The moon hung low over the quiet village, casting a silver glow through the forest like liquid light. Elara moved silently among the trees, her cloak brushing against the ferns. The night felt colder than usual, and even the wind seemed to whisper warnings. She clutched the charm her grandmother had given her, a crescent-shaped pendant that pulsed faintly in her palm. Something was wrong tonight. She could feel it deep in her bones.
As she reached the edge of the woods, she spotted smoke rising from a distant ridge. Her heart raced. No one lived that far out except for the Fallen Alpha—the one the villagers spoke about in fearful murmurs. They said his soul had been torn from his body, his wolf lost forever. Yet something in Elara had always found it hard to believe he was just a monster. Still, she hesitated. Curiosity battled with the warning in her chest, but she took a step forward anyway. The air around her seemed to hum with tension.
A low growl pierced the night. It wasn't human; it was deep, raw, and broken. Elara froze. Her pendant glowed brighter, reacting to the sound as if it sensed the pain beneath it. She whispered a protection spell under her breath, her fingers trembling. The growl came again, closer this time. Her breath caught as a shadow emerged from the darkness—tall, broad-shouldered, and breathing hard. His eyes, once silver, now burned with rage and something darker.
"Stay back," Elara warned, but her voice quivered. The man before her wasn't fully wolf, but he wasn't entirely human either. His chest rose and fell as he fought to maintain control. His hands were scarred, and his eyes were fixated on the pendant glowing at her throat. "Where did you get that?" he demanded, his tone a mix of desperation and fury.
"It was my grandmother's," she whispered. "She told me it protects against cursed spirits."
His expression twisted. "That charm doesn't protect you from me," he said, stepping closer. His voice dropped to a whisper that sent chills down her spine. "It binds me."
Elara's mind raced. "What do you mean?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady. But before he could answer, he doubled over, clutching his chest. The ground beneath them vibrated faintly, and a strange light flickered in the distance. She could feel magic stirring—wild and ancient. Her instincts screamed for her to run, but her heart wouldn't let her leave him behind.
She knelt beside him, pressing her hand to his arm. The moment her skin touched his, a surge of energy shot through both of them. It wasn't painful; it was electric, alive. Memories that weren't hers flashed through her mind—blood, a broken moon, and a voice whispering her name. She gasped and stumbled back.
He looked at her with wide eyes. "You saw it too," he said, his voice rough and filled with disbelief. "You're part of it."
"Part of what?" she demanded.
"The curse," he whispered. "You're the key."
Before she could respond, they heard a sudden sound echo through the forest—the sharp crack of branches snapping underfoot. Both of them turned toward the noise. The air thickened, heavy with magic. Elara's pendant flared, and the man's eyes shifted, glowing faintly like molten silver.
From the shadows, a figure stepped forward, cloaked in darkness. "So, the witch and the fallen beast finally meet," the stranger said, voice laced with amusement. "How lovely. It's been a long time coming."
Elara took a step back, instinctively reaching for her spell pouch, but the stranger raised a hand, freezing her in place. Her breath caught when she noticed the ring on his finger—a ring bearing the same crescent symbol as her pendant.
"Who are you?" she asked.
The stranger smiled, a smile that promised trouble. "Someone who remembers what your grandmother did," he said softly. "And I've come to finish what she started."
The Alpha staggered to his feet, a growl rising in his throat, but before he could move, the stranger snapped his fingers. A gust of black smoke burst between them, swallowing the light of the moon.
Elara coughed and stumbled back, her vision blurring. When the smoke cleared, the stranger was gone, but strange runes glowed faintly red where he had stood. The Alpha stepped closer, his eyes narrowing.
"This isn't over," he muttered, his voice low and dangerous. "He's just awakened something neither of us is ready for."
Elara looked down at the glowing marks, her heart racing. "What does it mean?"
He met her gaze, his expression darkening. "It means the curse isn't just mine anymore."
In that moment, as the runes flared brighter and the wind howled through the forest, Elara realized whatever fate had tied her to the fallen Alpha had just begun to unravel.
The ground trembled beneath them, and a distant howl echoed across the ridge—haunting, furious, and far too close. The kind of howl that didn't belong to any ordinary wolf.
Elara's eyes widened. "That wasn't you, was it?"
The Alpha's jaw tightened. "No," he said grimly. "It was them."
Before she could ask who "they" were, the trees behind her began to move—not with the wind, but with footsteps. Many of them.
The forest had come alive. And it was hunting.