Under the Moon's Spell

Shadows in the Grove part 2

But this one… it had been different.

As Rowan was lost in thought, she nearly walked straight into someone. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” she stammered, looking up into a pair of familiar amber eyes.

“Don’t worry about it,” said the man, his voice deep and a bit rough, like gravel underfoot. He gave her a half-smile that made her stomach flip. He was tall, with wild, dark hair that brushed against his collar, and a presence that was both warm and guarded, as if he didn’t want to get too close.

“I… haven’t seen you around here before,” Rowan said, feeling her cheeks flush. The resemblance was uncanny. But no—her mind was playing tricks on her. She’d simply had too little sleep, her imagination running wild after last night’s encounter.

The man nodded. “Just moved here a few days ago,” he replied, his gaze steady, as if he were assessing her the same way the wolf had. “I’m Ash.”

“Rowan,” she replied, her voice softer than she’d intended. “Nice to meet you.”

They exchanged a few pleasantries, but there was an awkwardness between them, an unspoken tension she couldn’t quite understand. He seemed wary of her, even as he smiled, his amber eyes glancing at her as if he knew more than he let on. She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something almost… otherworldly about him.

When they finally parted ways, Rowan couldn’t help but glance back, watching as he disappeared around a corner. Her mind raced with questions, her heart pounding as she recalled the wolf’s gaze from the night before. Was it possible…? No, she chided herself, dismissing the notion as foolish.

But as she walked back to her cottage, she felt the pull of the forest calling her once more, whispering secrets beneath the canopy, secrets that her heart longed to understand.