Daughter Of The Moon

CHAPTER 4 - WHISPERS AND WARNINGS

The following morning I was getting ready for my first day of school and I was double checking everything. My clothes, my hair, my bag…everything. I had to. I was so nervous about today. I knew that we weren’t all going to be in the same classes, but I was hoping I wouldn’t have to face every class on my own. I wasn’t sure what to expect today.

When I got downstairs mom had prepared a massive breakfast and everyone was already sitting down. So I sat at the table and got a coffee listening to everyone else’s banter.

The kitchen smelled like eggs and toast, warm and comforting, but my stomach felt heavy. I stayed quiet, poking at my plate, listening to the others.

“So, first day of school.” Jace said, grinning as he spread butter on his toast. “I just know I’m going to get a girlfriend by lunch.”

Kael laughed softly. “By lunch? You’re lucky if anyone even notices you before the bell rings.”

“Hey! Don’t underestimate me.” Jace shot back, puffing out his chest.

Soren snorted, nudging him with his elbow. “Charm? You mean awkward stumbles and sweaty hands?”

The teasing escalated, and I tried to focus on my plate, wishing the day away. I didn’t want to think about school at all.

Mom and Dad were deep in conversation across the table, completely absorbed in whatever they were talking about, ignoring the boys’ antics.

I stayed silent, hoping no one would notice my mood.

Then Kael glanced at me. Not teasing, not accusing—just steady and quiet. He didn’t say a word. A subtle tilt of his head, a tiny shift of his chair closer, a faint look that said, I’ve got you. You don’t have to do this alone.

I felt some of the weight lift off my shoulders. That small, silent reassurance was enough.

“Kael!” Jace called, breaking the moment. “Think you’ll survive your first day without tripping over yourself?”

Kael smirked at him, but his eyes flicked back to me for the briefest second, grounding me. Even in the chaos of teasing, I wasn’t alone.

As soon as we left for school and piled into the SUV, I watched the town pass us by but as soon as we got to school and we walked into the building, it went completely silent.

All eyes were on us. A lot of the kids at this school hadn’t seen us yet. And they were definitely getting their looks in now.

I took a deep breath and kept my held high as we were walking through the hallway before we each found our lockers and we looked at our schedules. Soren and I had our first class together. I was glad not to be alone, but we said goodbye to the others and they went in different directions while Soren and I headed to our class.

When we walked inside, it was the same thing. Everyone was staring and stopped talking. I looked at Soren like I was getting irritated and he had a very similar look on his face.

“Oh look, the freaky five.” One girl said as we walked past her desk. So I stopped walking and I turned back to look at her.

The girl smirked, clearly expecting a reaction, but I tilted my head, gave a faint, almost bored smile, and said, “I’d listen to you, but I don’t eavesdrop on failure.”

The words hit just right. A few students snickered nervously, glancing at each other, but no one dared step closer. The girl’s smirk faltered, and she muttered something under her breath before looking away.

I felt Soren’s presence beside me—not touching, not hovering—but there, a subtle weight that made anyone daring enough to try again think twice. That quiet, protective energy made it clear: mess with me, and you deal with him too.

The rest of the class shifted uncomfortably, and by the time the teacher started speaking, the hallway chatter had faded. No one said another word to me.

When class was finally over Soren and I had to separate for our next class, but luckily I had Ryn with me next.

We were walking towards our next class when I felt someone walking up beside me. I felt the same presence that I had felt before. I knew exactly who it was. The Alpha’s son.

“You’re not what they think you are.” Talon said, moving past me but his words still lingered. I looked at Ryn and he looked just as confused as me.

At lunch I made my way to the cafeteria and I saw my brothers had already claimed a table so I walked over to them and everyone else were sitting at other tables, but they were constantly looking over at us, whispering, being pains in my ass. I kept my back to as many people as I could and Kael could see the stress on my face.

“I’ve got a really bad feeling.” Soren said.

“Like what?” I asked. I learnt a long time ago not to ignore these feelings that Soren got. He was usually right, no matter how much the other guys argued that he wasn’t and pretended that he wasn’t.

“Like we’re being watched.” Soren said. And the guys started laughing.

“Soren. Everyone is watching us.” Jace said.

“Speaking of which, where’s that girlfriend you claimed you’d have?” I asked.

“I’m working on it.” He muttered.

“What sort of feeling? I’m guessing it’s not everyone looking at us like this.” I said.

“No. Someone is paying closer attention than everyone else. I can’t be sure. I think it’s the Alpha’s son.” Soren said.

“Makes sense. He seems to show up everywhere we seem to be.” I said.

“And he’s staring at us right now. Well, to be more specific, he’s staring at the back of Kaia’s head.” Ryn said.

“Yeah. I know.” I said.

“Just keep your eyes out. Anyone that’s acting a little different than anyone else.” Soren said.

That night while I was sitting in my room doing my homework, I looked out the window for a moment and I saw something moving outside again.

I knew that it was none of my brothers. I could hear them all in the house. So I got up and I headed downstairs and out the back door.

I walked towards the fence of our property and I saw paw prints pacing along the outside of the fence. So I climbed over it and I turned back to look at the house but I didn’t see anyone watching me from any of the windows. I didn’t see anyone at all in the house.

So I started walking towards the forest, following these paw prints.

I followed it deep into the woods. A lot deeper than I even realized at first until I couldn’t see the house anymore.

Suddenly I saw steam from something breathing right ahead of me. It slowly turned to look at me and there was a giant black wolf standing there, its eyes were red. And it definitely didn’t belong to this pack.

I felt my heart start to race and my breathing become shallow as I was facing this beast.

“Moonbound…”

And then the wolf vanished into mist. As if it wasn’t even standing there.

I looked around everywhere but it was gone. It completely vanished right before my eyes.

“Kaia.” Kael yelled, running through the forest until he found me.

“What the hell are you doing out here?” Soren asked.

“And what was that voice?” Ryn asked.

“Wait. You heard it as well?” I asked.

“Of course we heard it.” Soren said.

“I thought it was just me.” I said.

“What the hell is going on? And what does ‘moonbound’ mean?” Jace asked.

“I wish I knew.” I said, turning back to look at where that wolf had been standing. But this was even more confusing than it had been before.