Chapter 5 Not my Enemy
Luna POV
I knew something was wrong the moment I stepped into the hallway, I just couldn't figure it out.
Not because of the whispers, because those were normal.
And not because of the looks, I already learned to survive those.
It was the feeling.
A tightness under my skin. A low, restless hum in my chest that refused to settle.
I adjusted my backpack and kept walking.
I pretended everything was fine.
That was my specialty.
Mara leaned against the lockers ahead, laughing with her friends. Her eyes lifted and locked onto me, and her smile sharpened. I turned quickly to avoid her, but she moved too, brushing past me hard enough to make my shoulder hurt.
“Watch it,” she said with a cruel smile.
Laughter followed me down the hall.
I didn’t turn around. Didn’t react, and I refused to give them the satisfaction. My hands curled into fists as I pushed through the exit doors and into the open air.
The pressure in my chest eased slightly.
Outside, students scattered across the grounds, their voices overlapping, footsteps hurrying in every direction. I avoided the stands and headed toward the edge of campus, where the noise thinned and the world felt quieter.
That was when I felt him.
My steps slowed and my pulse jumped.
Kai stood near the parking lot, leaning against a car, as he belonged there; it even looked like he belonged everywhere.
His gaze lifted, sharp and direct, as if he had been waiting.
That sent a shiver through me.
“You’re leaving early,” he said.
I stopped a few feet away. “I always do.”
His eyes flicked to my shoulder, then back to my face. “They touched you.”
It wasn’t a question.
“I’m fine,” I replied quickly.
Lie.
Kai straightened, closing the distance just enough to make my skin sting. “You shouldn’t let them treat you like that.”
“I don’t let them,” I said. “It just… happens.”
Something dark crossed his face. Anger, tightly leashed.
Before either of us could say more, a familiar voice cut in.
“Well, this is cute.”
Mara appeared at my side, her friends flanking her like loyal shadows. She looked Kai over slowly, assessing, then turned that cruel smile on me.
“Didn’t know you liked playing damsel now, Luna.”
Kai shifted, subtle and controlled, like placing himself half a step in front of me.
“Walk away,” he said calmly.
Mara laughed. “Or what?”
The air changed.
That was the only way I could describe it.
My skin tingled. The ground under my feet felt unstable, like something powerful stirred just below the surface.
Kai leaned closer to her, with a low voice.
“Last warning.”
For a heartbeat, Mara hesitated.
Then she scoffed and pushed past me, her shoulder slamming into mine. Pain flared, sharp and sudden.
“This isn’t over,” she whispered.
They left, laughter trailing behind them, but it sounded forced.
I exhaled slowly.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I muttered.
“Yes, I did,” Kai said.
I looked at him, and something twisted painfully in my chest.
“I like being alone,” I said. “It’s easier.”
His expression softened, just slightly.
“No,” he said. “It’s just quieter. There’s a difference.”
I swallowed.
“I have to go.”
He didn’t stop me. But his gaze followed me until I disappeared beyond the trees.
The forest wrapped around me like a familiar secret.
Here, the noise faded. The world slowed down. My thoughts finally had room to breathe. I walked deeper than usual, drawn by that same strange pull, it was only stronger now, and insistent.
A sound broke the silence.
It sounded low, more like an animal, everything felt wrong.
My heart slammed against my ribs as something moved between the trees. A massive shape moved smoothly through the shadows, its eyes glowing deep red.
Fear rooted me to the ground.
I stepped back, sliding on my foot, and got stuck on a root. I fell hard, my breath knocked from my lungs.
The creature rushed forward.
I screamed.
Something inside me shattered.
A violent force burst outward, rippling through the ground. Trees shook. Dirt and leaves exploded into the air. The creature was thrown back, crashing into a tree trunk with a bone-rattling thud.
I stared at my hands, shaking.
“What… was that?”
The creature rose slowly, but didn’t attack.
Instead, it lowered its head, protectively.
A voice broke through the ringing in my ears.
“Luna,” it said. “Please don’t run.”
My blood turned cold.
That voice.
As the creature shifted, its bones cracking, and the form bending into something human, realization slammed into me like a b
low.
The monster wasn’t my enemy.
It was Kai.
And whatever I was becoming, whatever power had awakened inside me, it had just chosen him too.