The night air felt heavy as I lay in bed, the ticking of the clock the only sound in the room. Talia had fallen asleep long ago, but I couldn’t. Something felt… off. I shut my eyes, hoping for peace. But instead, chaos welcomed me.

In my dream, I was in a dark forest. The trees were tall and endless, their branches clawing at the sky. The moon was full—too full—glowing blood red. I ran barefoot, my breath ragged, my heart pounding like a drum.

I could hear whispers—low, guttural voices calling my name.

*"Aria..."*  

*"Come home..."*  

*"Shift..."*

My limbs ached. I looked down, horrified, as my hands twisted into claws. My bones cracked, realigning. My scream was caught in my throat as fur burst through my skin. I dropped to all fours, wild and fast, unable to control it. 

Then I saw him. A creature standing in the middle of the clearing—half-man, half-beast—his eyes glowing like coals. He whispered one word:

*"Mate."*

I woke up with a gasp, drenched in sweat. My chest rose and fell rapidly, my sheets tangled around my legs.

Talia stirred. “Bad dream?” she mumbled, still half-asleep.

“Yeah,” I whispered. “Really bad.”

***

The next morning, I tried to shake it off as we headed out for shopping. Talia dragged me through racks of clothes, throwing crop tops, leather jackets, and thigh-high boots at me like it was a mission. 

“Sterling’s full of rich kids,” she said. “We can’t show up looking like extras in a high school movie.”

We laughed, joked, and spent more than we should have. By the time we got home, the sun was beginning to set, casting gold over the pavement.

“I need air,” I told her after dinner. “Let’s walk?”

She nodded, slipping on a hoodie. We strolled through the neighborhood, quiet and warm, the kind of peaceful that makes you forget the world is cruel.

Until we saw it.

A whimpering sound stopped us. Just by the side of the road, under a streetlight, lay a dog—medium-sized, covered in dirt and blood. It looked up at us with glazed, pleading eyes.

“Oh no,” Talia rushed forward. “It’s bleeding—badly.”

But I stood frozen.

The moment the scent hit me, something snapped.

The blood didn’t smell like rot or pain. It smelled... intoxicating. Rich, sweet, magnetic. Like it was calling to something deep in me I didn’t understand. My heart raced. My breathing grew heavy.

"Aria?" Talia called, noticing my pale face.

“I—I need to go,” I muttered, turning sharply.

I ran. I didn’t wait for her. I couldn’t.

My legs carried me blindly until I reached the woods at the edge of our street. I leaned against a tree, trying to control the strange heat building under my skin.

*What is happening to me?*

Something primal stirred inside. A part of me I’d never met. But now that it had woken… it was hungry.

And I was terrified.

---

---

I stayed there for what felt like hours, letting the cool forest air settle the storm in my chest. The strange fire that had rushed through me was finally beginning to die down, leaving me cold and confused.  

The blood—why had it smelled so… good?  

That wasn’t normal. That wasn’t human.

When the sky turned dark, I slowly made my way back home, hoping Talia wouldn’t ask too many questions.

She was waiting at the door.

“What’s with you?” she asked the moment she saw me. “Why did you run off like that?”

“I just…” I paused, trying to look composed. “I got irritated by the sight of the blood. It made me nauseous or something.”

Talia narrowed her eyes, unconvinced. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine now,” I lied, pushing past her into the kitchen.

We ate dinner in silence—well, I ate like I’d been starving for days. I devoured everything on my plate and even stole a few bites off Talia’s.

“Jeez, Aria. Someone’s bulking up for college,” she teased.

I laughed nervously. “Tonight’s our last night here,” I said, trying to change the subject. “Sterling College, here we come.”

“I know,” she smiled. “Can’t believe it’s finally happening.”

After cleaning up, we pulled out the blankets and curled up on the couch. We watched a few old rom-coms, gossiped about college life, and talked about everything we hoped would happen in this new chapter.

It almost felt like we were kids again.

We were mid-way through painting each other’s nails when she reached for the polish remover and hissed.

“Ow! Damn it,” she winced.

“What happened?”

“Cut myself on the damn nail file,” she said, holding up her finger. A thin stream of blood began to form.

That scent.  

There it was again—sweet, warm, coppery. My breath hitched. My heart started thudding in my chest. The scent filled my nostrils, and something wild in me rose like a wave crashing into my senses.

“I—I smell blood,” I whispered, stepping back.

“Yeah, it’s just a cut. Chill, it’s nothing serious.”

“No,” I said, my voice shaky. “It’s… I can really smell it. It’s strong.”

Talia’s eyes widened as she looked at me. “Aria… are you okay?”

But I wasn’t. I turned away, clenching my fists, forcing myself to breathe.

Something wasn’t right with me. And whatever it was… it was getting stronger.

And harder to hide.

---

"I'm going to bed," I told Talia, rubbing my arms. "I'm just… tired."

She gave me a quick glance, then nodded. “Alright. Big day tomorrow. Try to get some rest.”

But sleep didn’t come.

I kept tossing and turning, my skin prickling with heat, my body feeling foreign—like I was wearing someone else’s. My hearing was sharper, every creak of the old house sounded like thunder. I could still smell the faint trace of blood from earlier like it was stitched into the air.

This wasn’t normal.

And it wasn’t nerves about college. It was something deeper—darker. I felt… off. Changed.

Eventually, exhaustion claimed me.

But peace didn’t follow.

That night, the nightmare returned—worse than before.

I was in a dark forest, the moon glowing blood-red above me. I could hear something growling behind me. My feet moved fast, pounding against wet leaves and cracked twigs, heart hammering. I wasn’t running away… I was chasing something. Or someone.

Screams echoed in the air—mine? I couldn’t tell. Faces flickered past me like shadows. Blurred. Unseen. And then… eyes. Crimson, glowing eyes staring straight into my soul. They weren’t human. 

Before I could scream, claws reached for me from the shadows—and I jolted awake, gasping.

Sunlight filtered through the window. I sat up, drenched in sweat, heart racing.

“Aria, you okay?” Talia’s voice called from the kitchen.

“Yeah…” I lied again. “Just… a weird dream.”

By mid-morning, we had packed our things and loaded them into a rented car. Our destination: Sterling College—located just outside *Blue Ridge County*, a secluded town surrounded by deep woods and snow-capped mountains.

The drive was quiet at first. Talia was humming softly to the radio, and I stared out the window, watching the trees blur past.

But in my chest, something stirred.

Sterling wasn’t just a new beginning.

It was the beginning of everything.  

Even the parts of me I hadn’t yet met.  

—