Drunken guests were now swept up in a mass of confusion, becoming entangled in the ongoing turmoil. Amidst this chaotic scene, Raven remained momentarily frozen as the terrifying tableau played out in her own apartment. The sound of shattering glass stoked a blazing fire of anger within her, the destruction of her roommate's treasured belongings too much to bear. A fierce resolve ignited within her, and she clenched her teeth. “ There is no way I’ll just stand by and allow this to happen,” she said and began to rush back towards her apartment. 

The crowd of people now screamed and ran towards their cars as the smell of smoke and a large ring of fire sprung up around the house. Startled, Raven stopped as two vicious men dressed in all black stood abruptly in front of her.  She could barely see their faces through their long dark hair but terror began to rise as she looked into their glowing yellow eyes.  “I won't let you ruin this party,” she yelled with as much courage as she could find. 

Looking at each other, the two strangers seemed to be confused as she stood before them. Suddenly they burst into laughter, realizing that she had intended to confront them. The sound of their laughter made the hair rise on her arms. It was sickening. 

They laughed louder and they began to walk toward her. “Don’t worry, we’ll take our time with you before we take you to our Alpha,” one of them grinned as he neared her. 

Ugh, disgusting. 

She felt sick with fear, now sure that they intended to take her way. She clenched her fist, “I won’t let them take me.” 

She ran into the crazy crowd, broken glass crunching under her shoes. A chill raced up her spine, as she could hear them following after her. “This way,” the guy who lead her outside was back in front of her. “Follow me, I will keep you safe,” he said with urgency.

He tugged at her arm before running ahead of her. She watched as he ran towards the dark woods across the street. Hesitating to follow, she looked at her burning apartment and the mass of people running around in fear. Looking at the scene of chaos and the menacing faces behind her, she decided she would follow him.  “Why on my birthday?” she thought angrily, upset and confused that someone would attack her. 

She took one last glance at her apartment as the flames engulfed it. Her body shook with anger because she was powerless to help. Anger filled her heart and she whispered a prominence of vengeance towards the dark forest. 

Small branches lashed against her as she rushed into the woods. It was dark and she could no longer see him, so she listened carefully for the sound of his feet. The sound was moving farther away from her and her stomach churned with panic. “No, wait,” she thought, struggling to keep up with him. 

The deeper she ran into the woods, a dense fog began to surround her. The air began to feel heavy around her and panic fully set in as she could no longer hear his footsteps. “Wait for me!” she yelled desperately into the darkness. 

Her feet shuffled clumsily around as she tried her best to run through the bumpy forest floor. She yelled out in pain as she fell forward onto the ground, her foot catching on a large tree root. Ignoring the pain in her ankle, she got to her feet as quickly as she could. “I have to catch him,” she thought, scrambling to fix her shoes before running after him.

She pushed her body forward. Not wanting to turn back, she continued into the darkness. She bit back groans of pain as her bare feet tingled in pain from the roughness of the forest floor. 

Just breathe. 

“Was that his voice just now,” she took a deep breath, letting her lungs feel up as she ran as fast as she could. She began to feel a warmth in her body as she started to find speed. “This is the feeling!” She remembered the strange sensation she had had on her way home that day. 

She let strange energy fill her and the sound of her heart seemed to pound in her ears as she propelled forward in the dense air. “I hear him,” she thought, smiling as she closed the distance between them. 

The darkness around her blurred and she focused on the sound of running to guide her. Her hair whipped freely around her and she felt weightless as she moved through the thicket. “ Here,” she stopped abruptly, noticing that the sound had stopped as well. 

Her body felt on fire as her heart continued to pound in her chest.  She felt full of life as she looked sharply around the forest, amazed at how clearly she could see everything. She flinched as the crisp sound of critters scurrying surprised her. “This is amazing,” she gasped as she watched a beautiful owl swoop in on its unfortunate prey and disappear in a flash. 

“The darkness can be so beautiful, ” his voice came from behind her. Still filled with unnatural energy, she moved quickly in response to his sudden speech. . Her heart pounded in her chest and she smiled before turning to face him. 

“I’ve never seen darkness like this,” she said, looking around her, amazed at how everything seemed to glow. She looked over at him and could not help but stop. He was leaning against a tree staring intently at her. She squirmed under his intense gaze, unsure what to say after moments passed and he continued to look at her. 

“I have something to show you,”  he said, walking towards her and pulling out a small black case wrapped in a black covering. 

Raven stood wide-eyed as he stood next to her. She could feel his body heat and even though they had been running, he still smelled so good. She watched as he carefully unwrapped the box. 

“This belongs to you and only you,” he said, looking intently at her before pulling out a delicate chain necklace with a small diamond cased inside an amethyst. 

“It’s beautiful,” she could not help but stare at the delicately carved charm that adorned the tiny chain. 

“It belongs to the heir to the White Wolf clan,” he said, quietly watching her. 

 “The white what?” she tried to ask, but when she opened her mouth no words came. The trees around her seemed to blend and the air felt heavier than before. Suddenly she felt tired. 

Her legs began to shake and before she knew it, she was falling forward. All the energy she had was leaving, “white wolf?,” she thought, closing her eyes, fainting. 

Before she could touch the ground, he scooped her gently into his arms. She was breathing gently, onto his chest, her wild hair falling gently around her face as he stared down at her. “I think you pushed yourself a little too much,  little Luna,” he thought, moving one of her curls away from her brow.