THE CURSED BOND

Dead leaves crackled beneath pounding paws as three young werewolves raced through the Shadow Cloak Forest. Dawn had barely begun to bleed into the night, a faint grey light slipping through the dense canopy. The forest was silent except for the thunder of their strides and the sharp bursts of breath escaping their lungs. Tomorrow was the Moon Festival. Tomorrow, the selection for the Shadowfang Army will begin. An elite royal force led by the crown prince himself—feared and respected across the Wolf Kingdom for their unmatched combat abilities. Winning meant power. Honor. Nobility. But for the three boys racing through the forest, it meant far more. For Ryan Stone, it meant strength. Strength enough to one day protect his sister from the cruelty of their stepmother and her daughter. For Carl Brutcher, it meant finishing the dream his older brother never lived to see. And for Max Storm, it was all about power. Pure intoxicating power. They veered onto a narrow path hugging the edge of a towering cliff. Dangerous terrain. The perfect training ground. Carl surged ahead, his wolf form moving with fluid precision. Few wolves in the kingdom could match his speed. Around his neck, a red jade necklace glimmered faintly under the light. Behind him, Max’s golden eyes burned with frustration. No matter how hard he pushed himself, Carl was always ahead. Always. Just a few steps before the invisible finish line that they had marked earlier, Something inside him finally snapped. With a violent burst of speed, he lunged forward. His shoulder slammed into Carl’s side, sending him over the cliff. Ryan skidded to a halt, claws digging into the earth. “Carl!” he shouted. Far below, Carl’s body twisted midair before he slammed against the rocky wall of the cliff. Desperately, he dug his claws into the stone, barely managing to stop himself from plunging into the roaring river below. Jagged rocks waited beneath the rushing water like hungry teeth. One slip and he would be dead. Ryan quickly shifted back to his human form as he rushed to the edge of the cliff. “Carl, hold on!” His hands moved quickly as he pulled a rope from his bag, tying it around a boulder before throwing the other end down. “Grab the rope!” He shouted. Carl struggled, one hand clinging to the cliff while the other reached for the rope. His fingers finally wrapped around it, but his grip on the rock slipped. For one horrifying moment, he dropped. The rope snapped tight. He slammed face-first against the cliff. Hanging above the river with nothing but the rope keeping him alive. Ryan gritted his teeth and pulled with everything he had. But the rope kept sliding off his hands. Turning to Max, he yelled. “What the hell are you doing standing there?!” Max instantly snapped out of his shock and rushed forward. Together, they managed to pull Carl back onto the cliff. The moment Carl’s feet touched solid ground he swayed slightly, but he quickly recovered. He lunged towards Max slamming him hard into a rock. “You selfish bastard!” he roared. “Do you realize you could have killed me?!” Max only grinned. “What’s wrong big guy?” he sneered. “Afraid of a little fall?” “Enough!” Ryan quickly forced himself between them before the situation escalated. Reluctantly, Carl stepped back. But as he turned away, something caught his attention. At the very edge of the cliff stood a strange rock formation shaped like a bat. He froze. A memory crashed into him like a storm. Blood. His father’s throat being ripped open. The sickening sound of flesh tearing. His brother’s desperate voice screaming through the darkness— Run, Carl! Carl staggered slightly, his heart pounding violently in his chest. His vision turned blurry for a second. “Let’s proceed. We have a lot of distance to cover before we complete our training.” Ryan said, unaware of the sudden shift in the atmosphere. “Wait!” Carl called out suddenly. His eyes mirrored the deep fear that had settled in his heart “Don’t go any further.” Max scoffed. “What now?” Carl pointed ahead. “You don’t realize where we are?” Ryan and Max followed his gaze. Beyond the cliff stood a forest unlike anything they had ever seen. The trees were twisted. The energy felt wrong. Dark. “You see those trees over there?” Carl asked, wiping the sweat off his brow. Ryan frowned. “What about them?” “That’s the Wildering Oak. Which means only one thing…” “We have reached the border…” Ryan whispered. Carl nodded slowly. “Step one inch further, and we are in vampire territory. Max laughed. “You’re joking.” Carl turned towards him, his expression serious. “I wish I were.” “Please. So what! ” Max scoffed. “Do you still believe those old stories? Vampires with no weaknesses? Invincible monsters rubbish?” Carl’s jaw tightened. He could still hear his father dying. He could still hear the voice of his brother telling him to run. “We need to leave,” he said urgently. Ryan nodded. “He’s right. We have to turn back while we still can.” But Max stepped forward instead. “If you two want to run away, then fine,” he said coldly. “I’m finishing the race.” Then he shifted and crossed the border. For a moment, Carl and Ryan stood frozen in shock. “That i***t,” Carl muttered. “He’s going to get himself killed by those monsters.” He could feel his body trembling. Without another word, he turned and began running off the cliff, far way from the border. Ryan hesitated for only a second before following. They hadn’t gone far when a chilling wolf howl tore through the forest. Both of them stopped dead. Their blood ran cold. It was Max. They both knew it. Ryan turned back immediately. “We have to help him!” Carl firmly grabbed his arm. “Are you insane? He’s probably dead already!” “What if he’s not?” Ryan shot back quickly. Carl’s grip tightened. “You’ll die if you go back.” Ryan’s eyes burned with fierce determination. “Then go back and get help,” Before Carl could stop him, he shifted and sprinted back towards the Vampire Kingdom. Towards the darkness. Toward a fate no one could yet imagine. A fate that would change the lives of many… forever.