Chapter 160 I'm Moonlight; the presence inside you

Chapter 160 I'm Moonlight; the presence inside you
Chapter 160

RAVENNA

The world looked different from my eyes as I turned and ran toward the woods.

Everything was bright and clear.

I thought they would follow me. I thought Darius or Caleb or even my father would come charging after me, ready to drag me back or fight me or do whatever it was they thought I needed. But as I ran deeper into the trees, turning back every few seconds to check, no one came.

The dark woods were not dark anymore.

I could see everything. Every leaf. Every branch. Every shadow moving between the trees. The animals that usually hid during the night were visible now, their small bodies darting quietly through the underbrush. My ears twitched without me meaning them to, picking up sounds I had never heard before; The cricket sounds, rustling of leaves in the wind and footsteps of animals running away from me.

I turned around again, panicked, my breathing harsh and uneven.

No one was following me.

I ran deeper.

I did not know where I was going. I just needed to move. To get away and put distance between me and what had just happened in that hall.

But something inside me felt wrong.

There was a presence. Something stirring beneath my skin, pushing against the edges of my body like it wanted to burst free and be with me. But at the same time, there was something else, a blockage. Like whatever was trying to come forward was being held back by something stronger.

My heart was racing wildly. I could hear it reverberating in my chest, loud and unsteady, echoing in my ears.

I stopped in the middle of an open field.

The moon was directly above me now, huge and full, shining down with a brightness that felt almost solid. I stood there, taking deep, heavy breaths, my chest heaving.

I paused.

I needed to see myself to understand what was happening.

I looked down at my hands but they were not my hands anymore.

Where my skin had been soft and pale, there was now golden fur. Not quite the color of the moon, but close. Slightly warmer and richer. My fingers had elongated into long, sharp claws that gleamed in the moonlight.

I touched my face. It was covered in fur which had spread fast across my skin. I gasped and stepped back, my breathing quickening.

I looked down at my feet.

They were not normal.

I jumped, startled, and then froze when I realized the deformed limbs followed me.

I stopped, puzzled, and crouched down slowly to touch them.

They were my legs but they were not. They looked like half human legs and half animal limbs, bent at strange angles, covered in the same golden fur that had spread across my hands and face.

What was this?

What did it mean?

I looked around the field, my chest tight, my breathing shallow.

I was alone.

Even though I could see everything clearly, even though my ears were picking up every sound in the woods, even though my nostrils were perceiving every scent, I could not shake the feeling of being unsafe. I felt exposed and vulnerable.

I walked toward a fallen tree trunk at the edge of the clearing and sat down heavily.

The silence pressed in around me.

And then everything that had happened in the hall came crashing back.

Asteria had revealed all my secrets.

Everyone knew now. Every student, wolf and human knew I was responsible for the war. They knew I was behind the revenge account. They knew I had leaked Richard's video and Caleb's sex tape and orchestrated the broken betrothal.

I could still see the look on Darius's face. The disappointment which clouded his eyes, the betrayal clearly written all over his face, the heartbreak in his voice, like he couldn’t believe I could do this.

And Caleb… he had looked at me like I was nothing. Like I was a monster. These were men who had loved me. Or at least, they had claimed to. And now they saw me as exactly what Asteria had said I was.

A liar. A manipulator. A vile thing.

A tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it. I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, pressing my face into the space between.

My father would never look at me the same way again. The pride I had seen in his eyes earlier tonight was gone now, replaced by something I could not bear to think about.

Theodore, who I had just learned was my cousin, would want nothing to do with me.

The meaning of all of this was clear.

I was going to be an outcast.

I did not even know how Samantha would feel. She had been dragged into all of this because of me. Because I had made her my friend. Because I had brought her into my chaos without ever asking if she wanted to be part of it.

I wanted the ground to open and swallow me whole. I wanted to disappear from the face of the earth. How would I continue living? Asteria had destroyed my life. I was finished. I was nothing>

"All things happen for a reason." The voice came suddenly, clear and steady, cutting through my thoughts like a blade.

I froze.

I looked up, my eyes darting around the clearing, searching for the source.

"Who is there?" My voice came out rough and unsteady.

The voice chuckled softly. "I am in your head. And I am partially present with you."

I stood up quickly, my heart pounding. "Come out. Stop hiding."

"I wish I could do that," the voice replied, calm and unbothered. "But right now is not the time for it."

I turned in a slow circle, my claws clenched at my sides as I realized the voice was indeed coming from my head. "Why are you in my head? What do you want from me? Are you here to insult me too? To gloat?"

"I have not come for that."

The voice was patient. Almost kind.

"The days ahead will be long," it continued. "Filled with loneliness. You will feel the true weight of heartbreak. It will test your heart in ways you cannot yet imagine."

I stared at the empty clearing, my chest tight.

"You will go through trials," the voice continued. "Isolation. Pain. But you must be strong. And most importantly, you must know that whatever decisions you make afterwards will seal your future."

I shook my head, frustration rising in my chest. "Why are you speaking in riddles? Who the hell are you?"

The voice paused.

Then it spoke again, and this time there was warmth in it.

"I like the fact that with everything that has happened to you, it did not break you down. You are still feisty and still very much strong. I am really proud of you."

I stopped moving.

My breathing slowed.

"My name is Moonlight," the voice said softly. "And I am your wolf. I am going to be the presence inside you."