Marked by the Moon, Bound by Blood

Chapter 1

The air tonight was a hell of a lot colder than usual. I pulled my denim jacket tighter, picking up the pace along the trail that cut straight through the woods. I should’ve been home before sunset. But no, my f*****g bike tire had to blow out in the middle of nowhere, forcing me to haul the damn thing for three kilometers. Just my f*****g luck today.

"Ugh, why the hell now?" I muttered under my breath.

The crunch of dry leaves under my boots sounded deafening in the dead silence. I glanced up at the sky. The moon was full and blindingly bright, its pale light turning the pine trees into giant, reaching claws. The hair on my neck stood up. I felt it—something was watching me from the dark shadows of the brush.

I stopped for a second, straining to hear.

Crackle.

The sound came from my left. I snapped my head toward it, but there was nothing. Just frozen shadows. A knot formed in my gut. My heart started hammering against my ribs so hard it f*****g hurt.

"It’s just the wind, Misha. Just the goddamn wind," I whispered, trying to keep my s**t together.

I started walking again, nearly breaking into a run. But then, heavy footsteps began to mimic my pace. They didn't sound human. It sounded like something heavy-as-lead slamming into the dirt.

Grrgh.

That low growl froze me in my tracks. I slowly turned around. There, maybe five meters away, a pair of glowing red eyes were locked onto me. The thing was massive. Nearly two meters tall, covered in coarse, jet-black fur. This wasn’t a f*****g wolf. It was too big, too impossible to be just some forest animal.

"W-what the f**k is that?" my voice shook violently.

The creature didn't answer. It just crouched low, ready to pounce. I dropped my bike and bolted. I didn't care where I was going; I just needed to get the f**k away from that monster.

Branches clawed at my face and arms as I tore through the thicket. My lungs felt like they were on fire. I didn't dare look back, but that growling was getting closer.

"Augh!"

I tripped over a massive root and went face-first into the dirt. A sharp pain shot through my knee as it hit a jagged rock. Before I could even try to get up, a crushing weight slammed onto my back. Sharp-as-hell claws dug into my shoulders, tearing right through my jacket and skin.

"Aaakh! Get off me!" I screamed, losing my mind.

I felt massive fangs hovering over my neck, ready to rip it open. I squeezed my eyes shut. This was it. There was no f*****g way I was surviving this thing’s grip. An agonizing pain seared through my back as the creature started tearing into my flesh. Warm blood began to soak through my clothes.

"Help... someone..." I wheezed with whatever strength I had left.

My consciousness started to slip. Everything went dark. The cold night air was replaced by a strange heat surging through my veins. Right before I blacked out, I felt a bizarre sensation in my chest—something volatile, like a f*****g electric explosion.

I don’t know how long I laid there on the damp earth. Faintly, I heard the crickets chirping again. I forced my eyes open. My head felt like it had been hit by a f*****g sledgehammer. I tried to move my hand.

"What...?" I gasped.

I sat up and immediately reached for my shoulder—the one that had been shredded. My denim jacket was trashed, soaked in drying blood. But when I touched my skin, I didn't feel any holes. No open wounds.

I felt around more carefully. My skin was smooth. No pain. Just the crusty residue of blood on the surface. I checked my knee. My jeans were ripped to hell, but the skin underneath was perfectly intact.

"No f*****g way. That was a deep-ass wound," I thought, completely losing it.

I stood up and scanned the area. The beast was gone. All that remained were massive tracks in the dirt and the splatter of my own blood on the leaves. I knew for a fact those fangs had sunk into my neck and shoulder. I should be dead or at least bleeding out.

"How the hell did it heal this fast?" I whispered, staring at my shaking hands.

Something was different. My sense of smell was suddenly sharp as a blade. I could smell the damp earth, the tree sap—hell, I could even smell a rotting mouse carcass dozens of meters away. My hearing was hyper-sensitive too. I could hear an owl’s wings flapping high above with terrifying clarity.

I walked back toward my bike. My body felt lighter, more powerful. The exhaustion I usually felt after a run was gone. I found my bike laying on the path. I picked it up with one hand like it was made of f*****g feathers.

"Since when is this thing so light?" I muttered, bewildered.

I kept walking home, my mind racing. What happened back there defied every law of nature. Something inside me was clawing to get out. I had this weird thirst and a desperate urge to keep moving. I didn't feel like myself anymore.

Suddenly, I heard human footsteps coming from ahead. Steady, commanding steps. I ducked behind a thick tree immediately. I didn't know who the f**k would be out here this late. I held my breath and peeked.

A tall guy with broad shoulders stepped out of the darkness. He was wearing all black, the clothes fitting his athletic frame perfectly. His face was sharp, jawline like granite. He kept his eyes on the ground as if he were tracking something.

He stopped exactly where I’d been attacked. He knelt down, touching the bloodstain on the leaves. He sniffed the air, his expression unreadable.

"This scent..." His voice was incredibly deep and gravelly.

I didn't move a muscle. My heart started racing again, but this felt different. There was a weird pull drawing me toward him, even though my instincts were screaming at me to stay hidden. I didn't know this guy, but his aura was intimidating as f**k.

Suddenly, he snapped his head toward my tree. His sharp eyes seemed to pierce the dark, looking straight at me. I froze. Can he actually see me? We were at least fifteen meters apart.

"Come out," he commanded coldly.

I stayed put, hoping he was just bluffing. But he started walking toward me—slow, steady, and threatening. Every step he took felt like the ground was vibrating.

"I know you're there. Don't make me drag you out," he said again.

I finally stepped out from behind the tree, wheeling my bike with trembling hands. I watched him warily. He stopped about three meters away, scanning me from head to toe. His eyes lingered on my shredded, bloody jacket.

"You should be dead," he said flatly, his tone full of suspicion.

I frowned. "What the hell do you mean? Who are you?" I tried to keep my voice steady.

He didn't answer. He just took another step forward. I tried to back up, but my back hit the tree trunk. He leaned in close to my neck, as if he were inhaling my scent.

"Ugh, get the f**k back! What's your problem!" I shoved his chest with my left hand.

It was like hitting a concrete wall. He didn't budge. Instead, he grabbed my wrist in a grip so tight I winced.

"You're not human. Your blood... it’s f*****g weird," he whispered right in my ear.

"Let me go! I don't know what the hell you're talking about!" I yelled, struggling.

His grip tightened. He stared into my eyes with terrifying intensity. For a split second, his pupils seemed to blow wide and flash a golden hue before turning back to normal.

"My name is Anderson. And you... you’re coming with me right now," he stated firmly.

He started dragging me by the arm, forcing me deeper into the woods.

"Hey! Where the hell are you taking me? Let go!" I snapped, digging my heels into the dirt.

"Let me the f**k go!" I screamed repeat, trying to wrench my arm out of Anderson’s iron grip.

The strength of this guy was f*****g insane. His hand felt like a freezing cold steel shackle clamped around my wrist. I tried to dig my heels into the soft forest floor to slow him down, but he just kept dragging me like I weighed absolutely nothing. I’d had to ditch my bike back in the bushes because I couldn't hold onto it anymore.

"Shut the hell up if you still want to live," Anderson snapped without even looking back. His voice was low, heavy with a threat that made my skin crawl. There was this raw authority in his tone that actually made me flinch for a second. But I wasn’t about to let some total stranger haul me deeper into these dark-ass woods.

"Live? You’re the one f*****g threatening me right now! Help! Someone help! I’m being kidnapped!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

Srett.