LATE NIGHT TROUBLE

I was lead by the healer into a small lodge,the lodge smelt like herbals and something slightly burnt, but I could not tell what exactly it was, it was unfamiliar and new.

A mix of lavender,mint,and only what I could possibly assume was old blood filled the air, piercing through my nostrils,making my nose twitch.

The room itself was warm, a small fire was lit by the corner which served as a source of illumination to the spacious lodge, I raised my head to examine the contents of the room, dried leafs and glass bottles filled with weird coloured liquids.

Definitely not my usual scene.

"Sit,my child",the healer instructed, pointing at a wooden stool with assurance, like she would not take no for an answer.

I hesitated. Something about her made me feel.....safe,like I was finally at home. Which was weird, because I have not felt safe in a long time.

"Come on do not be stubborn. I won't bite", she added,her brown eyes twinkling with excitement.

With a sign, I sat. The moment my weight hit the stool, exhaustion slammed me into me like a brick. The sides of my ribs ached from all angles, my head felt like it was floating, and my shirt was sticky with dried blood.

"May I ", the healer asked, while reaching out already for my torn shirt.

I nodded, too tired to argue. She lifted the fabric gently, and the second my deep wound was exposed to the bare cool air,I flinched with pain.

She let out a soft hiss. "Tsk. You are walking around like nothing actually happened, but this is deep, how did you even....?

"Get caught up in a fight", I murmured.

Tilting her head at an angle, she stared at me, her gaze flicked up, sharp and knowing.

"With someone, or with yourself?"

I frowned." What does that even mean?"

She chuckled for the second time, shaking her head." You remind me of someone", she said as she dipped a cloth into a bowl of warm steamy water.

" Yeah?, Who"

" A girl I knew a long time ago. always putting up a front, acting like she did not care when she was actually carrying the world on her shoulders".

I did not know what to reply to that. So I said nothing.

She started cleaning up my deep wound, and damn did that shit sting. I clenched my jaw, trying not to show how much it burned, but she saw through me despite my defensiveness.

" Strong, but still human", she mused.

"Even the strongest needs help sometimes"

I scoffed. " I doubt will get much of that around here".

She glanced up, her expression unreadable.

"Fate has a strange way of working, you know. Sometimes, the people you least expect end up being the ones who change everything.

Something about the way she said it sent a shiver down my spine.

After wrapping a clean bandage around my ribs,she took a step back, with her hands on her hips. "There,good as new. Well, almost ".

"Thanks," I said, standing up. " I should get going ".

She did not stop me, just gave me one last knowing smile. "Don't run from what you are feeling, child. No matter how much you may try, it always catches up".

I did not know what that was supposed to mean, and was to tired to ask,so I just nodded anyway and stepped out of the lodge into the night.

There was a lot on my mind which I needed to think thoroughly about.

The moment I stepped outside of the lodge, I knew I could not stay.

The stares, the whispers.. The weight of being called Luna when I felt nothing for Sabastian made me have more migraines. It was suffocating.

I needed air, space, hope, assurance. Something to hold me down and remind me I was still me.

Without thinking through, I started walking.

Past the watchful eyes of the pack,past the clustered houses, past the children, past the guards, I have never been exposed to this kind of attention before now, it felt threatening and suffocating.

Before I knew it, I was in the forest.

The air was crisp, the night sky clear, the scent of pine and damp earth filled my lungs.

For the first time since arriving, I felt like I could actually breathe.

And at that split second.

I saw her.

She stood by the riverbank,the silver glow of the moon highlighting the curves of her cheeks, the dark waves of her hair cascading over her shoulders.

She wasn't moving, she was at peace, just standing there, staring at the stars in the skys like she was communicating with something invisible, like she was listening to something I could not hear.

Something in my chest tightened.

And then, like she felt me, she turned.

Our eyes meet.

And the world shifted.

Heat. Pull. Something wild and undeniable roaring through my veins, so intense it nearly knocked me off balance.

Her full lips parted slightly, as if she was about to say something, but no no words came out.

Neither of us moved.

Neither of us could move.

Now I felt how it is to be drawn to someone without having the emotional strength to fight back, to act non chalant like you do for every one else.

At that moment I experienced this pull towards someone else's soul, it felt like we could read our minds through our eyes, like we can not survive in this harsh world without the presence of the other

A drop of tear fell off my eye, I could not control it, nothing really mattered anymore.

Only her.

Everything else was a distraction.

Everything else was dust.

Because the second our eyes locked, everything else, the whispers, the doubts,the pain from my ribcage,the fact that I should have felt this with Sabastian, all vanished like the footprints on the beach when the wind blows over.

It was her.

Not him.

Her.

She took a slow step towards me. I mirrored her without thinking.

She smelled like cedarwood and rain, fresh and grounding. And when

I was close enough to see the gold flecks in her Hazel eyes, I realized something terrifying.

I did not just want her.

I wanted her badly.

Not just the way I felt when I felt meet Sabastian,or the way my heart raced.

In a way that made my entire soul quake.

That questioned the Worth of my purpose of existence.

" You are not supposed to be here", she finally said. Her voice a soft, husky whisper .

"Neither are you", I shot back.

A small smirk tugged at the corners of her lips. "Touchè".

Silence stretched between us, thick with something dangerous.

I should have taken a step back from her, should have betrayed this feeling, should have ran back to the pack, should have said something logical. But my body had other plans.

Before I could control myself, I reached out my fingers brushing against her wrist.

The moment our skin connected, a jolt shot through me, like electricity. Like fire. Like lava

Her breath hitched,her pupils dilated.

"You feel it too", I mustered out a whisper, my voice barely audible over the sound of the river.

She swallowed, her throat bobbing.

"Yeah".

Neither of us pulled away.

Neither of us could.

Her skin was warm, I could feel the heat myself.

And every fiber of me wanted more.

More of her.

More of this.

More of whatever the hell was happening between us.

My fingers curled slightly, testing, feeling the rapid heat of her pulse beneath my touch. She did not move, she did not push me away.

If anything, she leaned in.

And for the first time arriving at this goddamn pack, I felt alive.

I did not know who she was.

I did not know why my soul was screaming her name when I had not even learnt it yet.

But one thing was certain.

She was not Sabastian.

And that changed everything.