The night didn't sleep after that.
Even after Luca's words faded into the hum of the fire, I could feel them lingering — not just in the air, but in me. Silver meets sin. It sounded less like a warning and more like a prophecy whispered by someone who already knew how it ended.
When I finally drifted off, my dreams bled into each other. The forest pulsed with light, trees bending toward me as though listening. In the distance, I saw eyes — dozens of them — reflecting the moon like mirrors. And somewhere in that sea of eyes, one pair glowed like burning gold. Luca's.
Then came the sound — a low, sorrowful howl that cracked through the dream and dragged me back into waking.
---
I woke to cold air and silence. The fire had burned down to embers, and the smell of rain still clung to the wood. For a moment I thought I was alone again — until I heard the creak of the floorboard.
Luca stood near the door, half-shadowed, as if the moonlight refused to touch him completely. His expression was unreadable.
"They're close," he said.
"Who?"
"The pack."
The words made something deep in me tighten. "Yours?"
His jaw flexed. "Not anymore."
That answer was too calm to be safe.
---
He moved toward the window, scanning the trees. "They'll come at nightfall. They can sense what you are now — they can smell it."
"And what am I?" I asked, frustration cutting through the fear.
He turned to me slowly, eyes unreadable. "A beacon. To them, you're something ancient — something that shouldn't exist anymore."
"That's not an answer."
"No," he said softly. "It's a beginning."
---
For the rest of the day, Luca prepared — not with weapons, but with wards. Symbols drawn in salt, herbs burned until the air thickened with sage and smoke. I watched, trying to memorize each pattern, each movement. It was ritualistic, deliberate — and it scared me more than any monster could have.
By late afternoon, the light began to fade. Clouds gathered, swallowing the sun whole.
"You're leaving, aren't you?" I said.
He didn't look at me. "If I stay, they'll find you faster."
"Then take me with you."
That made him turn — sharply, eyes flashing. "No."
"I can help."
"You don't even know what you're becoming."
"Then teach me!"
The silence that followed was raw and trembling. Finally, he said, "You don't teach instincts, Aria. You survive them."
---
When the storm broke that night, it wasn't just thunder that rolled through the forest — it was movement. I felt it before I heard it: the vibration underfoot, the ripple of something massive running through the trees.
Luca's head snapped toward the door. "Get down."
The next instant, the windows shuddered. Shadows passed outside, too quick to see clearly but too large to be human. The growls weren't just animal — they carried language beneath them. Warnings. Challenges.
Luca's hand brushed the silver charm at my throat. "Keep this on you. Don't speak if they call."
"If who calls?"
"The ones who remember your blood."
Then the door burst open.
---
The first shape through it was enormous — black fur matted with rain, teeth flashing white. It lunged, but Luca was faster. He slammed into it, both crashing into the wall with a sound that shook the beams.
I stumbled back, heart pounding. The creature's claws slashed, but Luca moved like instinct and fury combined. For a second, his face shifted — eyes glowing amber, fangs bared — and I saw the truth of what he'd been hiding.
He wasn't just a werewolf.
He was a predator holding himself together by will alone.
"Run!" he shouted.
But I didn't. Something inside me refused.
When the second creature entered, I raised my hand — and the charm flared.
---
Light exploded from it — not white, but silver, pure and cutting. The air split with a sound like thunder cracking. Both wolves staggered back, snarling. My body burned from the inside out, every nerve singing. I felt my pulse sync with something older, wilder — something mine.
And then, suddenly, silence.
The wolves fled.
The light faded.
Luca stood across from me, chest heaving, eyes wide. "You shouldn't be able to do that."
"I didn't know I could."
He took a step closer. "Your blood… it's not just wolf."
"What is it then?"
He looked at me for a long, heavy moment. "Half of what hunts me," he said quietly. "And half of what I swore to protect."
---
The fire flickered between us, painting everything gold and shadow. For a moment, I couldn't tell if we were allies or opposites — savior and curse standing in the same light.
He reached out slowly, fingers brushing my cheek. "They'll come again. They won't stop until they have you."
"Then they'll have to go through you," I whispered.
He smiled, faint and tired. "They'll go through both of us."
---
Outside, the forest stirred again. But this time, I didn't feel afraid.
I felt awake.
Something deep within me — something ancient — had opened its eyes, and it wasn't going back to sleep.
When the next howl echoed through the valley, I understood its meaning for the first time.
It wasn't just a warning.
It was a summons.
And whether I wanted to or not… I was going to answer.