The night after I found the pendant, I couldn't sleep.
I kept rolling it between my fingers, the small silver moon catching faint light from the window. It looked harmless, delicate even, but every time I touched it, my skin tingled, like static electricity, soft but strange.
The note lay beside it on my nightstand.
To my moon bride, the night is just beginning.
Draven's words always sounded smooth, but this didn't sound like him. Still, my heart wanted to believe he had sent it.
Maybe it was a romantic surprise. Maybe he was just being poetic again.
But something deep in my chest whispered, No, Ravena. Not this time.
I sighed and reached for my phone. There were no messages from him. No missed calls. Nothing. It wasn't like Draven to go a whole day without a word.
Maybe he was busy.
Maybe he was avoiding me.
Or maybe, just maybe, he was hiding something.
I closed my eyes and tried to shake the thought away, but my mind wouldn't stop spinning. The sound of the night crept in, the ticking clock, the rustle of the curtains, and then, faintly, from somewhere far away, a low, lonely howl.
It was so soft that I almost thought I imagined it.
The next morning, I met Draven at the café near my office. He was already there, sitting by the window, his usual calm smile in place. But something about him looked off, his eyes darker, his jaw tighter.
"Hey," I said, forcing a smile as I sat across from him. "You disappeared yesterday."
He gave a small chuckle. "Work. It got a little crazy."
"Too crazy to text me?" I teased, trying to sound light.
He looked up, and for a moment, his expression softened. "You missed me?"
I rolled my eyes, but my cheeks warmed. "Maybe."
He reached for my hand across the table, his thumb brushing my skin in slow circles. "Then I'm sorry for making you worry," he said gently. "I promise it won't happen again."
His touch melted away every bit of irritation I had. He always knew how to calm me, to make me feel like the world wasn't as heavy as it seemed.
Still, something about his eyes kept drawing my attention. They weren't the golden brown I remembered, they looked sharper, almost glowing under the morning light. I blinked, and the glow vanished.
I told myself it was just my imagination.
After breakfast, he walked me to my car. Just as I was about to get in, I remembered the pendant.
"Oh, before I forget," I said, opening my bag and pulling out the small black box. "This was waiting for me last night. You didn't, by any chance, send it, did you?"
Draven's smile faded. "Pendant?"
"Yes." I showed him. "It's beautiful. Silver moon… with a note."
He took the box slowly, his thumb tracing the edge. For a brief second, I saw something flash in his eyes, shock, maybe even fear, but it was gone so fast I wasn't sure it was real.
"What did the note say?" he asked, his voice quieter.
"To my moon bride, the night is just beginning." I smiled awkwardly. "Sounds poetic, right? It reminded me of something you'd say."
He didn't smile. He closed the box, handed it back, and said softly, "Keep it safe, Ravena. And… if you ever see someone you don't recognize around your house, promise me you'll call me immediately."
I frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"Just promise me."
The seriousness in his tone made my stomach twist. "I promise," I said.
He leaned forward, pressed a light kiss to my forehead, and whispered, "Good girl."
Then he walked away.
That night, I couldn't stop replaying the look in his eyes when he saw the pendant. He was afraid of something. But what?
And then, just as I turned off the lights, I heard it again, that same distant howl, louder this time, closer.
Only this time, it wasn't just one.
There were several.
And they sounded like they were calling my name.
The howling wouldn't stop.
It came again and again, soft at first, then louder. I stood up, my heart beating fast. I went to the window and pulled the curtain aside. The night outside was quiet, still, and empty.
No dogs.
No people.
Just the sound of the wind moving through the trees.
I told myself it was nothing, maybe wild dogs from the forest nearby. But deep down, I knew this wasn't normal. That sound… it didn't feel like it came from an animal. It felt heavy, deep, almost like it carried emotion.
Like it was calling out to me.
I closed the window quickly and tried to distract myself with a book, but my hands were shaking. I dropped the pendant back into the box and hid it inside my drawer.
That night, I barely slept.
The next morning, I went to work with dark circles under my eyes. Everyone noticed, but no one dared to say a word.
Except Draven.
He showed up again, out of nowhere, holding a cup of coffee just the way I liked it.
"You look tired," he said softly.
"I didn't sleep much."
He studied me closely, his eyes searching my face. "You heard it, didn't you?"
I froze. "Heard what?"
His jaw tightened. He looked away. "Nothing. Forget I said that."
"No, Draven," I said, stepping closer. "Tell me. What do you mean?"
He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "It's just… this city is surrounded by woods. Sometimes wolves wander too close. You probably heard them."
I frowned. "Wolves? There aren't wolves here."
He forced a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Maybe you're right."
Then he handed me the coffee and changed the topic.
The rest of the day went by slowly. I couldn't focus. Every time I looked at him, I remembered the sound from last night, that long, sad howl that felt like it was trying to reach me.
In the evening, I got a call from my sister, Elara.
"Hey, big sis!" she said cheerfully. "Guess what? We picked the wedding date!"
I tried to sound excited, but my mind was still spinning. "That's great. When?"
"Two months from now! You better be ready to catch the bouquet this time."
I laughed weakly. "Yeah, sure."
Then she paused. "Ravena… are you okay? You sound weird."
"I'm fine," I lied. "Just a long day."
"You've been saying that a lot lately," she said quietly. "Please take care of yourself. You've done so much for everyone. It's time someone takes care of you too."
Her words hit deeper than she knew.
After work, Draven offered to drive me home. I almost said no, but a small part of me didn't want to be alone.
We didn't talk much during the ride. The silence between us felt heavy, like both of us were hiding something.
When we got to my house, I thanked him and stepped out of the car. But before I could walk away, he caught my wrist gently.
"Ravena," he said quietly, "if anything strange happens again, please don't ignore it. Call me. No matter what time it is."
"Why do you keep saying that?" I asked. "You're scaring me."
He looked into my eyes for a long moment. "Because there are things in this world you don't understand yet. And I don't want you to get hurt."
Before I could ask what he meant, he let go of my hand and drove off.
That night, I couldn't shake his words.
Things in this world you don't understand yet.
What was that supposed to mean?
I sat on my bed, staring at the pendant again. The silver moon glowed faintly in the dark, as if it was alive.
Suddenly, I felt a cold breeze sweep across the room. The windows were closed.
And then, I heard it again, that same deep howl, close this time.
So close it made my chest tighten.
I ran to the window, pulled the curtain, and froze.
Standing at the edge of the trees was a large, dark shape. Too big to be a dog. Too still to be human.
Its eyes shone like gold.
Just like Draven's.
I stumbled backward, my hand over my mouth.
When I looked again, the shape had gone, vanished into the dark.
But when I turned around, I nearly screamed.
Because someone had slipped a note under my bedroom door.
And on it were four words written in red ink:
"He knows the truth."
My hands trembled as I picked up the note.
"He knows the truth."
I read it again and again until the words began to blur. Who wrote it? And who was he?
I ran to the door and opened it quickly, but the hallway was empty. Silence. No footsteps. No sound at all.
It felt like whoever left the note had disappeared into thin air.
The next morning, I didn't go to work. I couldn't face Draven. Not after what I saw last night. Not after that note.
I stayed in bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying everything in my head.
The howl.
The pendant.
The gold eyes.
And Draven's strange words, "Things in this world you don't understand yet."
What if he wasn't just warning me? What if he was part of it?
Around noon, I finally forced myself up. I made coffee, sat at the table, and opened my laptop.
If my parents didn't die a natural death, maybe there were clues in the past.
Draven once told me to stop digging, but I couldn't stop now.
I typed in their names, Eleanor and Nathaniel Vale.
Old news articles popped up. Car accident. Both dead on impact. No suspects. No foul play. Case closed.
But one small detail caught my eye, witnesses reported seeing a dark figure near the crash site before the fire started.
A chill ran through me.
A dark figure.
Just like the one I saw outside my window.
Hours later, there was a knock on my door.
I froze. My heart began to race.
I peeked through the curtain, it was Draven.
For a second, I thought about pretending I wasn't home. But he looked worried. Not angry. Not dangerous. Just… tired.
I opened the door slowly.
He studied me, his voice gentle. "You didn't come to work. I got worried."
"I wasn't feeling well," I said quietly.
He stepped closer. "You're lying."
I looked away. "Why do you care?"
"Because I don't want you to get hurt," he said. "You shouldn't be here alone."
I laughed nervously. "Why? Because of the wolves again?"
He sighed deeply. "Ravena, please stop pretending. You know what you saw last night."
My chest tightened. "So you admit something did happen?"
He didn't answer.
I took a step forward. "Draven, tell me the truth. Who, or what, are you?"
His eyes darkened. For a long moment, he said nothing. Then he whispered, "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."
"Try me," I said.
He looked up at me with that same gold glow I saw in the woods.
And softly, almost painfully, he said, "I'm the reason your parents are dead."
The room spun. I couldn't breathe. My body went cold.
He reached out to touch me, but I pulled away. "Don't. Don't touch me."
Tears filled my eyes. "What are you talking about? What do you mean you killed them?"
His voice cracked. "It wasn't supposed to happen that way. I tried to protect them. But I lost control."
"Protect them from what?" I shouted.
"From me," he whispered.
The words hit me like thunder.
I stumbled backward, shaking my head. "You're insane."
He stepped closer. "Ravena, please listen"
"No! You stay away from me!" I screamed.
He stopped. Pain filled his face. "You have every right to hate me. But the truth is… your parents were not who you thought they were either."
I froze. "What are you saying?"
He hesitated, then said softly, "You're not just human, Ravena."
My heart dropped.
He looked at me, like he was seeing someone he had lost long ago.
And then, before I could say another word, he turned and left.
I stood there, shaking, tears running down my face.
The note on my table caught my eye again.
"He knows the truth."
Maybe they weren't warning me about Draven.
Maybe they were warning me about him.
Because if what he said was true…
then the biggest secret wasn't about him.
It was about me.