Whispers in the Dark
1407 Words
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Episode Two
Whispers in the Dark
The forest was louder that night.
Every sound — the rustle of leaves, the snap of a twig, the whistle of wind between branches — scraped against my nerves. It was as if the woods themselves were trying to tell me something, a language just beyond my understanding.
And still, I couldn’t stay away.
I stood on the edge of Hollow Creek, staring into the shadows where the old path cut deep into the trees. The town lights behind me faded to a soft glow, like they were afraid to follow me.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
The voice came from behind, low and edged with warning.
I didn’t have to turn to know who it was. Lucas Kane.
“I wasn’t—” My throat tightened. I was lying, and we both knew it. “I was just walking.”
His gaze pinned me in place, storm-gray eyes almost glowing in the pale moonlight. “Walking?” His tone was sharp. “Or listening?”
I swallowed, gripping my jacket tighter around me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
His jaw clenched, muscle ticking in the corner of his cheek. “Go home, Aria. It’s not safe here. Not for you.”
I wanted to argue, to tell him that I wasn’t scared, but the words wouldn’t come. Maybe because some part of me already knew he was right.
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The Changes
The dreams came again that night.
This time, they weren’t fragments but vivid, sharp enough to feel real.
I was running — no, hunting. The ground blurred beneath me as the wind whipped through my hair, my muscles coiled with strength I shouldn’t have. The moon burned high above, red and full, and in the distance, glowing eyes blinked through the trees like stars.
When I woke, my sheets were damp with sweat, my nails digging deep crescents into my palms.
And worse, the hum was back. That strange, electric pull beneath my skin, as though my bones were vibrating in tune with something ancient and alive.
At school, I tried to act normal. Tried to laugh when my best friend Leah teased me about zoning out in class. Tried to ignore the way my senses had sharpened — how I could hear conversations happening across the hallway, smell the faint metallic tang of blood when the kid two seats over got a nosebleed.
But what I couldn’t ignore was Lucas.
Every time I saw him — leaning against the locker room door, walking across the courtyard — the hum intensified, thrumming louder like a warning or… a promise.
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The Stranger
That evening, I closed the diner where I worked part-time. The streets of Hollow Creek were quiet, the kind of quiet that made you hold your breath without knowing why.
Halfway home, I noticed him.
A stranger, tall and broad-shouldered, leaning against a lamppost like he’d been waiting. His face was sharp, his smile too sharp, and his eyes — cold and amber, glowing faintly even in the weak streetlight.
“You’re her,” he said, his voice low and unfamiliar, a smooth venom threading every word.
I froze. “I think you have the wrong person.”
His smile widened. “No, Aria. You’re exactly who I’ve been looking for.”
Before I could move, the air shifted — a sudden rush, like the pressure before a storm.
And then Lucas was there, stepping out of the shadows, his eyes blazing gold.
“Stay away from her,” he snarled, the sound low and primal.
The stranger chuckled, unbothered. “Relax, Kane. I just wanted to meet her. She smells…” He tilted his head, inhaling deeply. “…unfinished.”
Lucas moved so fast I barely saw him. One second, he was at my side; the next, his hand was gripping the stranger’s shirt, shoving him back with inhuman strength.
“Leave,” Lucas growled.
The stranger’s amber eyes flicked to me, something unreadable flashing in their depths, before he smirked and stepped away. “We’ll meet again, little wolf.”
And then he was gone, swallowed by the night.
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Questions Without Answers
“What the hell was that?” My voice cracked as I backed away from Lucas.
“Someone you don’t need to know,” he said, his voice tight.
“Don’t need to know?” My chest burned with anger and confusion. “Lucas, I’m losing my mind. I’m— I’m hearing things, feeling things, and you keep showing up like some… some guard dog, but you won’t tell me anything!”
For a moment, his expression softened, but only for a moment.
“It’s starting,” he said quietly, almost to himself. “Faster than I thought.”
“What’s starting?”
“You,” he said simply, his gaze locking on mine. “The change.”
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The Pull of the Forest
That night, sleep was impossible.
The hum beneath my skin grew louder, more insistent, until staying inside felt unbearable. I slipped out my window just past midnight, drawn toward the woods like a moth to flame.
The forest welcomed me. The damp earth was soft under my bare feet, the night alive with the hum of cicadas and the whisper of the wind through the branches.
And then — a sound.
A low, guttural growl that froze the blood in my veins.
“Aria.”
I turned slowly, and my breath caught.
It wasn’t Lucas this time.
It was the stranger — the one from the street — standing at the edge of the clearing, his amber eyes glowing brighter now, his smile sharp and dangerous.
“You shouldn’t be here alone,” he said, stepping closer.
Before I could speak, another sound split the air — a roar, deep and violent, that shook the ground beneath my feet.
Lucas burst through the trees, shifting mid-leap, his body contorting with a sickening crack until the boy I knew was gone, replaced by a massive silver wolf with blazing golden eyes.
The stranger grinned, his form rippling as his own shift began, his body stretching, breaking, until a dark, hulking beast stood where the man had been.
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The Fight
The two wolves collided with terrifying force, their snarls ripping through the night. The ground shook as they slammed into each other, claws tearing into earth, teeth flashing in the moonlight.
I stumbled back, my heart pounding in my throat. Every instinct screamed at me to run, but my feet refused to move.
Then something strange happened.
The hum beneath my skin — the wild, electric pulse that had been building for days — erupted. It roared through my veins, hot and undeniable, and before I could stop it, a sound tore from my throat.
A scream — raw, guttural, and inhuman.
The world stilled.
Both wolves froze, their glowing eyes snapping toward me. The stranger’s amber gaze flared with something sharp — recognition, maybe even fear — before he broke away, vanishing into the shadows of the trees.
Lucas shifted back slowly, his chest heaving, his skin slick with sweat and streaked with blood.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he rasped, voice rough and hoarse.
“I— I didn’t know—”
“You called him off,” Lucas said, stepping closer, his gaze intense. “Do you have any idea what that means?”
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The Truth Unraveling
I shook my head, trembling. “No. I don’t know anything. So tell me, Lucas. Please.”
For a long moment, he was silent, his golden eyes searching mine. Then, finally, he said, “You’re not just some girl from Hollow Creek, Aria. You were never just that. You’re changing — becoming what you were always meant to be.”
My voice cracked. “And what is that?”
His gaze softened, but only slightly. “One of us.”
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Awakening
Later, alone in my room, I sat by the window and stared at the woods.
The hum hadn’t faded. It was stronger now, a wild rhythm thrumming through my veins, a call I didn’t understand but couldn’t ignore.
I didn’t know what was happening to me, not really.
But I knew this: whatever was coming, whatever I was becoming, there was no turning back.
And for the first time, that thought didn’t just scare me.
It thrilled me.
- Writer
