---
ð CURSED BLOODLINE
Episode 2 â The Awakening
By Speciallymade
---
Aria didn't sleep that night.
She sat on her bedroom floor, back against the wall, knees pulled to her chest. Every sound outside made her flinchâthe howl of wind, the creak of a tree, even the hum of the fridge downstairs. But the loudest sound was the one inside her.
Her heartbeat.
Steady.
Strong.
Different.
Lucien's words replayed in her head.
> "You're not human. Not fully. You never were."
She looked down at her wrist. The mark was still thereâa silver crescent, faintly glowing beneath the skin like a moon caught in water.
No. This isn't real. This can't be real.
But the ache in her bones told a different story.
So did the blood she couldn't explain.
---
By morning, her mother was waiting at the kitchen table.
Coffee steamed in front of her, untouched. Her lips were pressed into a tight line, and the shadows under her eyes looked like they'd been painted there by years of fear.
Aria stood in the doorway, hesitant.
"You didn't come home last night," her mother said quietly.
"Iâ" Aria swallowed. "I went for a walk. I needed air."
Her mother didn't look up. "That's not what Liam told me."
Aria's heart sank.
"I need the truth, Aria," her mother whispered. "All of it."
Aria sat down slowly. The kitchen felt colder than it should have. The silence dragged between them until it became unbearable.
"I think I'm changing," Aria finally said. "Not just mentally. Physically. I've been waking up outside. Hearing things. Seeing things. I met someone last night. He told meâĶ he told me I'm not normal."
Her mother exhaled slowly, as if releasing something she'd held in for years.
"I was hoping we had more time," she said. "But it's happening early. Earlier than I did."
Aria's eyes widened. "You?"
Her mother nodded. "It's in our blood, Aria. A curse. A gift. Call it what you want. The Blackwoods carry something oldâsomething wild. We don't all shift. But when we doâĶ there's no going back."
---
School felt like another planet.
People laughed in hallways, passed notes in class, and argued over cafeteria food like everything was normal.
But nothing was normal for Aria.
Not after last night. Not with the feeling inside her skinâlike something pacing just beneath the surface, waiting for the right moment to break free.
Lucien was waiting for her outside the gate when the final bell rang.
He leaned against the iron fence, his arms folded, hood up. A few girls whispered as they passed, curious about the mysterious new guy who never seemed to go to class.
Aria approached him warily.
"Why are you here?" she asked.
"You need answers," he said. "And I'm the only one who'll give them to you."
---
They walked into the woods together, but not deep. Just far enough to escape the eyes of the town. Lucien led her to a clearing with smooth stones and burned-out torchesâlike an old ritual site.
"I was born in the Ashen Pack," he said, crouching by one of the stones. "Raised in a world where shifting is sacred. Where the moon is more than lightâit's law."
Aria knelt beside him. "Why are you here, then? Why Graywood?"
"I was sent to find you."
"Why me?"
Lucien looked at her like it should be obvious.
"Because you're the last of the Blackwood bloodline. The true heir. And your shift triggered something. Not just in you. In them."
"Them?"
Lucien stood. His expression hardened.
"The Hollow Ones. Rogues. Exiles. Beasts who lost their humanity long ago. You're marked now. They'll come for you."
"But I haven't done anything," she said.
"You exist," he replied. "That's enough."
---
That night, Aria lay in bed and stared at the ceiling.
Her mind felt like a warzone. One part wanted to believe it was all some elaborate dream, a trick her mind played on her. But the other partâthe part that felt the moon pull at her blood like a tideâknew better.
She fell asleep to the sound of wolves howling.
Only this time, she wasn't afraid.
She feltâĶ drawn.
---
Her dreams were not her own.
She stood in the forest, but it was older somehow. The trees were taller. The air thicker. Fires burned in a circle, and wolvesâreal wolvesâsat on their haunches in solemn silence.
In the center stood a woman. Hair like obsidian. Eyes like starlight. And a silver pendant at her throat shaped like a crescent moon.
She looked directly at Aria.
"Daughter of the Blood," she said, voice echoing. "Your time has come."
---
She woke gasping, sweat clinging to her skin. The moon outside was nearly full.
Two more nights.
---
Maeve showed up at her doorstep after school, arms crossed and expression firm.
"I know you're avoiding me," she said.
Aria blinked. "I'm notâ"
"Don't lie," Maeve said, stepping inside. "I know something's going on. You've been twitchy all week, your eyes literally glowed yesterday in Chemistry, and you smell weird. LikeâĶ rain and burnt metal."
Aria hesitated. "Maeve, you wouldn't believe me."
Maeve stepped closer. "Try me."
So Aria did.
She told her everything. The sleepwalking. The mark. Lucien. The Hollow Ones. The dreams.
When she finished, she waited for Maeve to laugh or walk out.
Instead, Maeve sat down slowly on the couch.
"I believe you," she said softly.
Aria stared. "YouâĶ do?"
Maeve nodded. "Because I'm not exactly normal either."
"What do you mean?"
Maeve looked down at her palm, then back at Aria.
"I'm a Seer."
---
That night, Aria followed Lucien deeper into the forest.
The training had begun.
"You need to learn how to control the shift," he said, crouched in front of her. "Because if you don't, the beast will."
He handed her a small dagger.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" she asked.
"Use it," he said. "Carve your name into that tree."
She frowned but did it. The blade felt hot in her hand, like it was reacting to her blood.
She finished carving "ARIA" and stepped back.
The letters glowed.
Lucien nodded. "You're a Moonborn. That means you can bond with lunar magicâlight, metal, memory. It's rare. Dangerous. Sacred."
"And what do I do with that?" she asked.
Lucien looked at her, deadly serious.
"You survive."
---
The next day brought blood.
Aria and Maeve were walking home when the air changed. Heavy. Metallic.
Lucien appeared out of nowhere, his shirt torn and blood dripping from his jaw.
"They found you," he said.
Before Aria could respond, something lunged from the trees.
A massive figureâwolf-like but wrong. Too tall. Too twisted.
Maeve screamed.
Lucien shoved Aria back as the creature tackled him. The two crashed into a tree with bone-shattering force. The creature slashed, Lucien bit, and for a moment, all Aria could do was stare.
Until it turned its glowing red eyes toward her.
Time slowed.
She felt the pull in her chest againâthe beast awakening.
But this time, she didn't fight it.
---
Pain ripped through her body, but it was different now. Less like dying. More like becoming.
Fur sprouted. Claws extended. Bones broke and reformed.
When she stood again, she wasn't a girl.
She was a wolf.
Silver. Tall. Radiant under the moon.
The creature charged her.
She met it head-on.
---
The battle was a blur of teeth and fury. But Aria was faster. Stronger.
She tackled the rogue to the ground and bit deep into its throat. Blood sprayed, hot and violent.
When it stopped moving, she shifted backânaked, breathless, trembling.
Lucien was already healed, watching her with awe.
"You did it," he said.
Aria stood shakily. "What was that thing?"
Lucien's face darkened.
"A Hollow One. And it won't be the last."
---
Maeve helped her home, eyes wide with wonder.
"You were beautiful," she said quietly. "Terrifying. But beautiful."
Aria smiled weakly. "I think I liked it. The power. The freedom."
"Then you need to be ready," Maeve said. "Because if they're coming for youâĶ you're going to need an army."
---
That night, Aria sat on the roof of her house, looking at the stars.
She had survived her first shift.
Killed her first rogue.
Discovered her best friend was a Seer.
And now, the war had begun.
Her mark pulsed softly.
And somewhere in the forest, a howl rose to meet hers.
---
TO BE CONTINUED