The blood moon hung high above Blackthorn, its eerie glow casting long shadows over the town below. It was as if the entire world was holding its breath, waiting for something ancient to awaken. The streets, typically quiet at this hour, were empty—save for the occasional rustle of leaves caught in the wind. There was an unsettling stillness in the air, a premonition that something was about to unfold, something far beyond the understanding of the town's unsuspecting residents.
Luke Harper stood at the edge of the college campus, staring up at the blood-red moon that loomed over him like a silent witness. His heart pounded in his chest, a feeling he couldn't shake. He had always been attuned to the rhythm of Blackthorn, but tonight... tonight was different. There was a pressure in the air, a charge that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. It wasn't just the moon, he knew that. It was something else—something buried beneath the surface, something tied to his own bloodline, a legacy he hadn't even begun to understand.
His hands clenched into fists at his sides, as if he were trying to hold himself together, trying to fight the feeling that something deep inside him was stirring. For as long as he could remember, Luke had felt different from the other kids in Blackthorn. Even as a child, he had sensed there was more to the town than its sleepy exterior suggested. Old buildings, forgotten woods, and ancient rituals whispered about in hushed tones—there was something that Blackthorn kept hidden, a secret that pulsed beneath the cobblestone streets.
And now, with the blood moon overhead, that secret was calling to him.
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Isla's POV
Isla Morgan walked slowly through the fog, her footsteps soundless on the damp ground. The air was thick, heavy with the scent of earth and something ancient, something that seemed to pulse in the atmosphere around her. She had known this moment would come, felt it in the way the town seemed to change with each passing year. Something was awakening, something tied to her blood, to the land, to the very essence of Blackthorn itself.
She had grown up hearing whispers about her family's legacy—about the power that flowed through her veins, the power that had once been revered, and later, feared. But her parents had never spoken openly about it. They kept their distance, their secrets locked away, hidden in places she was never meant to find.
But she had always known.
Even before she had come to Blackthorn College, Isla had felt the pull. The strange sensation that her life was meant for something greater, something more dangerous. There had always been a part of her that didn't belong, a part of her that was constantly searching for something she couldn't name.
Her green eyes narrowed as she approached the edge of the campus, where the mist thickened. The town was quiet—too quiet—but that wasn't what unsettled her. No, it was the fact that she could feel it now. The power. The blood that had flowed through generations of her family, hidden beneath the surface, waiting. She had heard the legends, the stories told in whispers—about the wolves that roamed the woods, the vampires that once walked these streets, and the lycans who had been bound to the moon. But those were just stories, right? Myths. Fables.
But as she stepped into the fog, as she walked deeper into the shadows of Blackthorn, she began to wonder if there was truth in those legends after all.
And then she saw him.
Luke Harper.
Her heart skipped a beat. He was standing just beyond the gates of the college, staring up at the moon with a look of intense concentration. For a moment, Isla hesitated, as if she were unsure whether to approach him or turn away. She had never spoken to him before—not directly—but there was something about him that she couldn't ignore. Something that felt... familiar. She had seen him in passing, of course, but tonight, with the moon hanging above them, everything felt different. The pull between them was undeniable.
She knew what she had to do.
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Luke's POV
Luke's fingers brushed the edge of the stone wall as he stood frozen, caught in the grip of a strange, unexplainable force. His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, racing from one question to the next. What did Isla mean when she had said he didn't belong here? What was she trying to warn him about?
But before he could process anything further, he heard her. Isla. Her silhouette appeared out of the fog, as though the mist itself had parted to reveal her.
She didn't speak immediately. Instead, she simply stood there, her green eyes watching him with an intensity that sent a shiver down his spine. It was as if she had been waiting for him to notice her, for him to acknowledge her presence. And now that he had, she stepped forward, slowly, cautiously, as if testing the air between them.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The world seemed to stand still, the only sound the distant rustle of trees swaying in the wind. The blood moon hung overhead, casting its ominous light over them both.
"Isla," Luke said finally, his voice low but steady. "What's happening? Why do I feel like... something is changing? Like there's something I'm supposed to know but I don't?"
Isla's lips parted, but she didn't immediately answer. Instead, she stepped closer to him, her gaze never leaving his. Her voice, when it came, was quiet but firm.
"Because you're part of it now, Luke. You've always been part of it. You just didn't know it. And neither did I, until now."
Luke frowned, his confusion only deepening. "What are you talking about? What's part of it? What are you—"
She reached out then, her hand resting gently on his arm. The touch sent a jolt through him, one that felt almost electric, as if her very presence was awakening something inside of him.
"I don't have all the answers, Luke," Isla said, her voice tinged with something that sounded almost like regret. "But I know this much: our blood is connected to something older, something dangerous. And the time has come to face it. To face what we are."
Luke opened his mouth to ask more, to demand the answers that had been eluding him, but Isla shook her head, silencing him. She glanced over her shoulder, toward the shadowy woods that lay just beyond the college campus, where the ancient grove stood.
"We have to go," she said urgently. "Now."
And without another word, she turned and began walking toward the woods. Luke stood frozen for a moment, his mind reeling with questions, but then the sense of urgency in her voice kicked him into motion. Something was happening. Something big. And Isla... Isla knew more than she was telling him.
As they moved together, the fog around them thickened, swallowing the path they were walking. Every step seemed to draw them deeper into the unknown. The town of Blackthorn, so familiar and comforting just a day ago, was beginning to feel alien—like a place trapped between worlds, a place where the past and present collided in ways no one fully understood.
The blood moon's light bathed them in an eerie glow, casting long shadows across the damp earth beneath their feet. Luke's pulse quickened. He could feel it—the air charged with a strange energy. It was the same sensation he had felt earlier, that pull, that force that seemed to come from deep within the earth itself.
And then, through the fog, the ancient grove came into view. Its twisted trees stood like sentinels, their gnarled branches reaching up to the sky as if they were trying to touch the moon itself.
Isla stopped in front of the grove, her eyes scanning the shadows that stretched before them.
"This is it," she whispered. "The place where everything begins."
Luke felt a cold chill run down his spine. This was no longer just about college, no longer about the ordinary life he had expected to lead. It was about something far more dangerous, something that would change the course of his life—and Isla's—forever.