**Chapter 1: Blood and Betrayal**
🌙 Lia
My heart hammers in my chest as I tear through the forest, branches clawing at my skin like they want to hold me back. The moonlight barely breaks through the thick trees, casting jagged shadows that twist like monsters in the dark.
Their voices chase me—my pack, shouting my name like a curse. "Lia! Stop running!" Their boots pound the earth, getting closer, hunting me like I'm some wild animal. I can't stop. If they catch me, I'm dead.
I trip on a root, my body slamming into the dirt. Pain shoots through my chest, sharp and burning, but it's not just the fall. It's her—my wolf, my curse. She's awake, snarling in my head. *Let me take over,* she growls. *They'll kill you.* I clench my fists, fighting her, my breath shaky. I can't let her out. Not again. Not after what she did.
I look at my hands, trembling in the moonlight. They're stained red, slick with blood. Her blood. The elderly lady, the one who used to hum soft songs and slip me bread when no one was looking.
My wolf killed her. I didn't want it, didn't mean it, but my claws tore through her at the festival, under that cursed Blood Moon. The memory chokes me—her kind eyes wide with fear, her body crumpling as the pack screamed, *Monster!*
"Lia, give up!" His voice cuts through the night, sharp and too familiar. My friend. The one who used to climb trees with me, who swore I wasn't the cursed thing they all whispered about. "Surrender, and your punishment will be reduced!"
I scramble to my feet, my legs shaking, and run again. His words stab deeper than any knife. "Reduced?" I mutter, my voice breaking. "You think I'd trust that?" Tears burn my eyes, but I keep moving, dodging branches, my bare feet stinging on the cold ground. How could he betray me? Was I always this dangerous to him?
"Lia, stop!" he shouts, closer now, his voice raw. "You can't outrun us!"
I dive behind a thick tree, pressing my back against the rough bark. My head throbs, and I close my eyes, trying to silence her. *Let me out,* my wolf snarls, louder now. *I'll kill them all. Every last one.* Her voice is like claws in my mind, scratching, pushing.
"No," I whisper, shaking my head. "I'm not a monster. I'm not." But the words feel hollow. I see it again—the festival, everyone watching as I shifted for the first time. I wanted to prove I was normal, not the cursed girl they feared. But my body broke, twisted, became something huge and wrong. My claws ripped her apart, and I couldn't stop it.
"Lia, I know you're there!" he calls, his voice hard but shaking. "Come out, or we'll drag you out!"
I cover my mouth, my hands trembling, trying to muffle my ragged breaths. My heart's pounding so loud I'm sure he'll hear it. "Please," I whisper, praying to the Moon Goddess. *Don't let them find me.* The moonlight shifts, spilling through the trees, lighting up the ground. I'm not hidden anymore.
"Lia, don't make me do this!" he yells, and I hear the pain in his voice. "Just come back with us!"
"Back?" I shout, my voice cracking as tears spill down my cheeks. "To what? To be hated? To be killed? You were my friend! How can you do this to me?"
"I don't want to!" he fires back, his voice breaking too. "But I saw what you did, Lia! You killed her! What am I supposed to think?"
"It wasn't me!" I scream, my hands shaking with blood and fear. "It was my wolf! I couldn't control her!"
"Your wolf, you—it's the same thing!" he says, his voice sharp. "You're dangerous, Lia. You saw her body. You saw the blood!"
I choke on a sob, the memory flashing again—her crumpled form, the pack's screams, the blood on my hands. "I didn't mean to," I whisper, but he doesn't hear me. My wolf growls louder, *They'll kill you. Let me save you.* I clutch my head, pain spiking through it. "No," I say to her. "You've done enough."
*You're weak,* she snarls, her voice cold and cruel. *You can't stop me forever.* My nails sharpen, turning to claws, and I dig them into my palms, trying to stay in control. I can't let her out. Not again.
"Lia, come out!" he shouts, his voice closer, boots crunching leaves. "Don't make this worse!"
"Worse?" I yell, stepping out from the tree, my hands raised, tears streaming. "You're hunting me! You're my friend, and you're hunting me like I'm some beast!"
"I don't have a choice!" he says, his voice shaking. "The pack wants justice! She was one of us, Lia, and you—"
"I loved her too!" I cut him off, my voice raw. "She was kind to me when no one else was! I didn't want this! I didn't ask to be this… thing!" My claws twitch, and I force them back, my head pounding. "You used to believe in me. You said I wasn't cursed. Was that a lie?"
He's silent for a moment, and I hear the other hunters closing in, their steps heavy. "It wasn't a lie," he says finally, quieter. "But I saw what you became. That thing… it's not you, Lia. It's a monster."
His words break something inside me. I turn and run, my legs burning, my breath coming in gasps. The forest blurs, trees and shadows blending into a dark maze. I'm not fast enough. I know it. But I can't stop.
"Lia, enough!" His voice is right behind me, sharp and desperate. I turn, and a sword flashes in the moonlight, its cold edge pressing against my neck. I freeze, my breath catching. I look up, and his eyes meet mine—green, familiar, but hard as stone. His face is tight, like he's fighting himself.
"Give up, Lia," he says, his voice low, almost a whisper. "It ends here."
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