AMARA'S POV
Morning came with the smell of burnt toast and Mira singing loudly in the kitchen, trying too hard to make me feel normal again. I sat at the table, poking at my food, pretending the ache in my body didn't bother me.
My phone buzzed. Work.
My heart dropped. I haven't reached out to them since the accident. With everything that happened, I totally forgot I have a job. Everyone around town heard about the attack.
I answered, hoping for anything but bad news, instead. I got two minutes of old corporate words.
"We're downsizing."
"Your role has been terminated."
"You can come for your belongings."
Just like that, I lost my job. When the call ended, the silence felt heavier than the pain in my ribs. Mira touched my shoulder. "Amara… I'm sorry." I shook my head. "It's not just about the job. It's everything. Something is after me or watching me and no one believes me. "Mira that animal that attacked me… "I swallowed. They said it was probably a wild dog. But I know what I felt. That thing was not normal.
She hesitated. "Maybe you're just…"
"I 'm not imagining it." My voice cracked. "I'm scared because I'm right."
Silence settled between us.
In a quiet moment, something clicked in my mind. I did the research the night I was discharged from the hospital. The strange article about werewolves and the library." I need answers," I whispered. I grabbed my phone. The address was still there.
"I need to check something, "I said, already getting up.
"Where are you going?"
"To find the truth."
The library was hidden between two shops, like it didn't want to be found. The sign was faded, and the door was old and creaking. Inside, the air was thick and dusty, and the shelves leaned as if they were tired.
"Hello?" I called out.
For a moment, nothing. Then an old woman stepped forward. Silver hair braided down her back, straight posture, and her eyes, green, sharp, glowing emerald. Eyes that made me feel as if she could see every thought I had.
"You finally came, "My breath caught. "Do… do you know me?"
"Come." She didn't wait for an answer. You want to understand the creature that attacked you."
A chill ran through me. How did she know?
She led me past the last shelf. It slid open soundlessly, revealing another room hidden behind the library. And the world changed. Inside was a grand, glowing library, nothing like the dusty room outside. The air smelled clean, the lights warm, the shelves tall and perfect.
"Choose the book that pulls you," the woman said. "It will tell you what you need."
She vanished into the shadows.
I walked along the shelves. My hand stopped on one book, not because I liked it, but because something in me reacted. A strange pull. The title was old, written in faded ink:" The Nature of the Cursed: shifters of the Moon."
My fingers trembled as I opened it. Inside were sketches, human shadows twisted into wolves, claws emerging from the hands, glowing eyes in the darkness. I swallowed hard.
I read the first line: werewolves are humans cursed by ancient bloodlines. Forced to shift under the full moon, their sense are stronger than any known animal. Their wound heals fast, but their rage is faster. Some can control it, most cannot.
My breath shook.
Then another page; "The mate bond is the strongest connection a werewolf can form. Once formed, wolf and human become tied together by instinct, emotion, and fate.
My heart pounded. Why did that feel too … familiar?
I read until the sky outside darkened and the old woman reappeared silently behind me.
"You will return," she whispered. The truth already follows you."
Stepping out of that strange library felt like stepping out of another world entirely.
The door shut behind me, and suddenly I was outside again, quiet street, dim streetlights, the stillness we read about in storybooks.
For a moment, I honestly wondered if I had imagined everything.
Then my stomach growled loudly.
Right, I hadn't eaten since morning. I pulled out my phone to check the time, and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest.
30 missed calls
Two from mom.
Nine from Mira.
The rest was split between my two other friends, Jade and Talia.
Great. They absolutely thought I had vanished or something bad had happened to me
I called Mira first. She picked up on the first ring.
"Amara? Where have you been? We almost called the police!
"I'm okay," I said quickly, trying to steady my voice. "I will explain later. I'm on my way home."
I bought the fastest food I could find, a chicken burger and a can of soda from a small late-night stall, then took a cab home.
When I stepped into my apartment, my friends were waiting like a firing squad.
"You scared us, Mira said, hands crossed tightly.
"You didn't answer a single call, Jade said in rage. "And we almost filed in for a missing person," Talia added
"I know, I know… I'm sorry, "I said, honestly drained. "I just needed a break."
They exchanged one of those silent best-friend looks before softening a little.
"Then sit down and eat, "Mira said. "You look like your brain is overheating.
We ate together, and slowly the tension melted. They ended up deciding to sleep over "just to monitor me." I didn't protest.
The company felt good.
Then Mom called.
I stared at the phone for a second before answering.
"Why are you not here?" she demanded immediately." Your sister's wedding is around the corner, and there's so much to do. You should already be home."
I pressed my lips together. "I'll come when I can."
"Don't delay."
She hung up.
No concern. No softness. Just orders.
I sat on my bed afterwards, the weight of everything settling on me. The library, the strange man, my mother, my own mind spiralling.
"I'm going to sleep," I told the girls.
"Good," Jade said. "Before you collapse and we have to peel you off the floor."
I actually laughed.
But when I lay down, sleep refused to come. My thoughts drifted instead to memories I dreaded the most.
Dad's death.
Mom is moving on like she'd been waiting for the chance.
Amanda was born and instantly became the sun, the whole house revolved around.
Mom was using Dad's savings to build a perfect life for her new husband and their child, while I… became more like a guest.
I didn't hate them.
I just hated how invisible I felt.
Tonight, with everything that had happened, it felt like something in my life had cracked open. And whatever was behind that crack… felt real. And dangerous.
The next morning, I went back. But the entire library was gone. Not closed or hidden.
"Gone."