Chapter 2 The Secrets the Moon Reveals
The night air still lingered in my lungs when I blinked, trying to steady the whirlwind of thoughts in my mind. Kael’s words echoed louder than the forest around me. “A wolf born in human skin.” The idea felt impossible, yet undeniable. Every inch of me burned with a strange recognition, like something long asleep inside me had been woken too abruptly to understand. I did not know whether to be terrified or exhilarated. Maybe both.
Kael did not move from the edge of the clearing. His golden eyes, glowing faintly under the pale moonlight, seemed to weigh me down with their intensity. He was not human, that much was clear. Every movement he made carried strength, control, and something wild, something ancient that I could not place. Even so, there was a calm in him that contrasted the storm raging within me.
“You do not have to speak yet,” he said softly. “I know this is overwhelming. It would be for anyone.”
I wanted to run, to flee from the realization that my life had been a lie, that something primal coursed through my veins. Yet my legs refused to obey. I felt as if they had a mind of their own, rooted to the soft, moss-covered ground of the forest.
“I” I began, my voice barely a whisper. “I don’t understand. Why me? I’ve always been… normal. As normal as anyone could be.”
Kael shook his head slowly. “Normal does not exist for your kind. There are many like you, hidden among humans, waiting for their awakening. Some never realize who they are and live their entire lives unaware. Others, like you, are chosen by the blood they carry. Tonight, the moon has stirred it awake.”
I shivered despite the heat still rising inside me. Chills ran down my spine, and my ears picked up the soft rustling of leaves as if the forest itself were listening. My thoughts scattered wildly, fear clawing at me, yet curiosity burning just as fiercely.
“I don’t even know what you mean. What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to be… a wolf?” I could not bring myself to say the word aloud. It sounded foreign, dangerous.
Kael took a step closer. The air between us seemed to vibrate with an energy I could not comprehend. “You are not a wolf the way people think of them. You are stronger, faster, sharper. You will feel everything more intensely. Joy, anger, pain, desire, they will all be heightened. Your senses will awaken first. You will know the forest as your own, the wind as a friend, the shadows as an ally.”
I swallowed hard, trying to grasp his words. My pulse raced as the reality of what he was saying began to settle into my bones. The warmth that had ignited within me earlier grew stronger, coiling around my ribs and pouring through my limbs. My senses seemed sharper already. I could hear the distant trickle of the stream deeper into the woods, the faint breathing of animals I had never noticed before, and even the subtle hum of life within the trees themselves.
“What happens if I can’t control it?” I asked, my voice trembling despite my effort to steady it.
Kael’s expression softened, though the golden light in his eyes remained fierce. “Control comes with understanding, and understanding comes with time. Tonight is the beginning. There will be challenges. There will be pain. You may feel torn between the human you were raised to be and the wolf that is your true nature. But running from it will not save you. Acceptance will.”
I wanted to ask more questions, but the sound of distant shouting snapped my attention back to reality. The hunters from the village had not given up. Their voices carried clearly through the forest, closer than before. My stomach dropped as the urgency of the situation sank in.
“They are coming,” I said, turning slightly toward the faint torchlight flickering in the distance. My hands trembled, though not from fear alone. Some part of me, deeper and wilder, felt a surge of anticipation.
Kael nodded, his movements swift and deliberate. “Good. Then you will learn fast. You will have to trust your instincts now, Aria. Do not hesitate. Do not doubt yourself.”
The forest seemed to respond to his words, the shadows shifting around us as if acknowledging the presence of something more than human.
My body tingled with a strange energy I could not name. The ground beneath my feet felt like it pulsed in time with my heartbeat, guiding me, calling me forward.
“Come with me,” Kael urged, turning and disappearing between the trees. I hesitated for only a moment before following, my curiosity and fear battling within me. Every step I took felt natural, as if my legs remembered a path I had never walked consciously. The forest embraced me, its darkness no longer threatening but protective, guiding me deeper into its heart.
I stumbled upon a small glade illuminated by the moonlight, where the air seemed thicker, almost alive. The sensation inside me intensified, heat spiraling through every vein, every muscle. My breath came in sharp bursts as a new awareness began to surface. I could sense Kael’s presence beside me without looking. I could feel his rhythm, his heartbeat, and the subtle rise and fall of his chest. There was no need for words; our senses spoke in a language older than humans could understand.
“Close your eyes,” he instructed. “Feel the moon. Let it speak to you. It is not just light, Aria. It carries power. It stirs the wolf within you. Let it guide you, and do not resist.”
I did as he said, though my pulse thrummed wildly with nervous anticipation. The silver light above me felt almost tangible as it washed over my skin. I let the warmth inside me flow freely, no longer fighting it, no longer questioning it. I could feel my senses sharpening with every heartbeat. Sounds became clearer, colors brighter, the forest alive in ways I had never noticed before. I could hear a distant branch snap, the whisper of wind through the leaves, the faint hum of insects circling in the dark.
And then I felt it. The wolf inside me, stirring, stretching, awakening.
It was not violent. It was not chaotic. It was a recognition, a pulse of power that made every nerve ending tingle. A deep, primal energy that was mine yet older than I could imagine. It whispered in a language that bypassed my mind and spoke straight to my soul. You are not alone. You are stronger than you know. You are ready.
I gasped, opening my eyes to see Kael watching me, his expression unreadable yet expectant.
“You feel it,” he said softly. “The wolf is not separate from you. It is you. You will have to learn to live with it, to let it flow through you without losing yourself. That is the challenge.”
I nodded, even though I was trembling with a mixture of fear, wonder, and exhilaration. The reality of what I was becoming pressed upon me, heavy yet electrifying.
A howl echoed from deeper in the forest, sharper and closer than before. My body reacted instantly. I wanted to run toward it, my legs moving before my mind could catch up. Kael’s presence steadied me, but he did not stop me. Instead, he guided, not restrained.
“Do not fight it,” he said. “Let it guide you.”
I ran, and for the first time in my life, running did not feel like an escape. It felt like coming home. My senses led me, the forest bending to my awareness. I could hear the thrum of life around me as clearly as I could feel my own heartbeat. The world sharpened into focus, and for the first time, I understood that the stories Grandmother had whispered to me as a child were not merely tales. They were warnings, truths wrapped in caution, waiting for me to awaken.
The howl came again, closer still, and I realized I was not alone. Another presence stirred nearby, hidden in the shadows. The tension between curiosity and fear surged within me, stronger than the heat inside my veins. My body ached with anticipation. I knew that the path I was stepping onto would not lead back to the life I had known. I was crossing a threshold from which there was no return.
Kael matched my pace effortlessly, moving as though he were a part of the forest itself. His presence was grounding, a reminder that I was not completely alone in this awakening. And yet, the howl called to me more urgently than anything else. It promised something wild, something untamed, something that I could not ignore.
The hunters’ voices had faded behind us, replaced by the natural symphony of the night. Every sound was amplified, every shadow alive. I felt powerful and vulnerable all at once. I was human yet more than human, a creature of instincts and blood I had never fully known. And for the first time, I understood that my life was no longer my own.
The forest had claimed me, the moon had awakened me, and the wolf within my veins had spoken. There was no turning back..
I was ready.