Chapter One: The Night Everything Broke
1366 Words
The first thing I noticed was the moon.
It wasn’t full—not exactly. It hung low in the sky, swollen and red at the edges, like it had been bruised. I told myself it was just light pollution or exhaustion playing tricks on my eyes. After all, I had just spent the last ten hours moving boxes into a half-empty apartment that smelled faintly of old wood and dust.
Grey Hollow was quiet in the unsettling way small towns always were. No honking cars. No loud laughter spilling from bars. Just the wind whispering through the trees and the distant howl of something I didn’t want to think too hard about.
I dragged my suitcase up the narrow steps, fumbled with the keys, and pushed the door open.
“Home,” I muttered, though the word felt like a lie.
The apartment was small but clean—one bedroom, a narrow kitchen, and a living room that looked out over the forest line. The landlord had called it cozy. I called it temporary. Everything in my life was temporary now.
I dropped my bag, kicked off my shoes, and leaned back against the door, breathing out slowly. Moving here wasn’t part of the plan. Nothing had been, really. But after what happened back in the city—after everything fell apart—I needed distance. Quiet. Somewhere no one knew my name or my past.
Grey Hollow fit that requirement perfectly.
I changed into a loose shirt and jeans, pulled my hair into a messy knot, and checked my phone. No service. Of course. I sighed and tossed it onto the counter.
That was when I heard it.
A knock.
Not loud. Not aggressive. Just three slow taps against the door.
My stomach tightened.
No one should know I was here yet.
I grabbed the closest thing I could find—a heavy flashlight—and crept toward the door. The hallway outside was dim, the overhead light flickering like it was deciding whether to stay alive.
I opened the door a crack.
A man stood there.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. Dressed in black like the night itself had shaped him. His dark hair fell slightly into his eyes, and when he looked at me, it felt like something sharp slid under my skin.
Amber eyes.
Not hazel. Not brown.
Amber.
“Can I help you?” I asked, tightening my grip on the flashlight.
He didn’t answer right away. His gaze flicked past me, into the apartment, then back to my face. His jaw tightened.
“You’re new,” he said.
It wasn’t a question.
“Yes,” I replied. “And unless you’re the landlord, I don’t see why that concerns you.”
A corner of his mouth twitched. Not quite a smile.
“You shouldn’t be out tonight,” he said quietly.
Something in his tone made my pulse quicken. “Excuse me?”
“The moon,” he added, eyes lifting briefly to the sky behind me. “It’s not a good night for strangers.”
I laughed despite myself. “Is that a local superstition or a warning?”
His gaze snapped back to mine. For a moment, something dark passed through his expression—conflict, maybe. Or hunger.
“A warning,” he said.
The silence stretched between us, thick and uncomfortable. I should have closed the door. I knew that. But something about him rooted me in place, like my body had forgotten how to listen to common sense.
“Well,” I said finally, “thanks for the concern. I’ll take my chances.”
I started to close the door.
His hand shot out, stopping it inches from my face.
The air shifted.
I froze.
“I didn’t say you could stay,” he murmured.
Anger flared, sharp and sudden. “Get your hand off my door.”
His fingers tightened for half a second… then relaxed. He stepped back, lifting both hands in mock surrender.
“You’re stubborn,” he observed.
“You’re rude.”
Again, that almost-smile. “You’ll learn.”
I slammed the door in his face and locked it, heart pounding.
What the hell was that?
I leaned against the door, forcing my breathing to steady. Outside, I heard footsteps retreating down the stairs. Only when the building went quiet again did I let myself move.
I didn’t sleep much that night.
Dreams clawed at me every time I closed my eyes—forests drenched in silver light, something running beside me, its breath hot against my skin. I woke just before dawn with my heart racing and the echo of a growl still ringing in my ears.
The next day, Grey Hollow looked… normal.
Sunlight filtered through the trees. Birds chirped. People walked the streets like nothing was wrong. Like the night before hadn’t happened.
I tried to convince myself it had just been a weird encounter with an overprotective local. Small towns were full of them.
Still, when I stepped outside, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched.
The diner on Main Street was busy, the smell of coffee and fried eggs filling the air. I slid into a booth by the window and ordered breakfast, grateful for the noise and normalcy.
“New face,” the waitress said with a smile. “You must be the girl who took Mrs. Harper’s old place.”
“That obvious?” I asked.
She chuckled. “Nothing happens in this town without everyone knowing. I’m Mara.”
“Elara.”
“Well, Elara,” Mara said, refilling my coffee, “if you need anything, you ask. And if anyone tells you to stay inside during a full moon—listen.”
I stiffened. “That happens often?”
Her smile faltered just a bit. “More than you’d think.”
Before I could ask more, the bell above the door jingled.
And he walked in.
The man from the night before.
Every conversation in the diner dipped, voices lowering like an instinctual response. He moved with quiet confidence, shoulders squared, presence heavy. His amber eyes swept the room—and landed on me.
The look on his face changed.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
My pulse betrayed me, quickening as he approached. He stopped beside my table, hands resting on the worn wood.
“You didn’t listen,” he said.
I stared up at him. “I didn’t ask for advice.”
Mara cleared her throat nervously. “Kael, what can I get you?”
Kael.
The name settled into my bones like a warning.
“Coffee,” he replied, never taking his eyes off me. “Black.”
Mara scurried away.
I crossed my arms. “Is there something you want?”
“Yes,” he said simply. “You.”
My breath caught. “Excuse me?”
His gaze flicked briefly to the other patrons. “Not like that.”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
A muscle in his jaw jumped. “You’re in danger here.”
“Because of the moon?” I asked sarcastically.
“Because of me.”
Something about the way he said it sent a shiver down my spine.
“I think you’re overestimating your importance,” I said, though my voice wavered.
Kael leaned closer, his voice dropping. “You smelled different last night.”
I swallowed. “That’s… creepy.”
He inhaled slowly, like he was fighting something. “You shouldn’t have come to Grey Hollow.”
“Too late.”
For a moment, something like regret flashed in his eyes.
Then he straightened. “Finish your food. Go home. Lock your door tonight.”
“And if I don’t?”
His eyes glowed faintly. Not enough for anyone else to notice. Enough for me to see.
“Then the Moon decides,” he said.
He turned and walked away, leaving me staring after him, heart hammering.
I didn’t know what he was.
I didn’t know why he scared me.
But deep down, in a place I couldn’t explain, I knew one thing with terrifying certainty:
My life had just crossed a line I could never uncross.
And whatever Kael Blackthorn was…
he wasn’t done with me.
- Writer
