Multiple POV's in this Chapter

Adrian

I had not batted an eye against rogue Alphas.

I had stood motionless as their blood seeped into the ground, burying pack members myself. I had arranged flimsy truces under full moons and shattered teeth when diplomacy failed.

None of that compared to the silent torture of đứng at the front of a classroom while my buddy sat three rows back pretending I did not exist.

In my thoughts, the word still felt hazardous. Buddy.

The moment her lips brushed mine, my wolf accepted it. There had been no doubt, no hesitation, just acknowledgment so strong it almost compelled a shift in a packed hallway. On her lips I had tasted destiny; felt the link tighten like a steel trap around my soul.

She was also seventeen years old. Someone who attends class.

Human-at least she assumed so.

I dismissed the class and clutched my desk, making myself to exhale slowly. The bell rang, merciful and sharp, letting a wave of bodies into the hallway. Head down, Elara followed them; her perfume trailed behind her like a live being.

Wildflowers, rain, moonlight.

My wolf surged ahead, hostile and greedy.

mine. "No," I mumbled quietly.

The term was for myself as it was for him.

Letting out the breath I had been holding, I waited until the room was empty. The walls still seemed too near. Her presence lingered like heat after fire, and the bond hummed under my skin, demanding attention.

Not like this, this was not meant to happen.

I had come to Oakhaven to guard my territory, to shield my pack from the unrest infiltrating the forests. Not a curse encased in improbable decisions, the mate bond was meant to be a boon given just at the proper time.

Quickly packing my stuff, I departed the school; every stride far from her felt like retribution.

Outside, the late afternoon sky promised rain. Ancient and wary, the forest towered past the parking lot. My wolf yearned it, yearning release. I didn't fight him.

The transformation ripped through me the minute I crossed the tree line.

Cracked bones. Muscles extended. The planet honed itself into sound, scent, and gut instinct. Sinking into the familiar weight of fur and strength as I descended onto four enormous paws onto the forest floor, I welcomed it.

Liberty. I rushed.

As I pressed farther into the forest, lungs burning, senses tingling, the earth blurred under me. I could detect the aromas of foxes, deer, faraway pack members wandering the margins. Everything was in perfect order.

Until her fragrance seeped into the atmosphere. fresh, nearby.

My mind sprang up. Elara.

Not yet in the forest, she felt the bond tug powerfully, an awareness warning flare. Hackles rising, my wolf growled low in his chest.

Danger wasn't present right away. But it was nearing.

Keeping downwind, I changed route and returned toward the school. Leaves whispering like secrets, the woodland whispered around me. Something felt not quite right. Beneath the familiar aromas of home, the air had a slight odd flavor.

Rogues. I paused and muscles coiled.

And then I heard it-a too heavy, erratic scratch for any animal that lived here.

I did not stop to think. 

Elara's viewpoint

Staying late was wrong of me.

I realized as soon the studio lights flickered overhead, creating long shadows over the unused area. Gold and red stained the windows as the sun sank quickly, and silence squeezed in around me.

Still, I lacked the ability to leave myself.

Always my hideaway had been the art room. This location calmed my head when it got too noisy. Charcoal dust on my fingertips. The scent of vintage wood and paint. Known, stabilizing.

Still, even that was insufficient today.

Heart beating, I prepared my easel and watched at the empty canvas. Gray eyes, a nocturnal forest, the heat of a kiss that refused to fade all throng uninvited in my thoughts.

I picked up the brush, then halted.

Through the opened window came a sound. Low. Rough.

I lost my breath.

It sounded like... growling.

I said it was only an animal. After all, the forest pressed right up against the school grounds. Occasionally, coyotes could roam around towns.

Still, my skin prickled.

Once again, closer this time, the growl came before a sudden burst like splitting wood.

I moved back from the window.

"Hello?" My voice sounded small. No response.

My heart pounded quicker, every beat ringing in my ears. The charged air was heavy, like before a storm. Every intuition screamed at me to go, to run.

Outside, a shadow shifted. Big; quickly.

I gasped, falling backwards as something hit the trees outside the window. Deep and wrathful, there was a growl then followed by a sound I couldn't identify, half scream, half roar.

This was something else rather than a coyote.

I darted for the door and grabbed my bag. It exploded open before I got there.

I screamed.

Adrian's Point of View

Younger than me, lean and desperate, the rogue's eyes were blazing with insanity and hunger. Pursuing something he had no entitlement to smell, he had entered my area.

My friend.

He dove.

I confronted him directly.

The trees shook as we slammed teeth and claws flashing. He battled unfairly, snapping and slashing, yet dread caused him to be sloppy. I growled a warning shaking the ground under us as I drove him back. Departure.

He paid no attention.

Rage burst white-hot. I restrained him, jaws closing around his neck just hard enough to remind him who governed this realm.

Then, a scream. Elara's.

The link caught fire.

I let out the rogue and pivoted, running toward the noise; every sense screamed protect. The cowardice ultimately prevailed as the renegade ran in the other way.

I didn't run after him. Her alone counted.

From Elara's perspective,

In the hall, I collided with him.

Solid. Warm. Fixed.

Before I could strike the floor, strong arms caught me.

"Elara," a familiar voice said urgently. "Are you wounded?"

Mr. Thorne. No, Adrian.

My knees quivered as I clung to him without thinking, fingers burrowing into his coat. "Something was beyond."

"I know," he responded softly.

His grasp grew strong, defensive, certain. Though my heart crashed against my ribs, I felt secure-for the first time since the rumbling began.

He recoiled only enough to turn to face me, his eyes scanning my face with a force that caused my breathing to stutter.

"You shouldn't be here alone," he remarked.

"I didn't believe..." "Know."

Like he understood far more than I had said, the words carried weight.

A noise outside-a far-off scream-sent chills through me.

Adrian tightened up. "You must return home," he ordered precisely. "Now."

"What regarding-" I'll get it taken care of.

Something in his tone broached no discussion.

I swallowed hard and nodded. "All right."

With a predatory intensity, he walked me to the doorway and scanned the shadows. Charged, dangerous, alive: The air around him felt different now.

I stopped outside. "Mr. Thorne?

He stopped. I said, "Thank you."

The planet went very still for a heartbeat.

He murmured, "You're welcome."

Then he turned and went back into the building.

Mark phoned me twelve times that night. I was mute.

Rather, I stood staring out at the darkened woodland past my home from my bedroom window. The moon was ascending, full and bright, giving the trees a silver illumination. 

My heart beat faster the longer I looked.

Somewhere out there, something ancient and powerful roamed the woods.

And somehow, impossibly, I knew it was watching over me.

Elara

By morning, the forest appeared to be closer.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I noticed it. Underneath the everyday noises of my area-distant vehicles, a barking dog, the hum of somebody's lawn sprinkler- ran something calmer and deeper. One slow pulse. It was breathing just like the globe itself.

I lay immobile, heart pounding, gaze fixed at the roof. I reminded myself to get a grip.

I had not slept a lot. I saw flashes of fur and moonlight every time I passed off; felt the echo of firm arms surrounding me; heard a growl that throb through my bones rather than my ears.

I turned onto my side and crammed my head in my pillow.

Stress was this. Trauma. Almost being eaten by... a delayed response to humiliation and betrayal. No. I sharply cut off that thought.

Whatever I had heard last night, whatever I had sensed, it couldn't be what my brain kept advising.

On autopilot, I crawled out of bed and set myself for school. The crisp morning air clung around me as I emerged outside. I inhaled and halted.

The planet opened into extreme detail.

From someone's newly watered garden three houses down, I detected wet earth. I sensed the faint whiff of petrol from a car that had passed just minutes earlier. My neighbor's coffee aroma wafted through the opened across-street window.

My breathing faltered. That was not customary.

I shook my head forcefully as though I could move the feeling. I murmured, "You're overslept." "That is all."

Still, the sensation remained.

The moment I walked inside Crestwood High, it buzzed with activity.

Whispers followed me along the hallway, faint but distinct. I intercepted bits: hallway, teacher, Mark; each term stung my skin.

I held my head up.

I wasn't going to satisfy their wish to hear me crack if they were going to speak.

Mark located me next to my locker. "Elara," he said, starting to cross my path. "Please."

I rigid. My senses honed without my permission follow every movement, every change in his tone. Too sweet and powerful, his cologne caused my stomach to flip.

"What do you want?" I questioned.

Frustration etched across his face, he ran a hand through his hair. "I messed up. That is known to me. But you kissing him...?

"Don't," I snapped. You are not allowed to be enraged.

"I'm not furious," he said swiftly. "I am afraid." That was unexpected to me.

"Scared of what?" He turned his gaze down the aisle. "of losing you."

Something in my chest warped, yet it was not pity. It was exhaustion.

"You lost me already," I replied softly.

His jaw contracted. "Because of a mistake?"

I corrected, "Because of a choice." "And because you lied."

He reached for my arm. I backed off.

Heat shot under my skin and the air seemed to thrum. For a split second, an image flashed through my mind; Mark on the ground, me standing over him, stronger than I had any right to be.

That idea startled me.

"Don't touch me," I said once more, my voice calmer than I felt.

He looked at me, something black flashing behind his eyes. "This is not over."

"No," I replied. "It is."

My heart beating, I walked away before he could answer.

English classes were hell.

Though I sat down and kept my eyes forward, it was impossible to disregard Mr. Thorne-Adrian. Every move he made recorded like a ripple over water. His voice sank under my skin, warm and grounding in a way that defied logic.

Once as he was elucidating an assignment I experienced a sudden rise in something.

Tension Furiousness. Clear and deliberate. I looked up quickly.

He focused his gaze on Mark, seated two rows over with crossed arms and clenched jaw. The space between them felt electrified for a heartbeat, like a cable pulled too taut.

Then Adrian blinked and shifted away.

The strain lessened.

My heart missed not. Was it a dream?

I gulped and pushed myself toward the board.

I had frayed nerves by lunch.

Chloe watched me over her sandwich with brows tightly drawn. You seem restless today.

Am not. "You flinched when someone dropped a fork."

I sighed. "I slept none."

She checked me for a short moment. "Mark has been staring at you as if you  kicked his dog."

"That's his problem."

"And Mr. Thorne," she said thoughtfully, "keeps appearing as though he's about to kill someone."

I gagged on my drink. "What?

She said quickly, "I'm kidding." Then stopped. "Mostly."

I sighed. "This will never end."

Chloe extended her hand across the table and grasped mine. It will. Eventually.

I wished she was correct.

The afternoon dragged on. My senses remained sharp as though my body was always on high alert. Sounds were louder. sharper colors. My and others' emotions seemed closer, heavier.

Relief flowed over me as the last bell went.

till I left outside.

Low and hefty clouds were rolling in, the heavens had darkened. Far off, thunder rattled and a sound resonated in my gut.

Walking faster than normal, I turned toward the woods several times. Silent, the trees cast shadows between their boles.

I almost made it to my street when I discovered someone was chasing me.

I slowed my pace. Their's did as well.

My heart pounded. I spun around and stopped abruptly.

Mark was a few feet back, rain starting to spatter his shoulders.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Ensuring you arrive safely," he stated.

"I wasn't asking you to."

He moved toward. "You've been behaving strangely."

That is not your business.

"Everything about you is my business," he yelled.

Anger burned, hot and quickly. "You lost that privilege."

Above thunder thundered, causing me to jerk. Cold drops soaking my clothing began the rain in earnest.

Mark's voice fell. "You believe you're better than me right?"

I looked at him. "I believe I should have better."

His hand shot out, grabbing my wrist.

Pain intensified, yet something else grew under. - Power.

I rotated and quickly released myself, which astounded both of us. Mark staggered back, looking at me as though I'd developed fangs.

"What the hell," he exhaled.

My heart was racing as I gazed at my own hand. I had not stretched. Hadn't given even a shot.

Just as startled, I said, "I-I don't know."

Another noise slashed the downpour. A hiss.

low and near.

Mark's head jerked toward the woods. "Did you catch that?"

Though I was terrified, underneath was something different. acknowledgement.

"Go home," I said swiftly. "What?" "Now."

Once more, the growl came louder this time.

Mark lost his courage. Eyes wide, he moved back. "This spot is wrong."

He ran. My heart pounding, I stood there with rain lashing my hair to my face.

A pair of gold eyes shone from the tree's perimeter.

They watched me purposefully rather than with hunger.

The rain intensified, obscuring my eyesight. The eyes were gone when I blinked.

That night I had no running dreams.

I dreamt of standing.

Facing the woodland with my head erect, power humming beneath my skin, something old and patient waiting for me to seize it.

When I awoke, thunder sounded like a pledge.

Deep inside me something responded, too.

Elara

I withheld from everyone details of the eyes in the forest.

Not Chloe. Not my mother. Not even myself, not completely. Looking at it too closely could cut me open, like something too sharp to touch, so I folded the memory away.

But my body kept recall of things.

I was unbalanced all day as though gravity had slightly altered. My heart beat faster than normal, my patience was shorter, and my emotions rose faster than normal. Every noise seemed to touch too near to my skin. Every smell stayed.

Through it all, too, he was there.

Thorne, Adrian. I sensed him before I could see him.

It occurred in the third and fourth period hallway. The bell had just rung, lockers closing with a thud, and voices blending together in a cacophony. I froze as I exited the science wing.

Talking to another teacher, he was at the far end of the corridor.

Our eyes came together as his head raised. The planet grew smaller.

Though it was subtle, there was no question about it-a tug, like an invisible thread tightening between us. My breath snatched. He straightened his stance. Something primal flashed over his face for a portion of a second, then faded behind that cool, unreadable mask.

I first avoided eye contact. My heart would not decelerated.

This is absurd, I told myself. He is your instructor. Once you kissed him. There it is.

My body, however, rejected my words.

English lesson was worse than normal.

Aware of the surroundings, I sat down. Standing in the front of the room, Adrian's eyes scanned the class as his hands rested gently on the desk. As they passed over me, they hung just a beat too long.

To me, it seemed like a touch.

There is pressure in my chest. A warmth that emanated outward, burying itself into my bones.

He said flatly, "Today we will be talking about themes of identity in gothic literature."

The word identity struck harder than it ought to have.

I found myself answering questions without raising my hand as the class went on; words flowed freely. I saw subtleties in the text I had never noticed before, links developing with amazing clarity.

Adrian kept a keen eye on me. Not really.

deliberately. I shot to my feet and fled before he could speak anything as the bell rang.

During lunch, Chloe cornered me.

"All right," she muttered, settling into the chair across from me. You are formally making me panic.

I reached out to poke at my food. "I'm good."

She said, nodding to my hand, "You just crushed a plastic fork.

I glanced downward. The fork was bent almost in half.

Heat shot to my face. I let it like it burned me. "I didn't intend to."

Chloe stared. "Elara... what's happening?"

I stopped myself. The truth strained at my teeth, eager to escape but how could I convey it without seeming insane?

Slowly, I said, "I think something is wrong with me."

Her face turned lighter. Hello. We will find out whatever it is.

I hoped to believe that. It rained once more that afternoon.

The sky was a dark slate gray when I arrived home, and the air felt dense and heavy. Straight to my room, I slammed the door behind me after dropping my bag near the door.

I walked about.

My skin was too tight. Energy danced under it, erratic and thirsty. Usually my retreat, I experimented with drawing, but my hands trembled and lines came out jagged and crazy.

Angry, I threw the sketchbook away. That was the time I smelled it.

Ground soaked with rain. Pine.

Underneath it all, something cozy and known.

My heart fluttered. I reached the window.

Adrian was across the street.

He lacked an umbrella. Rain saturated his black hair and clung to his wide shoulders. He turned up to face my eyes.

My heart pounded. He raised a hand little, not waving. Querying.

I couldn't recall making the choice to go outside. One minute I was peering through glass, the next I was rushing out the front door in a hoodie.

We met halfway at the edge of my yard, among the bony branches of the old oak.

"You shouldn't be here," I muttered.

"I know," he said back.

Usually deep, his voice was rough around the edges. 

Rain fell around us as we stood there, the air thick with unspoken words.

I murmured, "I'm not picturing this, am I?" "Whatever is happening to me."

"No," he responded.

The word fell like a stone thrown into calm water.

My breath caught in my throat. "Then share with me."

He seemed torn, jaw tightened, hands gripping at his sides as though holding himself back.

Slowly he added, "There are things that once known, cannot be undone."

"I couldn't give a damn."

"There is the issue," he stated, a flash of anguish crossing his features. "I care."

Overhead, thunder boomed near enough to shake the earth.

"Last night," I continued, shoving, "there was something in the woods."

His eyes flashed.

"What did you see?" he inquired tersely.

I told eyes, "Watching me."

His shoulders relaxed a little. "You were not in danger."

"How do you find out?"

"Because I was there."

The earth flipped.

You-what?

He approached nearer. He emanated heat, overwhelming but also grounding.

He murmured "Elara," my name sounding like a confession, "you're not human."

The phrases made no sense at all.

I laughed-a brief, shaky noise. "That's not funny."

"I'm not kidding."

My heart beat so violently it hurt. "What am I then?"

Before he could respond, a sound interrupted the downpour.

One voice. "Elara!"

I twirled.

Mark stood soaked and enraged at the end of the driveway, his eyes flashing between Adrian and me.

He demanded: "What the hell is going on?"

Adrian jumped in front of me quickly.

territorial. defensive.

The air changed. Mark realized.

His eyes tightened. "Get away from her."

"No," Adrian retorted coolly. "You should."

Mark chuckled sharply. "You are not at liberty to direct me."

Adrian's skin had something low and hazardous churning under it. I sensed it like a wave of pressure, my own heart synchronizing to it.

"Mark," I exclaimed anxiously, "just go."

"Not till I get answers," he snapped. "Why do you always pick him?"

When I opened my mouth, the earth shook.

Not quite as thunder. Something else, too.

The sound behind us burst out: howls, deep and layered, reverberating among the rain-drenched trees.

Mark's face lost all pigment.

He questioned sotto voce, "What...what is that?"

Under his breath, Adrian muttered curses. He said, "They're here."

I said, "Who are they?"

He swiveled toward me, eyes obviously gold. "My pack."

Before I could make sense of that, forms appeared from the treeline.

Tall. Unnatural.

Eyes shining in the darkness.

One came forward, bigger than the rest, eyes focused on me with searing passion.

A woman's voice cut through the silence, loud and clear.

She said, her eyes shifting from Adrian to me, "So, this is the girl."

My knees became weak.

Adrian's tone sank to a hushed reverence.

"My Luna."

The woman then grinned and shook her head.

She corrected quietly, "No." "Not yours."

She turned to me with a sharp glance.

She belongs to something far older.

The world became silent.

And somewhere deep inside me, something ancient awoke.