BENEATH THE MOON'S BITE

Luca I should've known something was weird the moment I woke up, with the scent of burnt pine and damp earth filling the scent of my bed sheets. The kind of smell that only means one thing: something's coming, not something good or something ordinary, just heavy enough to stir the wolf in me that never used to speak. The morning was quiet, my house was as quiet as a grave yard. My aunt had left early, like she always did on full moon days. She never said why, and I stopped asking after my thirteenth birthday. I just knew not to follow, peek or even question. The shift wasn't supposed to happen until sundown and everyone knew that....at least, that's what the elders preached, you wake with the moon, then shift with the stars and afterwards find your place under the sky and accept it. But my skin was already itching, and my muscles were twitching. Like underneath my skin, my new wolf was waking, it felt early-uninvited and impatient. I pushed the blanket off and sat up slowly, my shirt stuck to me and I was damp with sweat. My heart was thudding like I had run a mile in my dreams or maybe I had, maybe I was running from something I couldn't name or maybe I already knew and I just didn't want to admit it. By midday, I couldn't breathe. I avoided the training fields, where boys our age tried to guess what rank they would shift into tonight, boasting about bloodlines they didn't earn, and laughing about how weak Omegas were, how they should be culled, controlled and used. I said nothing, I just listened with my head down, but my heart was pounding unusually. Because I didn't feel like a Beta today, at least not like I used to. When I found Rafe behind the stables, he was sitting on that crooked fence we carved our initials into years ago. His back was to me, but I could feel him, his warmth and breath. He always looked like he belonged to the land, his eyes were wild, golden, and somewhat beautiful, with an aura that screamed 'born to command', but I never said that out loud, because it would probably get to his head. He turned before I spoke, "You okay?" I wasn't. But I nodded anyway and climbed up beside him, trying not to wince as the heat under my skin grew worse again. He gave me a long look, like he could see through the smile I forced, like he could hear my thoughts, but Rafe being Rafe, he didn't press, he let me carry my silence. He didn't hold for long. "Luca," His voice dropped, and it felt unusually light, "Something's not right with you." I tensed up a bit, "Oh it's nothing.... just my nerves." His eyes narrowed, "No it's more". I couldn't hold the lie any longer, "I feel like I'm burning from the inside." He went still. I braced myself for the worst, maybe fear or disgust to how he'll react, but Rafe didn't flinch, he leaned in closer, and I could smell him...cedar and storm winds, it felt familiar and safe. We lay in silence, letting our unspoken thoughts dance through the tension between us and somehow that felt comforting to me. Then sunset arrived, the sun went behind the trees of the forest giving way to a new dawn, for me, then the moon emerged to sky as if in a hurry to confirm my fears...it was too soon. My bones snapped first and my hands hit the ground, I screamed in pain, Rafe was shouting my name, holding me down, and trying to stop what couldn't be stopped. It was too soon!....this was too fast for me. My skin tore, and reshaped, my vision became blurry and all I saw was silver light, then last thing I heard was my own howl, it sounded weak and....wrong?. Then silence. When I woke, it was totally dark. The moon was full and high, casting shadows across the clearing, my clothes were shredded and my limbs hurt, but that wasn't what scared me, it was what struck my nose first. The scent.....my scent. It wasn't Beta or Alpha It was Omega!. Rafe was crouched nearby, his eyes glowing faint gold, his wolf felt just beneath the surface and he was staring at me like I was prey or worse. He opened his mouth to speak, but a branch snapped behind us, we weren't alone. Then air around changed, it now felt cold and electric, Rafe stood instantly, growling low. I didn't even get the chance to ask what he saw. Because something lunged from the trees and everything went black again. .................................. I could sense the shift in my atmosphere even before I opened my eyes. It wasn't the cold sweat clinging to my skin, or the way my heart slammed against my ribs like it was trying to escape. It was the silence of the woods behind the pack house, it was never this quiet, even in the dead of night, I should've heard owls or the wind or someone sneaking a smoke behind the training sheds. But now....there was nothing. It was just me, the moon, and this strange... stillness. I sat up, my limbs were still trembling. My back was damp against the forest floor, leaves sticking to my bare skin and my breath felt foggy in the chilly air. I couldn't remember how I got here, but the last thing I recalled was Rafe and I leaning into each other, no talk just sky gazing and then suddenly the moon had been so bright it hurt to look at, my skin had itched and my bones.....god, my bones had felt like they were breaking from the inside out. Then...blackness. I staggered to my feet, naked and trembling, every nerve in my body was screaming, something had changed, I could feel it in my blood. My body felt a little too sensitive, like even the breeze made me shiver like a fevered animal. That's when I smelled it again or rather....me. My scent. It was different now, it was softer and mild, like crushed violets and wild flowers underneath. I knew that scent, I'd smelled it on the others, on the ones we weren't supposed to talk about, the ones who walked with their heads bowed, and forced into silence, used and discarded. Omegas. "No," I choked, "No, no, no-" My knees buckled. This couldn't be happening, I was supposed to be a beta or worse yet and Alpha, nothing special, just... average and safe. But now I could feel the truth in every beat of my traitorous heart. I was an Omega and in our pack, Omegas didn't survive long, then I heard a snap behind me, I turned sharply, and my heart lodged in my throat. Rafe. He stood at the edge of the clearing, he was shirtless, and breathing hard, his eyes were glowing in the moonlight like a storm about to break. His wolf was close to the surface and I could feel it, I could feel him. Then I felt a twist in my chest, not out of fear, but worse. It was need. His eyes locked onto mine, and suddenly I couldn't breathe, not because I was scared, but because everything inside me went still. My skin felt like it was buzzing and I could smell his now rich, and earthy scent spiced with a deeper feeling. My body swayed toward him before my mind caught up. He stepped forward and I stepped back. "Don't," I whispered. His voice was hoarse, "Luca... what are you?" I wanted to lie, to probably run, to scream, but the words got caught in my throat, and tangled with the anger in my veins. Then, without warning, I doubled over with a cry-agony. Like fire under my skin, my nails clawed the earth as a heat surged through me, centered low and burning. My wolf-new, confused, and terrified howled inside me. "Luca!" Rafe rushed to me, dropping to his knees, his hands gripped my shoulders, "What's happening?" "I don't....god, I don't know!" I gasped. My whole body convulsed, "It hurts....Rafe....it hurts" I looked up, and that's when I saw it, there was a change in his eyes, recognition and bond?! But how?? "Shit," Rafe breathed, his hands were trembling on my skin, "No...this isn't....we can't..." I arched off the ground with a cry, heat surging so violently through me I thought I'd explode, my back bowed, and every nerve screamed for something....or someone....to ease the ache. His scent was everywhere now, and it was drowning me. His body pressed closer. "You're burning up," he muttered. "Luca, this isn't normal, You're...your scent....", and then his lips were at my neck and it felt like a bond between us, one I couldn't understand. I winced, "Please..." He stilled, "Do you know what you're asking for?" I didn't, heck I didn't even understand what was going on, but one thing was for sure my wolf did and it wanted him.