Chapter 9 Human Heart, Wolf Soul

Luna didn't report the sabotaged equipment.

She showed it to Ryder. He told her to be careful. Watch her back. Trust no one.

Then training continued. Classes continued. Life at Silverwood continued like someone hadn't tried to hurt her.

By nightfall, Luna was exhausted. Physically and emotionally.

She fell into bed without even changing clothes.

Sleep came fast.

And with it, dreams.

But not normal dreams.

Luna found herself standing in a familiar place. Her old neighborhood. Her street. Her house.

Everything looked exactly as she'd left it. The lawn. The trees. Even the crack in the sidewalk she'd tripped over a hundred times.

But something felt wrong.

The colors were too bright. The edges too sharp. Nothing moved. No wind. No birds. No cars passing.

"Luna."

She spun around.

Miguel stood on the sidewalk. Exactly as she remembered. Dark hair. Kind eyes. The hoodie she'd taken with her to Silverwood.

"Miguel?" Her voice cracked. "How are you here?"

"I don't know. I've been trying to reach you. Every night. Dreaming. Hoping you'd hear me."

Luna's chest ached. "This isn't real. You're not really here."

"I know. But it feels real, doesn't it?"

It did. Too real. Luna could see individual strands of his hair. Could smell his cologne. Could feel warmth radiating from him even though they stood ten feet apart.

She moved closer. "I miss you. So much."

"I miss you too. Every day. I keep going to your house. Your mom says you can't call. Can't visit. That you're busy with training. But Luna, it's been weeks. I need to know you're okay."

"I am. Mostly." The lie tasted bitter. "The academy is intense. But I'm learning. Getting stronger."

"You look different."

"What do you mean?"

"Older. Harder. Like you've seen things that changed you." Miguel stepped closer. Close enough to touch. But he didn't reach for her. "Are they hurting you there?"

"No. Not exactly. It's just... complicated. There are rules. Hierarchies. People who don't want me here. But I have friends. A mentor. I'm surviving."

"Surviving isn't the same as living."

"I know."

They stood in silence. The dream neighborhood frozen around them.

"Do you regret it?" Miguel asked quietly. "Going to Silverwood? Leaving everything behind?"

Luna's throat tightened. "I didn't have a choice."

"You always have a choice."

"Not about this. The mark chose me. If I hadn't gone, I would've lost control. Hurt someone. Maybe hurt you."

"I would've taken that risk."

"I wouldn't have." Luna touched the charm around her neck. His charm. "Miguel, I'm not the same person I was. I can do things now. Feel things. My senses are sharper. My instincts stronger. I'm becoming something that isn't fully human anymore."

"You're still Luna."

"Am I? Because some days I don't recognize myself. I look in the mirror and see a stranger. Someone harder. Colder. Someone who's learning to fight and hunt and survive in ways humans never could."

"Then come home. Leave the academy. Come back to normal life."

"I can't. Even if I wanted to. Once you're marked, you can't go back. The wolf is part of me now. Forever. I have to learn to live with it. Control it. Or it'll control me."

Miguel's expression crumbled. "So this is it? You're just gone? Forever?"

"I don't know. Some students come home eventually. After they graduate. After they prove they have control. But that's years away. Four years minimum. Maybe longer."

"Four years."

"Yeah."

"Luna, I can't wait four years. I can't put my life on hold hoping you'll come back someday."

The words hit like physical blows.

Luna wanted to argue. To beg him to wait. To promise she'd return.

But she couldn't.

Because deep down, she knew the truth. The girl who'd left for Silverwood wasn't coming back. That girl was gone. Changed. Replaced by someone who belonged to the wolf world more than the human one.

"I know," Luna whispered. "I can't ask you to wait. That's not fair."

"So what? We just end things? Pretend we didn't mean anything to each other?"

"No. Never. Miguel, you were my first love. My best friend. That doesn't just disappear. But maybe..." Luna's voice broke. "Maybe you need to move on. Live your life. Find someone who can actually be there for you."

"I don't want someone else. I want you."

"You want the me that existed before the mark. That girl is gone."

Tears ran down Miguel's face. Luna felt her own tears falling.

This was the cost. The price of becoming wolf. Losing the human life she'd known. Losing the people who'd mattered most.

"Luna." Miguel's tone changed. Urgent. Scared. "Listen to me. Something's wrong here. In the human world. People are going missing. Kids from school. People from the neighborhood. The police say it's runaways. But I don't think so."

Luna's mark pulsed. "What do you mean?"

"There's been weird stuff happening. Animals acting strange. Dogs attacking their owners. Wolves sighted in areas where wolves shouldn't be. And the missing people, they all have something in common."

"What?"

"They all knew you. They were all at your birthday party. The one where your mark appeared."

Luna's blood went cold. "Are you saying someone's targeting people I know?"

"I don't know what I'm saying. But Luna, I'm scared. Not just for me. For everyone here. Something's wrong. And I think it's connected to you. To what you are now."

"Miguel, you need to be careful. Stay away from dark places. Don't go out at night alone. And if you see anything strange, anything that feels wrong, run. Don't try to fight it."

"What's out there?"

"Things from my world. Creatures that shouldn't exist in yours. If they're crossing over, hunting people, that's bad. Really bad."

The dream started to flicker. Fading.

"Luna, wait. I need more time."

"I don't control this. I don't even know how we're talking right now."

"Then figure it out. Because I need you. We all need you. The people here are in danger and you're the only one who understands what's happening."

"I can't come back. The academy won't let me leave. Not until I'm trained."

"Then train faster. Because people are dying, Luna. And if you don't help us, more will die."

The dream shattered.

Luna jolted awake in her dorm bed. Gasping. Shaking.

Nova stirred. "Luna? You okay?"

"I don't know."

"Bad dream?"

"Something like that."

Luna sat up. Her heart raced. Her mark burned.

That hadn't felt like a normal dream. It felt real. Like Miguel had actually been there. Like they'd actually talked.

Dream-links. Nova had mentioned them once. Rare connections between marked wolves and people they cared about. Usually between mates. Sometimes between family.

But Luna wasn't mated. She was just marked.

So how had Miguel reached her?

And more importantly, was he telling the truth? Were people from her human life really in danger?

Luna touched the charm around her neck. It felt warm. Warmer than it should.

Like Miguel's presence lingered even after the dream ended.

"I have to tell someone," Luna said.

"Tell someone what?"

"About the dream. About the warning. People might be in danger back home."

"Who are you going to tell?"

"Ryder maybe. Or Professor Cael. Someone who understands dream-links. Someone who can help."

Nova yawned. "Okay. But maybe wait until morning? When we're both actually awake and thinking clearly?"

Luna lay back down. But she didn't sleep.

She stared at the ceiling. Mind racing.

Miguel's words echoed.

People are dying.

Things from her world crossing into his.

Her birthday party guests disappearing.

If it was true, if creatures were hunting people she knew, that was her fault. Her mark appearing had drawn attention. Put everyone around her at risk.

She'd thought leaving would keep them safe.

But maybe she'd just made things worse.

Luna's mark pulsed. Steady. Insistent.

Like a heartbeat.

Or a warning.