Chapter 2 : Moon Echo
342 Words
The moon was still days from full, but Liam already felt the stirring beneath his skin.
He stood at the edge of the brook long after Clara left, her scent—lavender, pine, and something uniquely her—still lingering in the damp forest air. It had taken every ounce of control not to bolt when she appeared. Strangers unsettled him. But she had done more than that.
She’d stirred him.
Not just the wolf—but the man.
Liam crouched near the water’s edge, fingers brushing the moss-covered stones. The reflection staring back at him was a pale imitation—haunted eyes, dark stubble shadowing his jaw, hair tousled by wind and sleepless nights. The artist. The recluse. The man hiding from the world.
And the beast hiding from the moon.
He ran a hand through his hair and rose, moving silently through the woods. This part of the forest was familiar, mapped into his blood. He knew where the soil dipped, where the owls watched from hollow trees. But it wasn’t safe tonight. Something felt... off.
As he neared the edge of his property—a small cabin tucked between ancient firs—he caught the scent.
Iron.
Blood.
He froze.
The wind shifted, carrying a deeper, wilder stench. Not just blood. Pack. Rogues.
His muscles tensed, instinct flooding him. He turned, scanning the trees, but the woods remained still. Silent. Too silent.
He exhaled sharply and entered his home, bolting the door behind him. His paintings lined the walls—canvases of shadowed forests, twisted skies, beasts half-seen through trees. Images he couldn’t explain to anyone without giving too much away.
He poured a glass of water with shaking hands. That girl—Clara—was too close already. Too close to him. To the truth. And now, if the rogues were here, the town would no longer be safe for her.
Liam stared out the window into the forest, jaw clenched.
They were coming. He could feel it.
And he’d be damned if he let them touch her.
- Writer
