Ariana had always felt different.
While other girls laughed loudly and chased dreams of marriage and wealth, she preferred silence. The forest behind her grandmother's house was her sanctuary.
Every night, she walked beneath the moonlight, listening to the wind whisper secrets only she seemed to hear.
"Why do I feel like I don't belong anywhere?" she often asked herself.
She was eighteen, slim, with soft brown skin and eyes that shimmered silver whenever the moon was full. Her grandmother once told her those eyes were a blessing.
Or a curse.
That night, as Ariana walked deeper into the forest than usual, the moon suddenly turned red.
A Blood Moon.
Her heart raced.
The air grew thick. Shadows danced around her feet. Then she heard it.
A howl.
Not one.
Two.
Before she could run, three wolves appeared from the bushes. Huge. Dark. Their eyes glowed gold.
Ariana screamed.
But instead of attacking her, the wolves bowed.
Her knees weakened.
"What… what are you?" she whispered.
The largest wolf stepped forward. Light surrounded him. In seconds, he transformed into a man.
Tall. Muscular. Golden-eyed.
"I am Alpha Kael," he said gently. "And you are our Luna."