The forest edge loomed before me like a dark maw, ready to swallow me whole. Behind me, the sounds of the Silverclaw celebration continued—drums, laughter, and joy that had no place in my world anymore. I stumbled forward, my bare feet finding little purchase on the uneven ground as I crossed from pack territory into the cursed forest.
Moonlight filtered through the thick canopy above, casting eerie shadows that danced like malicious spirits around me. Each whisper of wind seemed to carry voices from my past, reminding me of what I had lost. "Wolfless," "Defective," "Unworthy." The words echoed in my mind, each one a fresh wound upon my already broken heart.
My nose still bled, the coppery taste mixing with the salt of tears I refused to shed. Every muscle ached from the force of the rejected bond snapping inside me. I clutched my chest, wondering if this physical pain would ever fade, or if I would carry it like a scar for the rest of my short life.
"So this is the Moon's judgment," I whispered to the darkness. "Alone, abandoned, and left to die in a forest that swallows the weak."
The forest seemed to respond with a collective rustle of leaves, as if the trees themselves were whispering their agreement. I shivered, pulling the thin cotton of my dress tighter around me. The night air grew colder with each step I took into the wilderness.
Something glinted in the shadows ahead—two small lights that might have been fireflies, except they didn't move. They were too still, too focused. Animal eyes. Watching me. My heart leaped into my throat, and I froze, listening to the sudden thunder of blood rushing in my ears.
I took a slow step backward, then another. The eyes didn't move, but I could feel the weight of their attention like a physical touch. Every snap of a twig beneath my feet made me jump. Every rustle of leaves sounded like approaching footsteps.
A branch snapped somewhere behind me. My pulse jumped, and the shadows seemed to shift closer, as if sensing my hesitation. When another branch cracked somewhere to my left, I broke into a panicked run, not caring where I went as long as it was away from those watching eyes.
Tree limbs scratched at my arms and face, leaving thin trails of fire on my skin. Thorns tore at the hem of my dress, but I didn't stop.
"Why does the forest feel... alive?" I thought, my breath coming in ragged gasps. "It's watching me."
As I ran, a strange warmth spread through my hands. I glanced down in the dim moonlight and saw a faint silver glow emanating from my fingertips. A thrill ran through me, and my chest lifted for the first time tonight. The glow disappeared as quickly as it had come, leaving me wondering if I had imagined it.
The forest grew denser, the trees older and more twisted. I ran until my lungs burned and my legs gave out, collapsing near a small stream that trickled over smooth stones. I dipped my hands into the cold water, washing the dried blood from my face and trying to clean the dirt from my arms.
The physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional storm raging inside me. Images flashed through my mind—Darius's cold eyes as he rejected me, Lyra's triumphant smirk, the pity and contempt in the faces of pack members who had once ignored me. Eighteen years of hoping I might somehow prove my worth, all destroyed in a matter of minutes.
"I will not die here," I whispered to my reflection in the water. "I will return stronger. They will regret this."
As I made this vow, I noticed something strange. The moonlight filtering through the trees seemed to intensify, creating a silver pathway on the water that led directly to where I knelt. It felt magnetic, pulling at something deep inside me, something I had never known existed.
I reached out a hand to touch the illuminated water, and as my fingers broke the surface, the warmth returned to my hands, stronger this time. The silver light seemed to flow up my arms, gathering in my chest where the mate bond had once been. It didn't hurt—it felt like coming home after a long journey.
It wasn't power like Darius's dominance. It was… ancient. Gentle yet unstoppable. A rhythm older than the pack, flowing through me with the pulse of the Moon itself.
The forest around me grew quiet. Nocturnal animals that had been chirping and rustling fell silent. I looked up and saw several pairs of eyes watching from the shadows, but this time they didn't seem threatening. They seemed... curious. Reverent, even. Small creatures that normally would have scattered at my approach remained still, as if waiting.
I stood slowly, testing my balance. The silver light remained, pulsing gently in time with my heartbeat. When I took a step forward, the light moved with me, creating a circle of illumination around my feet.
"The Moon hasn't abandoned me," I realized with a gasp. "Something is protecting me."
I didn't understand what was happening, but for the first time since the rejection, I felt something other than pain and humiliation. I felt... power. Not the aggressive dominance of an alpha wolf, but something deeper, more ancient. Something that connected me to the very moonlight that had always seemed so distant.
"I'm not ready," I whispered to the night. "But maybe... I am not meant to be ordinary."
As if in response, the silver light intensified, spreading from my chest down my arms and legs until my entire body glowed with a soft luminescence. The water in the stream began to bubble, and the air around me filled with the scent of night-blooming flowers that didn't grow in this forest.
The air thrummed with something unseen… as if the Moon itself was watching, waiting for me to understand.
I stood in wonder, turning my hands over and over as if they belonged to someone else. This was the secret the Moon had kept from me all these years. This was why I had never shifted like the others. I wasn't defective—I was different.
A sound broke the spell—a distant howl, but unlike any wolf I had ever heard. It was followed by another, closer this time. The eyes in the shadows disappeared as whatever had been watching me retreated into the darkness.
My newfound confidence wavered. The light around me flickered as fear began to creep back in. My heart skipped a beat. Then, stubbornly, I planted my feet. I was still alone in a cursed forest, still banished and vulnerable. Whatever power was awakening in me, it was new and untested.
The howls came again, closer still. Something was moving through the forest, making no attempt to hide its approach. Large shadows moved between the trees, too big to be wolves I knew.
The silver light around me flared protectively, responding to my fear without any conscious direction from me. I could feel it drawing strength from the moon above, filling me with a warmth that pushed back the chill of the night.
I wasn't alone anymore—both in the sense that something was approaching, and in the sense that something within me had awakened. The Moon had marked me, and whatever it was, it was awake now.
As the first of the shadows emerged into the clearing, I took a deep breath and stood my ground. I didn't know what was coming for me, but for the first time in my life, I felt ready to face it.
I didn't know whether what approached would kill me… or recognize me. Either way, the Moon had chosen me, and I would not turn away.