The clang of claws echoed across the training field, followed by snarls and grunts as the young wolves sparred under the silver glare of the moon. Dust swirled from pounding paws and bodies hitting the ground in a primal rhythm.
Seraphina stood alone, just outside the circle.
Her arms were folded tightly across her chest, her hoodie sleeves tugged low to hide the faint flicker beneath her skin—the glowing birthmark pulsing again tonight like it sensed something was coming. Something closer.
"She's watching again," someone muttered nearby.
"Why does she even show up?"
A cruel laugh followed. "Maybe she thinks she's one of us."
Seraphina's ears caught every word, even though they were whispered. She didn't flinch—not outwardly. But inside?
It tore.
She turned her face away, pretending the words didn't matter, that she wasn't burning from the inside out. But gods, it hurt. She had tried. So hard. Training quietly. Learning their customs. Trying to shift—again and again—until her bones ached from the effort.
But no matter how she tried, the wolf in her stayed silent.
She was the daughter of two worlds… and belonged to neither.
Half-wolf, half-vampire, and yet still entirely alone.
Earlier that Evening…
She had sneaked behind the Alpha's hut again—like she had done many times before. But tonight, she wasn't searching for answers. She was running from the ache inside her chest. The same ache she woke up with every morning. The same ache that whispered:
You'll never be enough.
But then she heard it. Voices. Urgent. Tense.
She crouched low beneath the window, holding her breath.
"His name is Vael," said the Alpha. "From the Eastern Border. No known parents. No pack. But powerful."
That word echoed. Powerful.
"Like the girl?" an elder asked.
A beat of silence.
"Yes," the Alpha said finally. "Perhaps even more than her."
Her heart skipped. Another like her? That wasn't possible. She was the only cursed one. The only mistake.
"Then he's a threat," another voice snapped. "We already have one unstable hybrid. Why risk another?"
"Or maybe… he's the one who can awaken what she was born to be."
"They're both part of it," the Alpha said gravely. "The prophecy."
Seraphina's mouth fell open. Prophecy?
Before she could process it, a presence shifted behind her. Her instincts screamed as she whirled—
And froze.
He stood barely a few feet away. Hood low. Eyes glowing faintly in the shadows.
Vael.
He didn't look surprised to see her. If anything, he looked… like he'd been expecting her.
Their eyes locked.
And then, without a word, he turned and vanished into the trees.
Back on the Training Field…
Seraphina barely registered the training matches now. Her mind spun with questions.
Who was he?
What prophecy?
Why did her mark burn when their eyes met?
She glanced down at her wrist. It shimmered again. She yanked her sleeve over it, hoping no one had noticed.
"You don't belong here."
The words weren't spoken aloud, but she heard them just the same. Over and over. Like a curse lodged in her bones.
She felt hollow. Like a shell. Like something waiting to be filled but never would be.
Her father—Karl—had tried to make her feel enough. But even he couldn't stop the whispers in the pack. The way they avoided her. Watched her. Feared her.
They called her cursed. Said her birthmark glowed the night her mother died giving birth to her. That it meant ruin.
Sometimes, she believed them.
Until tonight.
Because if someone like her existed out there… maybe she wasn't alone after all.
Later that Night...
Seraphina sat by the riverbank, hugging her knees to her chest.
The moon painted the water silver. Her reflection danced there—wild hair, sharp eyes, glowing wrist. She looked like a ghost of herself.
She reached out, touching the water's surface. Ripples distorted her face.
"When the blood of night and the fang of the wild are born as one,
the cursed shall rise…
and fate shall burn or bow."
The words rose unbidden in her mind. Ancient. Heavy. Like they'd always been there, waiting.
Was she the blood of night?
Was Vael the fang of the wild?
She didn't know. All she knew was this:
Her destiny had started moving.
And she wasn't ready.
But destiny doesn't ask for permission.
A Presence… Again.
She felt it before she saw him.
From across the river, a silhouette stood at the edge of the trees.
Vael.
His gaze met hers. Steady. Calm. Knowing.
This time, he didn't disappear.
This time… he waited.
If you've ever felt like you don't belong, like you were born into the wrong place with too much inside you to explain — then Seraphina's story is for you.
Because sometimes, what makes us different…
is what makes us powerful.
– With love and fangs,
Precious 🖤s