MARKED BY MOONLIGHT

~~~Aria~~~

The wolves had many rules in the Moonsilver Pack. And I've seemed to break all of them simply by existing. Being different was the fastest way to become invisible. This place was home for most wolves. But for me, it was a silent reminder that I've never belonged.

Not one of them… exactly who I was. I was just being tolerated. And being tolerated is worse more than being hated in a pack like this. Because if you're being hated, at least it meant that you actually mattered.

The moment I crossed the clearing, I kept my head just facing down, then I adjusted the basket to sit well on my arm. The morning air felt sharp with pine and damp earth, and the scent of every wolf felt so heavy and alive all around me. To my left—laughter rose from the training grounds— low, rough, filled with pride as I walked passed it. That kind of sound that comes so easily to those who truly belong.

I didn't look, because I never did. Looking only get me reminded over and over again… of what I can't be.

The heavy thud of bodies hitting the packed dirt while training followed by the sharp bark of laughter cut through the thick air. It was either someone won, or someone lost. It doesn't really matter which of them. Because they're all wolves… something I was never meant to be.

I kept on walking. Step by step, breath by breath. That's how I'd always survived here. The main hall, built from dark damp wood and stone, carved with markings that spoke of strength and legacy… blood, lomed ahead of me. Everything I lack.

Two guards were standing at the entrance, they kept their expressions blank as I approached. They didn't stop me, of course they wont, and they never would. Because I was nothing important at all for them to question.

When I got inside the hall, the air felt thick, warmer, with the scent of cooked meat and herbs. Voices echoed along the high walls of the hall—some were sharp, while some were low, all felt familiar in a way that never included me. I moved quietly along the edge of the room, then placed the basket closer to the long table where the higher ranking wolves would soon assemble.

No one thanked me, and no one even looked at me. Good. That felt easier, then I turned to leave…

“Careful,” came the words, so soft. Too soft.

But it stopped me to my ground anyway, making me to freeze at the moment. Not really because of the tone, but because of who it belonged to.

Serenya.

I turned my back slowly.

She stood closer to the far end near the table. Her fingers kept gliding lightly over the wood, as if she owns not just only the place—but including everyone in it. You know… which in a way, she somehow did. That beauty of hers isn't the kind that demanded attention. It doesn't even needs to, because it gradually pulls it, effortlessly, until too late for you, before you realize that you've been caught in it.

Her eyes settled down on me. Cold. Interested. Measured.

Oh Goddess, that felt too new to me. It made me tightened my grip firmly on the edge of the basket on my arms. “I didn't spill anything,” I carefully said, bowing my head downwards.

Her lips curved, but it wasn't a smile. No. It looked so sharp. “And I wasn't talking about the food.”

The room suddenly felt… so small. As if something invisible, something I couldn't see shifted. I didn't respond at all. I've learnt better.

Serenya took a step forward, closer, her gaze never leaving mine. And the way she looked at me… there was something so unsettling about it—it wasn't like the way the others did. Not cruel and yet not dismissive.

It was searching. Yeah. Like she's trying to see something beneath my skin. If there was truly anything there at all.

“I think you should learn,” she continued, calmly, “how to move without drawing attention,” she added. But something didn't sit right well with the tone she used.

The room fell into silence. Then—

“Because you're not good enough to survive it,” she added.

The words landed gently in my ears. And that's really what made situations like this felt worse. I calmly lowered my gaze. “Understood.”

A quiet pause, it stretched between us for a moment too long. Then Serenya hummed slightly as if already satisfied, then she turned away and left me there. Still.

Just like that. As if I was never worth more than a passing thought. My chest felt so tight immediately. It wasn't because of the words. Because I'm already used to those words. But it was from something else, and that something was what I can't really explain.

I left there quickly, pulled in a slow breath as I stepped back and the weight from the hall lifted off from my shoulders. But it didn't fully went away. No. That never did.

I never went back to the lower quarters. Not yet. My feet carried me towards the edge of the village instead. Through where the trees grew thicker and the sounds from the pack faded away. It felt safer here, always. And more quieter than in the pack. Or at least, that's the way it felt for me. You know why? Because the forest never judged me a bit. Not at all. The forest doesn't care what I am. Not at all.

A cool breeze moved through the leaves, soft and whispering. I closed my eyes for some moments and allowed the cool breeze to brush on top of my skin. And there it came again. That feeling, it was faint,but it was there. Like something that was reaching back to me. My fingers twitched closer to my side. It had been happening more often lately. Just small subtle things. The way the air always shifted especially when I'm alone. Even the way my body feels wrong, sometimes though. It felt too restless. Too warm. Like something kept pressing just under the surface, waiting.

I didn't even tell anyone at all. Because who would I even tell? That's even better, what should I have said? That I always felt something inside of me that doesn't belong? Damn it. They already believed that completely. A dry laugh almost escaped through my throat.

I moved deeper into the silent forest. But there I was, following a path I never remembered chosing. The ground under my feet kept on slopping slightly, and the scent of water kept on growing stronger with every step I took.

No. My chest tightened slightly. Not today! But my body never listened at all. It just kept on pulling me further anyway.

The river finally came into view through the spaces on the tree. It's surface glinted beneath the pale morning light. It felt more quieter here. It always had been, anytime. Even as a child, this place had felt… different. Like it knew me a lot. Or, like I knew it either way. My breath came uneven as I stopped at the edge of the river.

This was exactly where Elder Myra had found me. Wrapped inside nothing, just left for the dead I guessed. Or maybe left for something else. The thought alone sent a shiver through my bones. I took one step closer, then another, and another. Even though there was no wind at the moment, the water still rippled softly. It made my heart shutter with relief, though. But yet, something felt wrong.

I pressed my hands to my chest, frowned as I felt a sudden, strange pressure built behind my ribs, sharp. “Not now, please.”

It's too early. Too much. For that feeling to erupt again.

My breath came faster as the feeling began to spread—heat, slow at first, then it began to grow faster. I felt my skin prickled, every nerve in my body suddenly felt awake.

What the hell was this today? It had never felt like this before, not at all. I staggered a step backwards… and then that's when I felt it—it hit.

I quickly felt a sharp burning pain as it sliced through my shoulder, stealing the air away from my lungs. I felt the whole world tilted around me then I gasped, and immediately dropped to my knees.

“What—”

But my voice broke because of the way the pain intensified. It pulsed like something alive under my skin. My nails digged down into the fabric on me as I clutched at my shoulders, as if I could just ripped out that sensation.

Light.

There came light. Silver. Faint. For a split of seconds, it just flickered under my skin. Then it vanished away… disappeared. Just like that, as if it wasn't there just now, and then the pain on my shoulders also disappeared. And the entire forest? It went still. Too still.

I felt my breathing loud in my ears, so loud. Then I slowly lifted up my head but my heart was still pounding inside my chest.

“What… was that?”

The question slipped out. But then… no answer at all. Only silence. But did I tell you it wasn't totally an empty silence? It felt like a watching silence. A very cold awareness suddenly crawled up my spine.

It didn't felt like I was totally alone. The feeling was just sudden. Every instinct I didn't even understood a bit screamed at me to move. Now! And that was when I pushed myself up quickly, ignoring that pain that lingered a little on my shoulder. Then my gaze darted quickly towards the trees. Nothing! No sound. No movement.

But… something was definitely there. I can feel it, for the way my pulse quickened…

“Who's there?” My voice came out so quiet than I intended.

Nothing. No response came. Of course not. Because why would there be?

I took a slow step back, another, then another. I didn't turn my back, not at all. The air suddenly felt heavier now. Like that kind of moment before a storm breaks.

And then— I heard a branch snapped. Not loud, and it wasn't dramatic, but it was enough.

Enough that I didn't wait. I turned. And ran.

As I pushed myself through the leaves, branches caught my arm, my breathing became fast and uneven. My mind raced, trying to make sense of what had just happened— but nothing fits. Nothing made sense at all. The light. The pain. That sudden new feeling… and the certainty that I was truly being watched.

I increased my pace, didn't stopped running until the sounds from the village began to return, until the weight of other wolves pressed in around me again.

That was the only time I slowed. Only then did I breath well. But that feeling didn't leave at all. It lingered, just under my skin, and inside my bones. Just in the air around me.

Something had really changed. I didn't know why and I didn't know exactly wh

at it is.

But this I know— that it isn't over.

And whatever it is that's happening to me…it's just the beginning.