Aria felt the pull before she even realized she had left the dorm.
It started as a tingling at the base of her spine, a subtle vibration that deepened with every step toward the edge of campus. The city around her was alive, but muted somehow, as though reality itself had dimmed. Every tree lining the streets, every rustle of leaves, seemed to call to her, whispering in a language she could almost understand.
Her heart hammered. She tried to shake it off, to convince herself she was imagining things. Classes, assignments, exams she had responsibilities. Lila's teasing, laughter, ordinary life all of it demanded her attention. But the pull persisted, growing stronger with every heartbeat.
No. This isn't real. This isn't happening.
Yet it was.
Her legs carried her against her will, drawn to the northern edge of town where the forest began. The mist clung to the trees, curling and twisting like fingers reaching for her. A low wind whispered through the branches, carrying scents that made her stomach twist and her senses flare. Pine, wet earth, moss, and something else. Something wild. Something alive.
Aria's eyes flicked around nervously. No one else seemed to notice. Students walked past, heads down, earbuds in, oblivious. She alone felt the tug, the undeniable beckoning that resonated with something deep inside her.
The ache in her chest returned, sharper this time, as if warning her that the forest was not just calling it was waiting.
Why can't I stop it?
Her footsteps quickened, almost running now. The edge of the forest loomed ahead, dark and immense, shadows pooling beneath the towering trunks. She paused, hand brushing against the rough bark of a tree. The sensation sent shivers up her spine, her golden-flecked eyes catching the dim sunlight that filtered through the leaves.
And then she heard it.
A soft, low growl, rolling through the forest like distant thunder. Not a threat not yet but a presence. Awareness. Recognition.
Aria's breath hitched. She had never been inside this part of the woods alone. Yet her feet continued forward, drawn by something older than herself. She could feel it in her bones: the pulse of life beneath the soil, the rhythm of the creatures hidden in shadow, the heartbeat of the forest itself.
A flicker of movement caught her eye. A shadow darted between two trees, graceful, fast. She froze. The hairs on the back of her neck bristled.
"Who's there?" she whispered, voice shaking.
No answer. Just the rustle of leaves, the whisper of wind, and the ever-growing pull that tugged at her, deeper and stronger, as though the forest were breathing her in.
Aria's legs trembled. She wanted to turn, to flee back to the safety of campus, to Lila, to the world she understood. But the forest had her in its grip. Every step forward was a surrender, and every step felt inevitable.
She rounded a cluster of oaks and stopped.
There, in a clearing bathed in dappled sunlight, stood a figure. Tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in black that absorbed the light around him. His golden eyes caught hers immediately, blazing like molten fire through the shadowed trees.
The stranger.
Aria's pulse thundered, wild and uncontrollable. He did not move toward her, yet she felt his presence wrap around her like a chain, tethering her to him. Every instinct screamed: run. Every fiber of her being screamed: stay.
"You feel it too, don't you?" His voice was low, smooth, carrying a weight that made her knees weak. "The pull… the forest. The call."
Aria swallowed, words failing. She opened her mouth, closed it. Nothing she could say would capture the sensation coursing through her the ache, the hunger, the raw, primal awareness she could no longer deny.
He took a step forward. Not threatening, but commanding. The forest seemed to lean toward him, leaves rustling as though whispering secrets only he could understand.
"You can fight it," he said softly, "but why would you? This is who you are."
Aria's stomach turned. The pull intensified, sharper now, almost unbearable. Her golden-flecked eyes glowed faintly, pupils dilating as the forest's energy surged into her. She fell to her knees, pressing her hands to the earth. The soil felt alive beneath her fingers, humming with power, vibrating in time with her heartbeat.
"I… I don't understand," she whispered. "I don't know what's happening to me."
He crouched, bringing his face closer, golden eyes locking with hers. "You are not human, not entirely. You've always known it, deep down. That fire in your blood, the eyes, the senses… they belong to another world."
Her chest tightened. Another world? She had felt strange before, yes, but never like this. The ache in her body, the hunger, the way the forest called her it was overwhelming, and terrifying.
"Why me?" she asked, voice trembling. "Why is this happening to me?"
His gaze softened, though the intensity never wavered. "Because you were always meant to awaken. You cannot fight what you are. You can only learn to control it… or be consumed by it."
Aria felt tears prick her eyes. The forest seemed to lean closer, leaves brushing her arms, the scent of pine and earth filling her senses to the point of dizziness. She wanted to cry, to scream, to collapse and give in to the sensations flooding through her.
And yet a part of her… wanted more.
She looked at him. There was power in him, control, an almost unbearable calm. He was the opposite of everything she feared: grounded, precise, aware. And he was watching her, studying her, as if measuring her soul.
"You are mine," he said quietly, voice carrying over the whisper of leaves. "And one day, you will understand what that means."
Aria's stomach clenched. The words ignited something deep within her, a recognition that thrilled and terrified her in equal measure. She felt the ache in her body deepen, the hunger sharpen, the pull of the forest become almost irresistible.
Her hands dug into the soil, and for the first time, she felt the shape of her own power. Not fully, not completely but enough to know it existed.
A sudden gust of wind swept through the clearing, ruffling her hair, brushing against her skin like invisible fingers. Leaves danced around her in spirals, forming shapes almost familiar, almost alive.
"You can fight it," he said, "but why? This world, this forest is part of you. And I am part of you too. Always have been."
Aria's knees weakened. Her mind spun with conflicting emotions: fear, desire, awe, and a pull she could not name.
The golden eyes of Damien, piercing through the shadows, held her in place. She wanted to flee, wanted to run back to campus, to Lila, to the normal life she had known.
But the forest, the pull, the fire in her blood would not let her.
And deep in the recesses of her mind, Aria knew: she would never be able to resist him. Not now, not ever.
She sank to her knees fully, letting the forest hum through her, the golden light in her eyes flickering brighter. A howl ripped through the trees not Damien's, not entirely human, and not yet fully wolf but it shook her from the ground up, resonating with the fire inside her.
Aria trembled, part terrified, part exhilarated, part… alive.
He extended a hand toward her, not touching, but close enough that she felt the heat radiating from him. "Step closer," he said. "Embrace it. Embrace yourself. Only then will you understand what you are."
The pull of the forest was unbearable. Her body, mind, and instincts screamed to obey.
And she did.
One step. Then another.
The golden light in her eyes flared, the ache in her bones eased slightly, and the hunger… softened into something she could control, just barely.
She met Damien's gaze. The world around her seemed to fall away, leaving only the forest, the fire in her blood, and him.