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.

Elara

I did not shout.

Though part of me should have-some human instinct set for fear-that part seemed far away, muffled, like it had been buried under something heavier and older.

The forest had gotten suspiciously silent.

No wind, no insects, no rain.

Only them.

Like shadows formed, they stood at the border of the trees, dark hair and wide shoulders faintly steaming off. Their eyes shone gold, silver, amber grabbing the moonlight filtered between the clouds. Wolves, I started to see faintly. Not quite human, not completely moved either. something in between.

My knees shook.

Adrian's body was in front of mine, firm and unyielding like a shield. I could sense the coiled, tense danger in him. His fingers flexed at his side as if holding back claws, his hand lifted somewhat. I lacked visibility.

He ordered, "Lower your eyes."

His voice had range even if it wasn't strong. Several of the men bent their heads and promptly followed.

Not the lady who had previously spoken.

She moved forward into sharper view, her boots brushing lightly against pebbles. She was tall and had dark hair braided tightly down her back. Her face was sharp and beautiful in a severe, untouchable way. Power clung to her like an extra skin.

Her eyes: silver, cool, old, never left me.

She repeated again, this time more slowly, "So this is her." "Adrian, you were sloppy."

His jaw tightened. "You weren't supposed to come here. "

She said quietly, "And yet," but your link burst across three regions. Whether you intended to or not, you let everyone know she existed.

Bond? My ribs thrashed sharply against my heart.

"She is talking about what?" I murmured.

Adrian didn't turn back to face me, yet I felt his response run through me nevertheless: anxiety, remorse, wish so knotted I couldn't distinguish them.

She is the alpha of the Oakhaven pack, he asserted. "Selene".

Alpha, Pack.

Nothing here was actual. It could not be. And still, every part of me knew the truth in his words, as though my bones had been yearning for them.

Selene turned to Mark.

A few feet away he stood frozen, eyes wide and glassy with horror, lips somewhat parted. The cocky confidence I had formerly admired in him had totally shattered.

"A human observed this," Selene pointed out. "That makes things more complicated."

Mark at last had his voice. Elara... what the heck these people are?

I gulped. My throat felt sore. "Mark, you should go. Right now.

"Don't," he begged, moving closer to me. "Don't let them do this. You are causing me to panic.

Selene cocked her head and examined him as though he were a bug pinned on a board.

She retorted, "He knows nothing." "That makes him a liability."

The word made ice flow through my veins.

"No," I answered coldly, leaving Adrian behind before he could stop me. "He's not a burden. He is simply human.

Many wolves tightened up. Selene's brow curved. "You stand up for him."

"I'm urging you not to harm him."

Adrian then faced me at last after turning. "Elara..."

"Please," I begged. "Whatever this is... avoid letting me view that."

Something unintelligible passed across Selene's features.

She lifted one hand following a protracted pause. "Leave," she told Mark. "Run. Forget tonight's happenings. We will know whether you mention it.

Mark knew without being told twice.

Breath coming out in shattered sobs, he dashed down the street, shoes sliding on slick pavement.

Everything fell down on me the instant he vanished.

My knees gave way.

Arms instinctively locked around me, Adrian caught me before I landed. The heat, awareness, something near to relief sent a jolt through my body.

"Easy," he murmured. "I've got you."

I held onto him, my fingers digging into his damp shirt. My senses burned red hot. I could hear heartbeats-not only his but also others. Smell blood, pine, rain, anything wild and fascinating that spun my head.

I murmured, "This can't be real."

Selene said, "It is, and it's long past due."

They transported me to the woods.

I don't recall consenting to it. Just that at some point the street lights vanished, the houses engulfed in darkness, and trees stood all about us like old sentinels. 

The pack circled us without crowding, moving with unsettling silence. Adrian never let go of my hand.

The pull got stronger the further down we traveled.

Every move felt like something I had done before. Like returning to a location I had never been.

We stopped in a clearing bathed in moonlight. The clouds had opened to expose a full moon so brilliant it hurt to view.

Selene faced me straight on. She asked, "Tell me, have you observed changes?"

I stopped myself. Then nodded. "I sense everything. Smell more. I hear more."

She grinned somewhat. "Your awakening has begun."

"Awakening into what?" I inquired.

Her eyes shone. You are a latent werewolf.

The term reverberated through me. Werewolf.

I chuckle softly. "That can't be possible."

She continued, "And yet, your blood says otherwise."

Adrian pressed my hand. He replied cautiously, "Elara's mother was human. "Before she was born, her father vanished."

Selene's grin became piercing. "Disappeared is a sort of beautiful term."

My tummy fell. "You know my father?"

"I knew of him," Selene answered. "He had power. Old blood. And negligent.

"What came upon him?" I inquired.

She looked steadily at me. "He went against the wrong people."

The clearing looked to be shrinking.

And me? I enquired. "Why am I... like this?"

Selene's voice grew quiet. "Because his blood didn't die with him. It slumbered. Waiting.

Waiting on what? "For you," she said softly, as though she could read my mind.

My feet thumped the ground.

I gasped and grabbed my chest as heat flashed inside me-sharp, unbearable, like something trying to rip its way out.

"Elara!" Adrian got me as once more I screamed.

Pain flew through my bones and muscles. Screaming, I fell apart as my senses erupted-every sound too loud, every smell too overpowering.

I begged, "Make it stop!"

Selene concentrated intently. "It's going faster than we thought it would."

Adrian appeared enraged. "You said she had time!"

"I remarked most do," Selene corrected. "But Elara isn't most."

The moonlight seared white- hot.

I arched, something old and violent gushing through my veins as a sob broke from my throat.

Then... Silence.

The discomfort went as quickly as it had arrived.

Lying there, I gasp, heart thumping.

I pushed myself up slowly.

Things appeared different.

sharper. More straightforward.

I could see every leaf shivering in the wind. Listen for the far-off rush of water many kilometers away. Smell Adrian: his dread, his need, his tie to me-it so obviously sent my head spinning.

I reached my hands. They were trembling.

"What you did to me?" I mumbled.

Selene looked like she was about to pray.

She said, "Nothing." "I just watched it."

Adrian gave me a gaze like he was witnessing both a miracle and a disaster all at once.

He croaked, "You survived your first surge. "Unchanging."

"What does that imply?"

Stepping closer, Selene remarked, "It means your power is immense."

My stomach turned around. "I'm not seeking power. Give me my life back.

She let out a low chuckle. "You were never supposed to live normally."

Adrian stiffened. Enough.

Selene looked at him coldly. "You've gone soft."

"And you have turned cruel," he spat.

Her lips arched. "Tell me, Adrian, have you told her the truth?"

My breath stopped. "What truth?"

He turned aside. Selene spoke for him.

"Your connection was never a coincidence."

The globe shifted. I whispered, "What bond?" my voice hardly heard.

Selene stared right into me. "The kiss opened it. Still, it predated that by quite a bit.

I shook my head. "Not at all. That is not.."

She stated just, "You are his fated mate."

The phrases smacked me like a real punch.

Adrian's silence rang throughout.

And Selene continued, her voice falling, "that makes you a threat to every Alpha who fears what you might become."

A shiver of fear ran down my spine.

"What will I become?"

Selen smiled: deliberate, aware, and awful.

"A Luna," she remarked, "who could unite or destroy us all."