Lena Marrow had always believed the wind knew her secrets.
Grey Hollow was a quiet mountain town surrounded by towering pine forests and steep ridges that trapped the mist every morning. People here lived simple lives. They opened their shops at sunrise, shared gossip in the town square, and locked their doors early once the sun dipped behind the mountains.
But Lena often felt like she didn't quite belong there.
On the night everything changed, she stood on the wooden porch of the small house she shared with her grandmother. The air was cool and the moon had just begun rising above the mountains.
The wind tugged gently at her sleeves.
It wasn't strong enough to be a storm, but it carried a strange restlessness that made Lena uneasy. She had felt it before during moments when something unusual was about to happen.
"You're thinking about the forest again," her grandmother said from the doorway.
Lena turned. The older woman watched her carefully, as if she could read every thought running through Lena's mind.
"I'm just getting some air," Lena replied.
Her grandmother stepped onto the porch beside her and followed her gaze toward the dark tree line of Blackwood Forest.
"That forest has always been dangerous," she said quietly.
Lena forced a smile, but the pull she felt toward the woods refused to fade.
Later that night she found herself walking down the narrow trail leading into Blackwood Forest despite promising she wouldn't.
The deeper she went, the quieter the woods became.
Then the wind stopped.
A low growl echoed through the darkness.
Two glowing silver eyes appeared between the trees.