Chapter 2 Shadows

I sleep with the broken necklace clutched in my hand, like it can stop whatever Eric is. Whatever I might be. It doesn't make sense, but I can't let go.

When I wake up, the sun is high, and I'm already late. Greg doesn't say anything when I pass him in the kitchen.

He just watches me, his coffee shaking a little in his hand. Like he's scared of me now. Maybe he should be.

"No toasts?"..I asked not expecting an answer

Well..didn't get one

IN SCHOOL....

The halls are packed by the time I get to school. I slip through the noise, head down, hoodie up. I don't want to see Eric.

I don't want to think about what he said. But I feel him before I see him, a cold feeling pressing into my chest.

He's standing by the lockers like he belongs here. Like he's not something pulled from a nightmare.

His eyes lock onto mine. His smile is slow, like he knows I'm trying to avoid him and finds it funny.

I turn quickly, nearly crash into Jace.

"You good?" he asks, grabbing my shoulder, his grip tight.

No. Not even close. But I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat.

At lunch, Jace pulls me out to the bleachers. Away from everyone. Just the two of us, cold wind and open sky. He stares out at the field like it helps him think. A long time passes before he speaks.

"You remember that time in middle school when you got lost in the woods?"

I shiver. "Yeah. I was gone for hours."

"You came back different," he says, his voice distant.

I glance at him, heart skipping a beat. "Different how?"

"Your eyes changed. Your scent. Something in you felt... off."

I blink at him, confused. "My scent?"

Jace goes still. Realizes what he just said. His gaze drops to the ground, and for a second, he looks guilty. "Forget I said that."

"No," I say softly, "you're not like them. Are you?"

His jaw tightens. His fingers curl into fists, his knuckles white. He doesn't look at me. His silence says everything.

I take a breath. "I'm not the only one hiding something," I whisper.

He doesn't deny it.

That night, I dream of the woods. The red moon hanging heavy in the sky, the wind howling through the trees, carrying with it my mother's voice "Run, Aria. Don't look back". Her voice haunts me, pulling at the corners of my thoughts.

I wake up sweating, heart pounding, my body tangled in the sheets. And then there's something outside. I sit up fast, my breath catching in my throat. My hands are shaking as I throw back the curtain.

Eric stands across the street, his dark shape clear against the moonlight. Watching me. Waiting.

My pulse spikes. I pull the window shut, my mind racing. Why is he here? How long has he been standing there? I feel a chill settle over me, creeping down my spine.

The next morning, everything feels louder. The world seems to vibrate around me, like it's trying to tell me something, something I'm too afraid to understand.

At school, people talk, but their voices blur, and I can't focus. I feel like I'm drowning in noise. Jace won't meet my eyes. Eric's nowhere in sight. Until last period.

He walks in late. No apology. He takes the seat behind me, the one next to the window. I can feel the heat of his presence like it's pressing against me. His breath is warm on the back of my neck when he leans in close.

"You dreamt of the woods last night, didn't you?" His voice is low, almost too quiet, like he's trying not to startle me.

I freeze. "How do you know that?" I spin in my seat, heart hammering in my chest.

He doesn't answer. Just stares at me with those unreadable eyes, cold and knowing. "I'm not one of you," I snap, my voice tight with the frustration I've been carrying all day. "You keep saying that," he says quietly, his words a breath against my ear. "But your blood disagrees."

I feel a knot twist in my stomach.

Confused...What does that mean?

After school, I don't go home. I just walk. Nowhere in particular. I need space. I need to think. The world is too loud, and I can't silence it.

I end up at the edge of the forest the same one from my dream. The one from my memory. Something pulls me forward. It's not fear. It's not curiosity. It's hunger. Like I've been starving for something, and this place is the answer.

Then I hear it. Twigs snapping. Breathing. Footsteps getting closer.

I turn around, my heart in my throat

"Sigh" i manage to let out

The fear disappears

Jace.....

is there, standing in the clearing behind me. His eyes are wide, his body tense, as if he's waiting for something. His muscles broad like he's about to spring into action.

"Why are you here?" he says, his voice low, controlled.

"Nothing...why are you....?" I challenge, but the words fall flat between us.

We stare at each other. The air crackles with something dark, something not natural, something that pulls at the edges of my senses. And then..

A howl splits the sky. Deep. Wild. Close.

Jace's hand shoots out and grabs my arm, his grip like iron. "We have to go. Now!!."

I don't move. "What was that?"

"Not what," he says, his eyes scanning the trees, sharp with focus. "Who."

The trees shift. A shadow moves through the brush. Then something steps out. It's not a man.

A creature.

It's fur. Claws. Teeth. And glowing yellow eyes.

I gasp, my pulse leaping. It doesn't look like anything from this world.

"Aria," Jace says, stepping in front of me, his body strong and firm with tension. "Don't run and stay behind."

The creature growls low, and before I can react, it lunges.