Meeting her brother Ryder.....
Lucia hugged her worn copy of _The Art of Hidden Flowers_, a book filled with secrets of a world beyond hers. The pages whispered of moonlit transformations, of shadows that moved like living things, and of a place where humans weren't alone. She'd found it in her adoptive parents' attic, tucked between old trunks and dusty photographs. Tonight, the moon hung low, casting eerie silhouettes across her small apartment in the city's quiet district. The Joneses, her parents, were away on a "business trip"—a euphemism for their growing unease about her…differences.
A knock at the door made her heart skip. No one visited. No one knew her real name—Lucia Foster, a name the Joneses gave her. She peeked through the peephole.
A stranger stood there, tall and wild-haired, eyes gleaming like a wolf's in the dim hall light. "Lucia," he whispered, voice barely audible. "I've been searching for you."
Her fingers trembled as she opened the door. The scent of wet earth and forest flooded in, swirling with the stranger's wild energy. "Who are you?"
"I'm Ryder," he said, stepping closer. Moonlight danced in his eyes. "Your brother."
The room spun. _Brother?_ A word she'd never dared dream of. Lucia's mind raced—no memories, no faces, no voice but the Joneses'. Yet Ryder's eyes held a truth she couldn't deny.
"Prove it," she whispered.
Ryder pulled a small, leather-bound box from his jacket. Inside lay a silver pendant, etched with a crescent moon. "Our mother gave this to me before…before she died. You were taken as a baby. The pack thought you were lost."
Lucia's fingers brushed the pendant. A spark of…_something_—a memory?—flushed through her veins like ice and fire.
Before she could ask more, a howl sliced through the night—low, mournful, and unmistakably _hungry_. Ryder's eyes flashed gold. "They've found you."
"Who?" she breathed.
"The hunters. They don't want you alive, Lucia. You're a relic of the old blood—a werewolf child raised human."
Lucia's breath caught. _Werewolf._ The word echoed in her mind like a scream. She stumbled back, but Ryder caught her arm.
"Stay with me. I'll explain everything. But we must leave. _Now._"
The howl grew louder. Closer. Lucia's heart pounded. Part of her wanted to run—to flee into the shadows and vanish. Another part screamed to stay hidden, to pretend she was human.
Ryder tugged her hand. "Come. The pack will protect you."
Lucia glanced back at the apartment—the Joneses' things, her books, the life she knew. It was a lie. The truth was outside, waiting in the dark.
"Okay," she whispered.
Ryder pulled her into the night. Wind whipped her hair as they sprinted through alleys, the moon overhead a burning crescent. Footsteps echoed behind—not just one hunter, but dozens. The city blurred. Lucia's lungs burned.
Then: trees. A forest. The scent of damp earth and leaves. Ryder slowed, breathing steady, and pulled her into a crouch behind a thick oak.
"Safe," he whispered. "For now."
Lucia's breath fogged the air. "What…what happens now?"
Ryder's eyes gleamed. "You meet the pack. Learn what it means to be a wolf."
A twig snapped. A shadow emerged from the trees—a girl with piercing green eyes and hair like autumn leaves. "Ryder," she said, voice low. "You brought her."
"This is Aria," Ryder said. "She'll help you adjust."
Aria nodded, eyes fixed on Lucia. "Welcome to the wild, little wolf."
The moon overhead seemed to pulse. Lucia felt her heartbeat sync with it, a primal drumbeat in her veins. _She_ was a werewolf. The thought terrified and thrilled her.
Ryder leaned closer. "You have choices, Lucia. Stay with the pack…or return to your old life. But know this—the hunters won't stop. You're a key to something bigger."
Lucia's fingers curled into claws. The shadows whispered her name..