Chapter 1: Whispers of the Hidden Antique Shop
Pain.
Not ordinary pain. Soul-deep. Vicious. It exploded from her fingertips. Clawed up her spine like living fire.
Her body already knew this agony. Her mind hadn’t caught up yet.
“Sold.”
The cold quantum necklace dropped heavily into Evelyn’s palm.
The world shattered.
Strong arms wrapped around her from behind. Her back crushed against a wall of heat and muscle. Not warmth.Claiming.
Pine and cold musk flooded her lungs. Thick as smoke. Heavy as sin. Her knees buckled. Heat pooled low in her belly. Her whole body melted into him. Helpless.
A large hand pressed against the back of her neck. A thumb found that raw, throbbing gland. The place no one had ever touched.
It froze her. Owned her completely.
Hot breath ghosted over her ear. Fangs grazed her skin. Feather-light. Teasing.Enough to make her shiver from head to toe.
"Mine."
One word. Low. Guttural.
It didn’t just hit her ears. It slammed straight into her soul.
His arm tightened around her waist, pulling her harder against him until she felt every heartbeat, every tremor, every aching year he’d waited. Her gland ignited. Every cell answered with fire.
She tried to turn, to see his face—
The world twisted.
The antique shop vanished.
Two moons hung in a sky that shouldn’t exist. One cold silver-gold. One molten-gold. Bleeding into each other like lovers who couldn’t stay apart.
Bare feet sank into damp moss. Ancient silence swallowed everything except a low, distant rumble. Like a growl. Like a name she almost remembered.
This wasn’t New York.
"AHH!"
Evelyn screamed and woke.
Cold rain slapped her face. She was back in the alley. Back against wet brick. Back in the world she knew.
But the ache between her thighs was real. And the scent—pine and cold musk—still clung to the inside of her lungs like smoke she couldn’t exhale.
The necklace burned against her throat. Molten. Alive.
She reached up—and agony lanced through her. The chain had fused into her skin just above her collarbone. A silver-gold mark glowed there now, faint and ancient, pulsing like a second heartbeat.
And on her skin—pine. Faint. But real.His scent.
The same scent that had flooded her lungs when his arm locked around her waist.The same phantom heat that had pressed against her back.
No illusion. A claiming.
Thump.
A heartbeat. Not hers. The crystal’s.
The empty seat. The shopkeeper’s clouded eyes.
"It’s not for sale," he said. ”It’s for claiming. One thought, child. That’s all it needs."
She didn’t remember raising her hand. She only remembered the voice screaming in her head: Had to have it. Had to.
The flyer. The rain.
Hours ago, that black flyer had appeared in her locked drawer. Charcoal paper. Sandalwood. Gold letters breathing in the dark:
“Arcane Antiquities: The Lost Veil – Private Auction Night.”
Rain hammering New York. Neon bleeding into puddles. Her feet moving without permission, leading her to that red door.
Then the necklace.
Then running.
Then—
"It chose you, child. The price... is coming."
The voice detonated in her skull again.
She spun around.
Only a brick wall. Moss. Dead.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Footsteps. Heavy. Wrong.
Evelyn looked down.
At the mouth of the alley, a symbol was burning into the wet asphalt—a circle of violet light, its edges already fading. She hadn’t seen it before. It hadn’t been there before.
The circle died.
Three figures in deep purple robes stepped out of the rain.
Violet eyes glowed in the dark. Hungry. Evil.
The leader drew a curved blade that hummed with purple light. At its tip, a single drop of liquid writhed like it was alive.
"The Covenant’s prey never escapes."
He licked his lips, eyes burning with sick hunger.
"That mark on your neck—do you know what you’re wearing? Hand over the Relic, mortal. Or we’ll take your throat with it."
Evelyn stepped back. Her spine hit cold brick.
The gland on her neck still throbbed—heat pulsing against cold fear, two sensations at war inside her.
Dead end.
Her fingertips still tingled with that desperate need—had to have it. Had to.
The blade reached for her throat—
LIGHT.
Gold. Blazing. Tearing through the rain like thunder given form.
Something massive landed between her and the attackers.
Fur the color of molten sunlight. Muscles coiled like steel cables beneath that glowing pelt. A growl so deep it vibrated in her bones.
Not human. Not wolf.
Both.
The leader reacted. His curved blade swept upward—and a wall of violet light erupted between him and the golden beast.
It held for one second. One full second. The blade’s hum rose to a shriek.
Then the light shattered.
The robed figures flew backward before they could scream—slammed into brick, crumpling like broken ragdolls. Purple blood splattered across the wet alley.
Evelyn looked up. Shaking.
A golden wolf towered over her.
Its fur burned like sacred fire in the black rain. Its eyes—blazing gold—locked onto hers.
No violence in that gaze.Only recognition. Only a hunger so old it felt holy. Only a stare that said: I’ve been looking for you forever.
The same eyes as the man in her vision.
Evelyn’s legs shook. Her heart slammed against her ribs.
But she didn’t look away.
She lifted her chin and met those golden eyes with every ounce of defiance she had left.
"...Who are you?"
The wolf’s pupils dilated.
Then it was gone—a streak of golden light vanishing into the rain.
All that remained: three deep claw marks scorched into the asphalt. White smoke hissing from the edges.
Carrying an otherworldly heat that didn’t belong in this world.
Evelyn collapsed.
Her hands hit wet ground. Rain mixed with tears she didn’t know she was crying.
The mark on her neck burned—but it didn’t hurt anymore.
She raised her hand.
Silver-gold light flickered at her fingertips. Proof.
But it was her wrist that caught her eye.
Two faint crescent marks—one silver, one gold—had been burned into the skin just below her palm.
They looked like moon phases. Like a brand she had never received.
Two moons. A golden wolf. Pine on her skin.
Not a dream.
She stood there for a moment. Breathing. Watching the purple blood mix with the rain, dilute, and disappear into the gutter. Three bodies. Three robes. Three curved blades.
She should be running. She knew she should be running.
She didn’t move.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Footsteps again.
Not three.A crowd.
In the darkness, dozens of violet eyes opened.
Evelyn clenched her fist.
The mark flared hotter. Fear still lived in her chest—but it no longer owned her.
That man—that wolf—he hadn’t appeared for nothing.
The front figure stopped. Ten paces away. Close enough to see. Close enough to strike.
He stared at the light flickering at her fingertips. Not at her face.At the light.
The same light that had flickered once before—centuries ago—in a temple no one remembered. He had never seen it with his own eyes. But every acolyte of the Covenant was taught to recognize it.
The Mark of the Lunar Queen.
The one they had been hunting across lifetimes.
"Come on, then." Her voice was raw. But steady.
"Tonight’s already crazy enough."
She didn’t know how long she stood there, rain sliding down her neck, the mark still warm.
Far away, atop the tallest skyscraper in Manhattan.
A tall man stood in the shadows before the floor-to-ceiling window.
Rain lashed the city.
In his palm, he felt her faint heartbeat crossing dimensions to reach him.
Golden eyes reflected the rain-soaked image of a slender, stubborn woman below.
"Finally found you."
He pressed his palm flat against the cold glass.
Five hundred years.
And all he wanted was to feel her skin under his hand again.
Even if it killed him.
✦✦✦ End of Chapter 1 ✦✦✦
【🐺Author’s Note🐺】
💎“Mine.”— One word. A wait so long his blood had forgotten warmth. That single touch changed everything.
👁️Two moons. A golden wolf. Pine on her skin. She thought it was a dream. It wasn’t. The question is: what happens when he comes back for her?
💜 The Covenant’s acolyte recognized the light. The Mark of the Lunar Queen. They’ve been hunting her across lifetimes. And now she’s walking straight into their hunting ground.
🔥SUSPENSE VOTE: What should Evelyn do now?
A.Research the “Arcane Antiquities” shop— Find out what really happened tonight. 💻
B.Follow the pull of the mark— Let it guide her back to him. 🐺
C.Run.— Leave the city. Pretend none of this happened. 🚗💨
👇Vote in the comments!
