The wind whipped forcefully against Emma's face as she ran, her twin brother Ethan trailing behind. They had managed to escape their mother's watchful eye, driven by the haunting voice that had been tormenting Emma for days. Unaware of the impending danger, they ventured deeper into the forest. At that moment, a powerful storm threatened to unleash its fury upon the land, and if they were caught, they would end up drenched to the bone.

"Hurry, Ethan, run faster!" urged Emma, noticing her brother stumble over a stone and come to a painful halt.

"I can't run," gasped the eight-year-old boy, clutching his ankle and wincing in pain. "It hurts… it hurts too much."

Emma glanced momentarily in the direction of their small house. They were getting closer, but the once-familiar path now seemed distorted, and the smoke from the chimney that seeped through the roof pipe took on a dark and eerie appearance, causing her a intense shiver.

Their mother had forbidden them from venturing too deep into the forest, emphasizing that it was for their own good, as the boundaries of it protected them, and until now, they had always obeyed, even though she never explained the reason behind the prohibition. But that strange voice that had been plaguing Emma compelled her to follow it, regardless of the consequences.

Emma stopped and retraced her steps to help her brother. She crouched down to examine his ankle, puffing her cheeks in desperation as their mother's voice echoed in the distance, calling for them.

"Mom will punish us if she finds out we disobeyed," Emma murmured, her eyes moist with tears of despair and fear. "Can you stand up?" She pointed to his brother's swollen ankle.

Ethan nodded, gripping a tree trunk with one hand and Emma with the other as he struggled to rise. But the pain etched on his face silently conveyed that he maybe wouldn't be able to take a single step.

"I think so, but I won't be able to run. Leave me here, Emma," the boy requested, attempting to sound brave. "You'll get there first and distract Mom. I'll try to make it home slowly."

Emma wasn't convinced by her brother's plan, especially as the sun seemed to rapidly disappear from the horizon. Night would fall quickly, and she couldn't bear to leave him helpless and injured.

"No, I won't leave you. You're my responsibility. I won't go away, especially when it's my fault that we're here. We wouldn't be in trouble if I hadn't listened to that voice,"

"I'm not your responsibility!" Ethan complained, his pride shining through despite the pain in his ankle. "I'm a man, and you're just a foolish girl who chases voices and gets us into trouble."

Ignoring her brother's words, Emma narrowed her eyes, huffing in frustration. She knew his outburst was a result of the pain and the desperation of not being able to continue running to escape punishment.

"I'm the older sister; I was born a minute before you, so it's my duty to protect you. Hold onto me, and I'll help you walk," she pleaded.

When Ethan tried to take a step and put all the weight of his body on his injured foot, a sudden wave of sharp pain caused him to lose balance. Emma reacted instantly and made a quick move to hold him by the arms and prevent him from falling, but everything happened so fast that Ethan's hands held onto the delicate chain of the amulet that Emma wore around her neck.

It was a necklace with a pendant in the shape of a sun, intricately carved in gold. That jewel possessed immense sentimental value as a family relic that had been inherited from generation to generation. Both siblings had one hanging from their chests, but Ethan's was different – instead of a Sun, it was a full Moon. Ever since they could remember, their mother had forbidden them from taking off their respective necklaces under any circumstances.

Instinctively, Emma dropped to her knees to tend to Ethan, but she found herself frozen in place as she witnessed the pendant on her brother's chest begin to emit a mesmerizing glow. The strange female voice that had lured her into the forest now echoed in her ears, drowning out all other sounds.

For a fleeting moment, the distant rumble of thunder ceased, her mother's desperate pleas faded into the background, and even the wind ceased its haunting whistle through the trees. Emma's legs felt rooted to the ground as her gaze fixated on the blinding light emanating from Ethan's amulet, levitating above his body.

In an eerie symphony of events, the pendant with shape of a full Moon, flew off his neck until it fell next to hers. Ethan opened his eyes at that moment, initially disoriented by the impact of his own fall, but soon overcome with terror as he locked eyes with her. Emma longed to ask him what was happening, why he was staring at her in such a way, but fear rendered her speechless.

Darkness fell suddenly; monstrous streaks of lightning tore across the sky, and she was just a girl trying to appear as an adult. Being in the middle of the forest with her injured twin didn't help.

"Emma, your hair!" gasped Ethan, his eyes never leaving hers. "It's no longer red!"

The two pendants fit perfectly into each other until they merged into one piece and floated in the air while emitting an intense light.

"What's happening to my...?" Emma's voice trailed off, her words dissolving into silence as her eyes widened in astonishment. Her gaze fixated on her brother's once reddish hair, now transforming into a shimmering silver hue.

A choir of spectral voices resonated intensely and enveloped them in a melody typical of the realm of the dead. Ethereal beings, whose forms were shrouded in darkness, formed a circle around them. These monstrous entities chanted a spell in a mysterious language, and each word was deafening and unintelligible like the sound of thunder in the sky.

Emma collapsed on the ground, seized by terror, seeking comfort and protection next to her brother. If they were destined to die that day, at least they would do so together, just as they had entered the world.

A surge of intense heat coursed through her body, followed by an internal burst of power, threatening to dissolve every fiber of her being into minuscule particles. The pain spread from head to toe, reaching unbearable levels. Her throat tightened so much that, even if she had wanted to scream, it would have remained trapped inside her.

She knew her brother was going through the same torment from the way he gripped her arms and dug his fingers into her flesh. Ethan now had silver hair, and his brown eyes were transforming into orbs that shone with the same light as the pendants.

Emma watched helplessly as Ethan succumbed to unconsciousness once again. Despite her valiant efforts to stay conscious, she felt too in the overwhelming darkness, collapsing beside her brother.

As the tendrils of unconsciousness enveloped her, the last thing Emma heard was her mother's anguished screams, uttering their names with horror. After that, everything faded away.

***

When Emma woke up, she was in the safety of her room and her comfortable bed. For a moment, she felt peaceful, thinking that everything that happened had been a nightmare. However, as she looked around and saw her mother at her brother's bedside, carefully bandaging his ankle, she knew it was real.

"Mom," she croaked, her voice hoarse, almost as if it didn't belong to her.

Her mother didn't look at her, keeping her gaze fixed on her unconscious brother, hands moving quickly to bandage his swollen ankle.

"Don't be afraid; Mom will fix this," she heard her mumble, occasionally wiping tears from her face. "Those damn wolves won't take my children. No, no, I won't allow it. My girl won't fall into the hands of those monsters."

Emma didn't understand what her mother was saying and began to feel too scared as her brother remained unconscious.

"M-Mom," she repeated with a trembling voice. "What… What happened? Is Ethan okay?" Despite her anguish plea, her mother appeared to be lost in her own world, her gaze distant and unfocused. In a final act of desperation, Emma raised her trembling arm, pointing directly at her mother and raising her voice to a shout. "Mom, I'm talking to you!"

With that single gesture, her mother's body ascended rapidly, defying gravity. The woman's face contorted with sheer terror as her eyes locked onto Emma's. Overwhelmed by the bewildering scene unfolding before her, Emma quickly lowered her arm, feeling a surge of fear coursing through her veins. In a sudden motion, her mother's body was violently propelled towards the ground, crashing with force upon it.

"Emma... don't... don't do anything," her mother gasped, her voice laced with pain from the fall. "Don't move, my daughter. You... you don't know how to control it."

Tears cascaded down Emma's cheeks, a mixture of terror and confusion consuming her. Yet, amidst the fear, she felt an indomitable strength beginning to stir within her, a force that yearned to break free and defy all obstacles in its path.

"Mommy, I'm scared," she whimpered. Her gaze still fixated on her hands as if they no longer belonged to her.

Nervous and scared as she was, Emma clutched a lock of her hair, hoping to see the reddish tone that characterized her family. Instead, she found a silver, almost white color—the same color she had seen on her brother in the forest and that he still possessed.

Her mother slowly lifted herself from the floor, her hand finding its way to her hip, gently massaging it as if in pain. Yet, despite being the cause of her own injury, she cast a tender gaze upon Emma.

Emma didn't know how or in what way she caused that accident, but she was sure that force had escaped from within her.

"Calm down, little one. I promise that man won't find you. Your brother and you will be safe."

"Who?" Emma managed to say despite the lump in her throat.

Her mother shook her head, seeming reluctant to speak, but eventually did.

"The wolves, girl. You know the legend of our family. Those monstrous men who turn into wild animals and tear innocent young ones like you apart. I won't let you suffer the same fate as your great-grandmother. You won't join any of their kind. Trust me; I'll erase your memories and your brother's, bind your magic again, and you'll have a normal life, I promise. Those wolves will remain cursed, even if it's the last thing I do."

Emma wanted to continue asking about the kind of curse she was talking about; she knew the legend, but it was just that—a story told to entertain children. She wanted to understand the madness of men turning into wolves and why they would want her and her brother. However, her mother approached her bed, placed her hand on her forehead, and before losing consciousness, Emma heard her mother say:

"When you wake up, everything will be back to normal, and you won't remember anything."