seemingly responding to her, awe tangled with that fear.

Kori was breaking apart. And becoming something entirely new. 

And for the first time since the pain began, she didn’t look afraid. Because whatever this was, whatever force clawed at her from the inside, it felt like it belonged to her.

The trembling didn’t stop. If anything, it worsened as the strange buzz in her mind sharpened into something more tangible. A whisper.

‘Kori…’

Her head jerked up, eyes darting around the empty field. Jared was right beside her, still rubbing her back, his low voice steady in her ear. But the whisper hadn’t come from him.

It came from inside.

‘Kori…’

The sound was soft, feminine, like a caress across her skin. And with every breath, the voice grew stronger. Louder. The whispers multiplied, echoing from the edges of her consciousness until her own name thundered in her mind, filling her chest with a foreign warmth.

Her hands dug into the dirt as she gasped, voice breaking into the night. “What is happening to me?”

Jared’s hand froze mid-stroke across her back. For the first time since she had known him, he hesitated—his silence heavier than any answer. When he finally spoke, his voice was cautious, almost reluctant.

“I think…” he swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Kori, I think you’re… shifting. Your first shift.”

Her head whipped toward him, wide eyes glinting silver in the moonlight. Shifting. Her? No. That wasn’t possible. She wasn’t a wolf. She couldn’t be.

But Jared’s gaze held hers, steady, certain even through the tension radiating off of him in waves.

And beneath the shock, she felt it too—that low hum of recognition, the undeniable pull.

Her heart hammered faster. Jared was trying to be strong for her, but his unease bled through their bond. His hand shook faintly where it rested against her spine, his eyes searching her face as though terrified he might lose her in the next breath.

The awareness of his fear hit her harder than the voice inside. If he was worried, then maybe she should be too.

The whispers swelled again, curling through her mind like smoke, wrapping around her thoughts until there was no ignoring them.

‘Kori…’

Her body bowed with another sharp tremor, and she pressed her forehead into the earth, a choked sob tearing from her throat.

She wasn’t ready for this.

And yet… some deep, hidden part of her whispered back: ‘You were born for it.’

The ground beneath Kori felt like it was rolling, her palms digging into the dirt as if the earth itself could anchor her. Her chest heaved, every breath jagged, too shallow. She was unraveling, piece by piece, while the voice in her head pressed closer, louder, demanding she hear it.

Jared stayed at her side, his arm strong and steady even as his own body thrummed with unease. “I’ve got you,” he murmured, though the strain in his voice betrayed him. His wolf, Zeus, was a restless presence, but Jared forced himself to stay calm—for her.

“Jared…” Kori’s whisper cracked, fear spilling through the single word. “I can’t—what if I can’t do this?”

His hand cupped the back of her head, guiding her gaze up to his. His eyes, molten gold in the moonlight, bore into hers with unshakable resolve. “You can. You’re stronger than you know. And I’ll be right here. Nothing’s going to happen to you with me beside you.”

Her lips trembled, but she nodded, the trust in her eyes warring with the terror coursing through her veins.

Then it hit.