The night hung thick with an oppressive darkness, the kind that wrapped itself around the old college like a shroud, whispering secrets to those brave enough to wander its empty halls. Aria stood at the edge of the forest, her heart racing as she gazed toward the moonlit canopy that loomed above. The branches twisted and turned, gnarled and ancient, and a chill ran down her spine. She was captivated by the sight, but tonight was different; the air crackled with something electric, a palpable tension that made her skin prickle.

Her flowing gown, a midnight blue that shimmered like the sky, fluttered around her ankles as she took a hesitant step forward. The moon hung full and bright, casting a silvery glow that illuminated the path ahead, yet the shadows seemed to stretch and writhe in the corners of her vision, as if beckoning her deeper into the woods. She had come here seeking solace, a place to escape her tangled emotions, but the forest felt alive, breathing and watching.

And then, like an apparition, he appeared. Aiden, with his dark hair tousled and his striking features sharp as the crescent moon overhead, stepped from the shadows. His presence was magnetic, drawing her in even as it filled her with trepidation. His eyes gleamed like pools of molten gold, a stark contrast to the darkness around them. For a heartbeat, the world fell away, and it was just the two of them, suspended in a moment that felt both thrilling and terrifying.

“Why are you here, Aria?” His voice was a low murmur, laced with something she couldn't quite decipher—curiosity, disdain, or perhaps something deeper.

“I—” She hesitated, words faltering on her tongue as she fought to maintain her composure. “I came to think. To escape.”

“Escape?” He scoffed, the sound like ice cracking beneath a heavy weight. “What do you have to escape from? Your perfect life? Your perfect friends?” The contempt in his voice stung, and she flinched, her heart sinking.

The truth was, Aiden was everything she had ever wanted, and yet he stood there, arms crossed, exuding a coldness that made her feel small. “You don’t know anything about me,” she replied, a tremor of defiance lacing her words.

“Do I need to?” He stepped closer, his expression unreadable. “You’re just like the rest of them, Aria. Playing the part of the innocent girl while you hide behind your pretty facade.”

Her pulse quickened at the accusation, frustration boiling within her. “I’m not hiding! I’m just...trying to figure things out.” She swallowed back the rush of emotions that threatened to spill over, her gaze darting to the ground, ashamed of the way her heart raced at his proximity.

Aiden watched her, a flicker of something softer passing over his features for the briefest moment before it vanished, replaced by that familiar scorn. “Figure what out? How to fall in love with your best friend?” The words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating.

“Noah doesn’t love me,” she insisted, but even as she spoke, doubt gnawed at her insides. Noah, her loyal friend who stood by her through thick and thin, always with a kind word and a supportive smile. But love? No. That was reserved for moments shared in the moonlight with someone like Aiden.

“Is that what you tell yourself?” Aiden stepped even closer, his voice dropping to a whisper that sent shivers racing down her spine. “You’re too blind to see it, Aria. He’s in love with you, but you’re too busy chasing after dreams that don’t exist.”

The words cut deep, igniting a fire within her. “And what about you? You think you’re so much better than everyone else? That you can just insult me and walk away?”

Aiden smirked, a wicked glint in his eye. “I don’t need to walk away, Aria. I can stand right here and watch you drown in your own delusions.”

The tension between them was palpable, a treacherous dance of emotions that left her breathless. She wanted to scream, to run away from the torment he inflicted with mere words, but her feet remained rooted to the ground, bound by an inexplicable pull toward him. “You don’t know anything about me,” she repeated, though the conviction was waning.

“Maybe I know enough,” he replied, taking another step forward until they were nearly touching. The air crackled with an intensity that made her skin tingle, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he felt it too.

But just as quickly as it had ignited, the flame flickered

The wind howled through the skeletal trees, their branches clawing at the bruised sky as if trying to tear it open. Lila pulled her coat tighter around her, the chill seeping into her bones. The campus was nearly deserted, the few students hurrying past with their heads down, eyes averted. It was as if the oppressive atmosphere had leached the warmth from everyone, leaving only shadows in its wake.

She quickened her pace, her boots crunching over fallen leaves. The letter in her pocket felt like a lead weight, the words scrawled in ink that had bled into the paper like a wound. *Meet me at the old chapel. Midnight. He knows.* No signature, just those cryptic words that had sent her pulse racing.

Lila hadn’t told anyone—not even Cassie, her roommate, who’d been watching her with worried eyes for days. How could she explain the dreams? The whispers that slithered into her mind when the moon was high, the voice that called her name in a language she shouldn’t understand but somehow did?

The chapel loomed ahead, its spire piercing the storm-laden clouds. The doors groaned as she pushed them open, the scent of damp stone and old incense thick in the air. Candles flickered in the draft, their light barely holding back the darkness.

"You came."

The voice sent a shiver down her spine. She turned, and there he was—Elias, leaning against a pew with his arms crossed. His dark eyes gleamed in the candlelight, too sharp, too knowing. He’d been avoiding her since that night in the library, when the world had tilted and she’d seen something—*something*—move in the shadows behind him.

"What do you mean, *he knows*?" Lila demanded, her voice steadier than she felt. "Who’s *he*?"

Elias exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "You’ve felt it, haven’t you? The way the air changes when he’s near. The way people here… *change*."

A memory surfaced—Professor Vayne’s smile, too wide, his teeth just a little too sharp when he’d leaned over her desk last week. The way her skin had prickled, her breath catching for no reason at all.

"You’re not making sense," she said, but her hands trembled.

Elias stepped closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "This town wasn’t always like this. Something’s waking up, Lila. And it’s hungry."

A gust of wind slammed the chapel doors shut behind her, the candles snuffing out in unison. Darkness swallowed them whole.

Lila gasped, her heart hammering. She could feel Elias’s breath on her cheek, his fingers brushing hers in the blackness. "Don’t be afraid," he murmured, though his own voice was taut with tension. "But you need to listen. The things you’ve been dreaming about—they’re not just dreams. They’re memories."

Her breath hitched. "That’s impossible."

"Is it?" His thumb traced the inside of her wrist, and suddenly, the world *shifted*.

She was standing in a moonlit glade, the air thick with the scent of wildflowers and something darker, something metallic. A figure knelt in the grass, their back to her, shoulders shaking. The moonlight caught on the dagger in their hand, the crimson dripping from its edge.

Lila tried to scream, but no sound came out. The figure turned—

And she was back in the chapel, gasping, Elias’s hands gripping her shoulders. "You saw it," he said, his voice rough. "You remember."

She shoved him away, her chest heaving. "What the hell was that?"

"The truth," he said, his eyes burning with an intensity that made her stomach twist. "You and I—we’ve been here before. And he won’t stop until he’s taken everything this time."

Footsteps echoed outside the chapel, slow and deliberate. Elias went rigid, his head snapping toward the sound. "He’s here."

Lila’s blood turned to ice. "Who?"

The doors burst open.

Professor Vayne stood in the threshold, his smile serene, his eyes black as the void. "Ah," he said, his voice like silk over steel. "I was wondering when you’d finally figure it out."

Elias moved in front of Lila, his body tense. "Run."

But her feet were rooted to the spot. The air thickened, the shadows writhing at Vayne’s feet, stretching toward her like grasping hands.

"You can’t outrun fate, my dear," Vayne murmured, stepping forward. "Not when your heart already belongs to the night."

Elias snarled, something feral flashing in his eyes. "She’s *mine*."

The words sent a shock through her, a recognition deeper than thought. The dreams, the whispers—they hadn’t been warnings.

They’d been a call.

And now, the moonlit heart was finally awake.

The rain fell in relentless sheets, turning the cobblestone paths of Blackthorn College into slick ribbons of silver under the dim glow of the streetlamps. Lila pulled her coat tighter around her shoulders, the fabric already soaked through, but she barely noticed the cold. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic rhythm that drowned out the distant thunder.

*He was here.*

She could feel it—the pull, the whisper of something ancient and unseen tugging at her soul. The same whisper that had haunted her dreams for weeks, ever since she’d stumbled upon that damned book in the library’s restricted section.

A shadow moved at the edge of her vision, and she spun, her breath catching. The alley between the chemistry building and the old chapel was pitch black, but she didn’t need light to know he was there.

“You shouldn’t be out here,” a voice murmured, low and velvet-rough.

Lila’s pulse stuttered. *Kieran.*

He stepped into the faint halo of a flickering lamp, his dark hair plastered to his forehead, rainwater tracing the sharp angles of his face. His eyes—*God, those eyes*—gleamed like molten gold, inhuman and mesmerizing.

“Neither should you,” she shot back, though her voice trembled. “Or do the rules not apply to you?”

His lips curled, but there was no warmth in it. “Rules are for humans, Lila.”

The way he said her name sent a shiver down her spine. She hated how it made her feel—alive and terrified all at once.

“Then what are you?” she demanded, stepping closer despite every instinct screaming at her to run. “Because you sure as hell aren’t human.”

Kieran’s gaze flickered, something unreadable passing through them before he schooled his expression into its usual mask of indifference. “You already know the answer to that.”

She did. The book had been clear enough, even if she hadn’t wanted to believe it. *The Children of the Moon*, it had called them. Beings born of shadow and starlight, bound to the night.

“Why me?” she whispered. “Why are you following me?”

For a long moment, he didn’t answer. The wind howled between them, carrying the scent of damp earth and something darker, something wild. Then, so quietly she almost missed it: “Because you called to me.”

Lila’s breath hitched. “I didn’t—”

“Not with words.” His fingers brushed against her wrist, sending a jolt of electricity up her arm. “With this.” He pressed his palm over her chest, right above her pounding heart. “It’s been screaming for weeks. I couldn’t ignore it if I tried.”

Her throat tightened. She wanted to deny it, to pull away, but the heat of his touch rooted her in place. “That’s impossible.”

Kieran’s smile was bitter. “You’d be surprised what’s possible in this world.”

A crash echoed from the far end of the alley, followed by laughter—harsh and mocking. Lila stiffened. She knew that sound. The same group of students who’d made her life hell since she’d transferred here.

“Looks like your fan club’s back,” Kieran muttered, his grip tightening slightly.

She yanked her hand away. “I don’t need your protection.”

“No?” His eyes flashed. “Then why do you keep looking for me?”

Lila opened her mouth to retort, but the laughter grew louder, closer. A bottle shattered against the wall nearby, glass skittering across the stones.

“Well, well,” a familiar voice drawled. “If it isn’t the freak and her pet shadow.”

Jared Hayes stepped into the light, flanked by his usual entourage. His grin was all teeth, his gaze sliding from Lila to Kieran with undisguised malice. “What’s the matter, Lila? Couldn’t find any real friends, so you settled for the school’s resident ghost?”

Kieran didn’t move, but the air around them grew heavier, charged with something primal. Lila could feel it—the tension coiling in his muscles, the barely leashed violence simmering beneath his skin.

“Walk away, Jared,” she said, forcing her voice steady.

Jared barked out a laugh. “Or what? You’ll sic your guard dog on me?” He took a step forward, his smile widening. “Face it, Lila. You don’t belong here. Never have.”

Something inside her snapped.

Before she could think, she lunged, her fist connecting with Jared’s jaw with a satisfying crack. He staggered back, eyes wide with shock.

“You *bitch*—”

Kieran moved like lightning, stepping between them before Jared could retaliate. His voice was a growl, low and deadly. “Touch her, and I’ll tear you apart.”

The threat hung in the air, thick and unshakable. Jared paled, his bravado crumbling as he took in Kieran’s expression—the feral glint in his eyes, the way his fingers curled like claws.

For a heartbeat, no one moved.

Then Jared spat on the ground and jerked his chin at his friends. “Let’s go. They’re not worth it.”

The group slunk away, their taunts fading into the storm.

Lila’s hands shook, adrenaline still coursing through her veins. She hadn’t even realized she’d been holding her breath until Kieran turned to face her, his gaze searching.

“You’re full of surprises,” he murmured.

She wiped her knuckles on her coat, her voice brittle. “I’m tired of running.”

Kieran studied her for a long moment before nodding, as if he’d found something he’d been looking for. “Good.”

The rain eased slightly, the clouds parting just enough to reveal a sliver of moonlight. It caught in Kieran’s eyes, turning them into liquid gold.

“Come with me,” he said suddenly, holding out his hand.

Lila hesitated. “Where?”

“Somewhere they can’t find you.”

She should have refused. Should have turned and walked back to her dorm, back to the safety of four walls and locked doors.

But the whisper in her heart was louder now, a siren’s call she couldn’t ignore.

She took his hand.

The world blurred around them, shadows swallowing the light, and then they were gone.