The bus hissed as it came to a stop, jolting me awake. My neck ached from leaning against the cold glass, but that wasn't what made my stomach twist. It was the sign outside, the one that read:
Welcome to Crescent Hallow.
The name alone sent a ripple through me. I shouldn't feel anything—it was just another small, forgotten town on the map. Yet my chest tightened like my body remembered something I didn't.
Dragging my suitcase down the steps, I inhaled deeply. The air here was sharper, heavier, laced with pine and something wilder—like rain before a storm.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
"Luna? Did you make it?" My best friend's voice spilled through the speaker. Emma—my anchor from the last city, the only one who called every day after my mom passed.
"Yeah, I'm here," I muttered, staring at the crooked lampposts lining the empty street. "It's… quieter than I thought."
"Quieter is good. You need peace," she said softly. "Promise me you'll actually rest, not bury yourself in work."
I laughed under my breath, though the sound came out hollow. "I'll try. I just… need to settle in first."
We talked until I reached the tiny apartment I'd rented online. One bedroom, peeling wallpaper, but it was mine. After unpacking the bare essentials, hunger drove me back out into the night.
The diner was a few blocks away, its neon sign buzzing faintly. I didn't notice the figure across the street, watching, until I stepped into the light.
For a heartbeat, everything slowed.
Dark eyes, sharp and unyielding, locked with mine. The stranger's stance was rigid, predatory, like he'd been waiting. My pulse hammered so loudly I barely heard Emma's goodbye before the line clicked dead.
I didn't know him. At least, I thought I didn't. But something deep in my chest stirred—like a thread pulling taut, demanding I follow.
The man—no, the wolf behind those eyes—took a step closer.
And my world shifted.