Lonely Lovers

The blast threw Favour against the wall. The air filled with smoke, dust, and a high-pitched ringing that drowned everything else. She coughed, her lungs burning, as she tried to open her eyes through the haze.

The ceiling light flickered, then shattered. Red alarm lights pulsed across the room like bleeding veins.

She could barely see, but she could feel it that energy, thick and heavy, like the air itself had teeth.

A shadow moved through the smoke tall, broad shoulders, eyes glowing gold.

“Ibrahim?” she whispered.

He stepped forward, his voice low and rough. “We have to move. Now.”

Before she could even stand, he was beside her, pulling her to her feet. His touch sent a jolt through her not fear, not pain, but something deeper. Familiar.

“How did you find me?” she gasped as he led her toward the shattered wall.

“I followed your scent,” he said. “They thought they could hide you from me.”

Outside the wall, the scene was chaos. Dark figures men in tactical suits were sprawled on the ground, groaning. The forest beyond the compound was alive with movement. Wolves not like before, but glowing faintly under the moonlight surrounded the perimeter.

“What is this place?” she whispered.

“A lab,” Ibrahim said bitterly. “They’ve been experimenting on wolves and on people like you.”

“People like me?”

He turned to her, eyes still blazing. “You’re not human, Favour. Not completely. You’re what they call a ‘Seer.’ You can sense what others can’t. You’re born with the blood of both worlds.”

She shook her head violently. “No. That’s impossible. I grew up normal. I”

“You didn’t,” he said quietly. “You just didn’t know.”

Her hands trembled as flashes came to her dreams she’d always had since she was little. The strange whispers. The way the moon sometimes felt alive. The way she could feel things before they happened.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she whispered.

“Because your father made me promise,” Ibrahim said. His voice cracked for the first time. “He knew what would happen if anyone found out what you were. He wanted you safe.”

Tears blurred her vision. “Then why now? Why tonight?”

“Because your scent changed,” he said grimly. “It means your powers are waking up. And when that happens, every Alpha, every rogue, every hunter in the city will know you exist.”

Another explosion shook the compound, snapping her out of the moment. The wolves outside began to howl a warning.

“They’re coming,” Ibrahim said. “We need to get to the forest.”

They ran. Smoke filled her lungs, but adrenaline carried her. They burst out into the cold night air. The forest stretched before them like a black ocean. Favour stumbled, falling to her knees, but Ibrahim pulled her up again.

“I can’t” she gasped.

“Yes, you can.” His voice softened, almost breaking. “I’ve got you.”

A gunshot rang out. Dirt exploded near her feet. Then another.

Ibrahim turned, shielding her with his body as bullets whizzed past. His skin shimmered, the bullets slowing midair and falling, crushed by an unseen force.

“What how did you”

“Focus on breathing,” he said. “Don’t look back.”

They reached a clearing. The moon hung directly above them, huge and white, bathing them in silver light. Favour stopped suddenly, something pulling her toward it. Her body trembled, and for a moment, she could hear whispers again voices from nowhere, from everywhere.

“Favour,” Ibrahim said, stepping closer. “What’s wrong?”

She didn’t answer. Her eyes had gone glassy. The whispers grew louder hundreds of them whispering her name, calling her by another name she didn’t recognize.

Luna.

“Ibrahim,” she breathed, “something’s happening.”

Then the ground beneath her glowed faintly the same blue light she saw back on the road. It rippled through the earth, swirling around her feet like living mist.

“Favour!” Ibrahim shouted, grabbing her shoulders. “You have to stop”

“I’m not doing anything!” she cried, tears streaking down her face.

The light shot upward, wrapping around her in a column of energy. Her scream echoed through the forest, and then silence.

When the light faded, she was on her knees, trembling. Her eyes glowed faintly, silver like the woman’s from the lab. Ibrahim knelt in front of her, awe and fear in his gaze.

“Favour…” he whispered. “You’ve awakened.”

She looked at her hands the faint light fading from her skin.

“I didn’t want this,” she said softly.

“I know.” He brushed a strand of hair from her face. “But it’s who you are.”

A rustle came from the trees. Ibrahim’s body went tense. He turned too late. A tranquilizer dart hit his back. He growled, staggering, his eyes dimming.

“No!” Favour screamed, catching him as he fell to his knees.

“I told you…” he whispered weakly. “…they’ll never stop coming.”

And then he collapsed in her arms.

Favour turned, fury and grief boiling inside her. The figures stepped out from the shadows hunters, wearing black armor marked with silver crescents.

One of them raised his gun. “The Seer is ours.”

Favour’s eyes burned silver again. The ground quaked beneath her feet, the air crackled, and a pulse of light exploded from her throwing the men backward like rag dolls.

She stood over Ibrahim, shaking, tears streaming down her face.

“You’re not taking him,” she whispered, her voice layered with something ancient.

The forest fell silent again.

And far away, deep in the city, under another moon, someone smiled watching through glowing silver eyes.

“She’s ready,” the voice murmured. “Just like her mother.”