MARKED BY THE MOON; SHE WHO SHINES IN BLACK

Dahlia's POV

I couldn't say when I fell asleep, but somehow I think I did. I could remember that before I fell asleep, my body was still humming like a music box, and the glow was still on my skin as if I had swallowed a galaxy. I was sure I didn't make it to dinner, and my stomach was singing protest songs. I checked my bag and saw a half-eaten pack of cream chips in it.

Dinner of champions.

I ate a few, tossed the rest aside, and curled into a ball like one of those sad, abandoned dogs you see on shelter posters. But instead of sadness, I was glowing. Literally.

I woke up to a soft knock, which, honestly, was almost more suspicious. No one normal knocked on my door.

I dragged myself to the door, cracked it open, and blinked.

There she was.

A girl with wide, cute brown eyes, a big smile, and hair tied up in little space buns like she just stepped out of a cartoon. She was holding a suitcase and a drink pouch like she was moving in and going to a picnic all at once.

“Hi! Oh my gosh, you must be Dahlia! I’m Soraya. I just transferred in. They told me I’d be rooming with you. This place is huge, right? You’re so pretty, by the way. I love your hair. And your lips! And your skin. Like, wow. Are you wearing highlighter? No? That’s just your face? You’re literally glowing!”

I froze.

Literally glowing?

My mind went into emergency lockdown mode. Could she see it?

No. She was still talking. Like, full-on speed train talking. And I realized she wasn’t even reacting to the glow. She was just throwing compliments like glitter.

Did that mean only I could see it? Or was she just so extra that nothing fazed her?

“Thanks,” I muttered, eyes squinting as I stepped aside. “Room’s all yours. Don’t trip over any emotional baggage lying around.”

She rolled her suitcase in like she was moving into a five-star hotel, already chatting about how she had been homeschooled most of her life, how her dad ran a spell-cleaning business for werewolves, and how she once saw a witch levitate her mom’s entire fridge out of the kitchen because she was mad about expired milk.

Soraya. What a name. She didn’t even sound real.

And yet there she was—sitting on her bed, swinging her legs, asking me fifty questions in five minutes like I was a human trivia card.

“Do you have a favorite subject? Is biology as creepy as people say? What’s up with the teachers here? Why are the wolves so serious? Also, do you have snacks? I’m starving.”

I blinked.

No one had ever talked to me like this. Like I wasn’t invisible. Like I was… normal. Or even interesting.

She didn’t look at me like I was a science project or some school-wide joke. She didn’t flinch, sneer, or whisper. She just smiled.

“You’re gorgeous,” she said again.

My heart almost short-circuited.

No one had said that to me since Grandma died. Not my father, or even my damn mirror.

I mumbled a weird “thanks” and turned away before my eyes could get stupid.

The glow was still there. But she didn’t mention it. Maybe it really was just for me to see.

We got ready for class.

I stared at my clothes like they were landmines. Everything I had was now too thin, light, and revealing all of a sudden.

The glow had faded a little but not completely. I needed to cover it up. So I did what any paranoid half-magic girl would do—I layered.

Black tights under black pants. Long-sleeve top. Big coat. Hood up.

“Uh… are we going to school or trekking across the tundra?” Soraya joked as I walked out of the bathroom looking like an apocalypse prepper.

“I’m cold,” I said.

“In August?”

“Yep. Cold in the soul.”

She laughed and didn’t ask again. Bless her.

We walked to class together. A practical session was happening, and I couldn’t afford to skip it. Missing this would affect my grades even harder than my dignity already had.

Class was awkward. I sweated bullets under all the layers. The teacher gave me a weird look, like she was trying to figure out if I was hiding a weapon or just had a terrible sense of fashion. I avoided everyone.

After class, Soraya caught up with me and linked arms like we were old friends. The whole walk back to the dorm, she talked nonstop—about teachers she hated already, wolves that looked like failed models, and how the cafeteria chicken tasted like regret.

I listened and laughed.

For once, it felt… okay.

Back in our room, she sprawled across her bed with her shoes still on and started telling me about her ex, who tried to impress her with fire magic and nearly burned his eyebrows off. I told her about Ms. Hale’s “I know your secrets” stare, and she screamed like we were telling ghost stories.

By the time the moon was up, she was asleep. Sprawled diagonally across the bed, one sock off, mouth open.

I sat by the window, looking out at the moon again.

***************

Kyren’s POV

Sleep has become a stranger to me for the past few weeks.

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling like it owed me answers. It wasn’t just the usual noise in my head—pack business, school, the Royal Council’s latest drama. It was the mate thing. The one thing I had been trying to ignore since I turned eighteen. Every Alpha had to choose eventually, and I could feel the pressure building like a storm behind my eyes.

But nothing felt right. I've got no face, scent, or girl. Not even close.

So I got up. Threw on a hoodie and went out.

The night was cold and quiet. I walked past the training field, planning to shift and sprint into the woods, but then I saw movement near the cafeteria. Someone was sneaking around the side, ducking under the shadows.

I paused. It was a girl, and not just any girl. The fat one. Dahlia Reed.

She was meeting with a staff member I didn’t recognize. They exchanged something like a food pack. Dahlia shoved it into the pouch of her hoodie. Then she looked around—checking her surroundings—and walked off fast.

I don't blame her. The bullies won't let her eat in peace during the day, so she has to choose the night. I wonder why she gave in to bullies with such a huge body. She could just throw one person a punch, and that would be the end of it.

But I was caught off guard because I expected her to head back to the dorm, but she wasn’t. She was heading deeper. Past the last of the lights. Past where any student was supposed to go alone.

I followed quietly.

I didn’t know why. Maybe I thought she was up to something, or I just wanted to make sure she didn’t get eaten. And it could be the pull. That strange tug that had been humming in me all day.

She walked through the trees, not looking back once. She moved like she was used to hiding and stopped in a small clearing—bare dirt, with no benches or lights. The only source of light there was the moon.

She sat down. Opened the food. Ate in silence. Bit by bit, like this was her moment of peace. She drank water from a small bottle and leaned back against the tree.

Then I saw her skin glow black.

Black light pulsing from under her skin like fire in reverse. Like ink made of stars. My breath hitched.

What the hell was that?

Before I could stop myself, I stepped forward.

A branch cracked, making her turn.

She froze when our eyes met.

She went wide-eyed, shocked, scared, and glowing. I didn’t speak because I lost words. Instead I walked closer, slowly, and sat beside her. Her glow didn’t stop, and she didn’t move either.

Neither of us said anything. The silence between us was heavy, as if something ancient was sitting between us.

Then my wolf stirred, and her familiar scent hit me.

“What! Impossible!” My eyes went wide.