Maax had always felt different. Growing up in a small town in the heart of the Pacific Northwest, he found himself wandering the woods just outside the edge of town. While other kids spent their weekends playing video games or hanging out at the mall, Max had a connection to the forest that he couldn't quite explain.
It wasn't just the towering trees or the cold air that called him. There was something deeper that tugged his heart whenever he was out there.
"Max, you aren't going into the woods again, are you?" His mother, Claire, asked from the doorway with a worried look on his face.
Max stood there, his backpack hanging over one shoulder. He had the same stubborn look on his face he always had when he was about to sneak out for one of his long treks.
"Just for a little while", he said, avoiding her gaze.
Claire sighed and shook her head. She didn't understand why Max was so drawn to the forest. The town had a reputation for strange happenings-whispers of old legends, strange sightings, and eerie noises in the middle of the night. But Max wasn't the type of person to believe in ghost stories.
"Promise me you'll be careful?" She asked, her voice soft.
Max smiled faintly. "Always".
Max made his way towards the edge of the town, walking through the streets with the evening lights casting shadows over old houses. He didn't live far from the woods;in fact, from his house to the woods was a 10 minute walk. As he stepped into the forest, the thick canopy of trees immediately dimmed the sky above him.
The air was refreshing. He'd been to the forest a thousand times, but tonight felt different. Max tried to shake off the feeling, telling himself it was just an imagination.
But then, he heard something -a distant howl.
At first he thought it was just the wind, or just an animal in the distance. But as he walked deeper, the sound grew louder, more distinct. It was a wolf's howl, but not quite like any wolf he'd heard before. It was almost..... human.
Max paused. His eyes roamed around the forest, but he saw nothing unusual. Still, the howl lingered in the air, a cry that seemed to move through his bones.
Without thinking, Max began to walk towards the sound.
Max's pace quickened as the howl came again, closer now. His instincts told him to turn back but curiousity took the better part of him. He couldn't help but felt an overwhelming need to reach the source of the sound.
Finally, he stopped, seeing a figure much taller than any human he had ever seen-it stood on two legs, but it wasn't quite human. The creature's face had a twisted combination of human and wolf. Max froze immediately.
The creature tilted its head, as though studying him. It wasn't howling anymore, but there was an odd sense of communication in the air. Max's heart pounded, and for a moment, he thought of running. But the creature wasn't aggressive. Instead, it was simply waiting, as if it had been expecting him.
Max stepped forward, unable to look away from the creature's eyes. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a pendant with a silver medallion and a wolf engraved on it.
The creature gazed at the pendant, and for the first time its eyes softened. A low growl came from it's chest. Not a threatening one, but something more similar to recognition. Then a low and unnaturally deep voice spoke from the creature's throat.
"You're one of us", it said. Max stumbled back, confusion and fear clouding his mind. "Who...who are you?" He stammered.
The man smiled. "I'm a guardian of the wild. And you, Max you're meant for something great. You're going to change. You've been marked", he said.
The echoed again, but louder now. He looked down at his hands, his fingers tingling as though something in him was waking up.
The man stepped forward, his gaze piercing.
"Get ready, Max. The wolf in you is about to wake up".