Lost In Shadows Book 1

It was a dark and foggy night with a full moon, tainted with an eerie glow that shredded through the forest, signaling the onset that would last the rest of her life. Emily belongs to a long line of pure-blood werewolves, with her father being a high chief and her mother being the chief's wife, of course, which makes Emily a princess to her people. As the night grew and the moon's glow got brighter, Emily started to feel strange. The feeling that she was having wasn't a sickness no it was the beginning of her transformation. At age 16, werewolves begin their first transformation. The transformation is gruesome and painful for anyone to endure. The transformation took a few hours, with bones breaking and shifting to the new form like wolves. It drains you significantly. Emily has watched every member of her family transform multiple times, but she never got to see someone first, so she had no clue what to expect. Upon completion of the transformation, Emily was beyond starving; the transformation drained her, and she had to hunt for food. The village she grew up in had plenty of sheep and pigs, and wildlife was around as well. Throughout the night, Emily hunted some elk and wild boar, but the hunger was still there, so she decided to feast on the local town folk. One by one, Emily dug into every animal in the village she could get her sharp paws on. As the morning came and the villagers woke, they saw that all of them had been slaughtered by an animal with massive claws. They heard secrets from ancestors that werewolves lived in these parts but were never able to confirm those myths. However, the villagers of Ravensbrook. Furious that this creature lurked in the shadows, they grabbed pitchforks, axes, and sticks with linen to provide light for whatever they were hunting. The only creature in the shadows they found was a mountain lion the size of a lion, so they took it down in hopes that was what killed their livestock. Emily was struggling to keep her hunger in check, so she decided to talk to her parents about what to do. Emily's father told her he had struggled but eventually overcame it with ease. Their trick to fighting hunger was to simply go to the market during the day and order the meat from the local butcher, and when they got hungry, they would eat what they had raw to fight that urge. Her mother, on the other hand, loved to hunt, so when it came time for her to eat, she went into the wild and hunted whatever she could find, whether it be a boar, an elk deer, or a lion. She fed on what nature gave her. The veil of shadows wasn't for the faint of heart; it held so many unknowns, and to risk it alone would not be wise without full control of her abilities and strengths. As Emily settled in for the night, she had her thoughts and eyes set on her neighbor Jason. He was a good-looking young male who was the same age as Emily; little did Emily know he was the same as her. His parents were from a long line of royal werewolves from a small kingdom outside of Ravenbrook. The only difference with Jason was that he wasn't pure blood; his mother was sent by Lucifer himself to bring down all werewolves. When she met his father, they fell in love. Jason's father was a pureblood, and his mother was a shadow fiend. Jason, the offspring of the two, was never supposed to happen, as the otherworldly creature his mother was, the powers she held, and the blood of a werewolf together were a very dangerous combination. Being a hybrid, though, had its ups and downs. Jason had his transformation shortly after Emily. He, however, did get to witness what was about to happen, so he was able to prepare for the transformation and stock up on raw meat for the night. The fog outside was very thick; it amplified the eerieness of the night. Jason was able to control his urge to hunt for prey. Emily, although still struggling, was able to take her father's advice and just eat what the local butchers sold, so she didn't have to worry about being caught. However, she wanted to wander around the forest to get a feel for what it was going to be like from here on out, so Emily's lupine senses, guided her through the labyrinth of trees, each step taken with an instinctual grace that belied the human struggle she left behind. Her ears perked at the slightest rustle, and her nose captured the rich tapestry of scents woven into the night air. A flicker of movement in the shadows caught her attention, and she froze, her predatory instincts on high alert. Amidst the trees, a pair of glowing eyes stared back at her—a creature of the night, its form a shadowy silhouette against the moonlit backdrop. The tension lingered in the air as Emily and the mysterious entity locked eyes in a silent exchange of acknowledgment and curiosity. Without a sound, the creature disappeared into the darkness, leaving Emily to continue her nocturnal journey. The forest, now her sole confidant, seemed to respond to Emily's presence. Trees whispered tales of ancient rites and forgotten pacts, their gnarled branches extending like the hands of spectral guardians guiding her path. Emily moved through the shifting shadows with a sense of purpose, her connection with the wilderness growing stronger with each passing moment. In the midst of her turmoil, however, a beacon of light emerged amidst the darkness. In the depths of her soul, Emily felt a stirring—a warmth that transcended the primal urges that consumed her. It was the echo of a connection forged in the quiet moments shared with Jason, the boy whose presence had always brought her solace. As Emily prowled the edges of the village, her lupine form concealed by the shadows, Jason's thoughts drifted to her. In the silence of his room, he felt an inexplicable pull—an undeniable bond that drew him towards Emily like a moth to a flame. With each heartbeat, he felt her presence like a whisper in the wind, guiding him through the fog-choked night.