QUEEN OF THE LYCANS

The Whispering Pact

1. Dawn Over the Ruins

Morning light leaked through broken monastery arches. Mist curled around Nina’s boots as she examined the ash‑mixed blood on the stone floor. Marco knelt, Leica ready, capturing the torn earth where the beast fled. A low gong reverberated from the east wing, guiding them to a hidden doorway behind a wolf‑crescent tapestry.

2. The Hidden Archive

The tapestry hid a rune‑etched stone slab (ᚺ – Hagalaz). Marco pressed it; a stone slid, revealing a spiral staircase. Below, a cavernous library of vellum scrolls glowed under oil lamps. On an oak table lay *Liber Lupī*, its silver‑crescent cover matching Nina’s amulet. The book opened to a passage:

> “When the Blood Moon aligns with the Crescent of Hagalaz, the Pack shall awaken. The Marked bears the Seal, the Guardian the Eye.”_

A sketch showed a wolf‑human hybrid with intelligent eyes.

3. The Mysterious Memory Card

Marco inserted the camera’s memory card, revealing WOLF‑PACK‑MANIFESTO.pdf. The file outlined *Project Lupus*: recruit “Marked” (amulet carriers) and breed under a Blood Moon to weaponize lycanthropes. A flowchart listed Drago, Nina, Marco, and a note:

> _“If the Guardian refuses, the Seal turns on its bearer.”_

Nina clutched her amulet, recalling her grandmother’s warning.

4. The Village of Valea Strâmbă

An old cart driver with a silver beard offered a map to Valea Strâmbă, warning: _“Reach the village before the second howl.”_ The map marked a hidden forest trail ending at a stone wolf statue.

5. Into the Forest

The forest whispered. A massive wolf‑creature emerged, sniffed the amulet, then lunged—not at them but at a branch, breaking it and leaving a rune *ᚠ* (Fehu) on the wood. It bowed and vanished.

6. The Village

Valea Strâmbă clung to a cliff. A scar‑woman at “The Hanged Goat” gave Nina an iron key:

> _“Open the north gate, find what you seek. The moon is full; wolves will claim their due.”_

7. Kaleb’s House

Kaleb, an elderly man with a wolf skull on his mantel, explained:

> _“The amulet binds the Pack. Drago wants to weaponize it. The ritual needs the Binding Verse, the amulet, and the Guardian’s Eye (camera).”_

He showed a scroll with the *Ritual of Reversal*:

> _“Under the Blood Moon, speak the verse, break the Eye, redirect the Pact.”_

Nina realized the amulet must be *used*, not destroyed.

8. Night of the Blood Moon

The moon turned crimson. Nina, Marco, and Kaleb reached the stone altar in a gorge. Drago and cultists arrived, chanting. The ground cracked, blood‑black water pooled.

Marco raised his Leica, focusing on the silver dagger. He triggered the flash, shattering the dagger and cracking the amulet’s stone. A blinding pulse released a spectral wolf—*the Alpha*—who roared, scattering the cult. Drago was consumed, the altar collapsed, and the Alpha leapt back into the fissure, sealing it.

9. Aftermath

Dawn found the village quiet. Kaleb gave Nina a wooden box containing a fragment of the amulet—a tiny wolf tooth. Marco’s camera now held a single image: the Alpha’s eye reflecting the Blood Moon, timestamp

*00:00:00*.

*Nina:* “What now?”

*Marco:* “We tell the story.”

A distant, softer howl lingered—another set of eyes watching.