Chapter 1: The Boy in the Woods
No one stayed in the Blackridge Forest after sunset.
It wasn't an official law, and there were no warning signs posted along the winding roads. Yet every resident of the small Oregon town knew the unspoken rule: when darkness fell, you went home, locked your doors, and ignored whatever you heard outside.
Some claimed they heard wolves.
Others swore they heard something that only pretended to be a wolf.
The forest was filled with stories—hunters who vanished without leaving footprints, hikers who returned days later with no memory of where they had been, and children who spoke of glowing golden eyes watching them from between the trees.
The sheriff blamed wild animals.
The elders simply whispered one word.
Curse.
Seventeen-year-old Malik Carter had grown up with those stories.
He lived with his grandmother, Loretta Carter, in an aging wooden cabin nearly three miles from the nearest house. Surrounded by towering pine trees and hidden beneath a blanket of mist, the cabin seemed forgotten by the modern world.
Inside, however, nothing was ordinary.
Ancient symbols were carved into every doorframe. Dried herbs hung from the ceiling. Shelves overflowed with weathered books written in languages Malik couldn't read. A heavy steel trapdoor in the kitchen floor led to a reinforced underground room that resembled a prison more than a cellar.
It existed for one reason.
To protect everyone else from him.
Malik stared at himself in the bathroom mirror before school.
His dark skin glowed in the morning light spilling through the window. At six feet tall with broad shoulders, tightly curled black hair, and warm brown eyes, he was considered one of the most attractive boys at Blackridge High. Girls flirted with him almost daily.
None of them knew he had never returned their feelings.
Malik wasn't interested in girls.
He never had been.
That secret already felt heavy enough.
The other secret was unbearable.
Every full moon, the human inside him disappeared.
His bones shattered and reshaped themselves.
His muscles expanded.
Sharp claws burst through his fingertips.
Black fur covered his body.
By sunrise, he became human again.
His grandmother always reminded him of one thing.
"The wolf is part of you," she would say. "But it doesn't get to decide who you are."
Malik wanted to believe her.
Some nights, he wasn't so sure.
"Breakfast," Loretta called from the kitchen.
Malik grabbed his backpack and joined her.
She placed pancakes and eggs on his plate before studying his face with worried eyes.
"You didn't sleep."
"I had another dream."
"The forest?"
He nodded.
"And the voice?"
"It keeps calling my name."
Loretta's expression hardened.
"You must stay away from the northern woods."
"Grandma, you've been saying that my whole life."
"Because one day you'll understand why."
She reached across the table and wrapped her hand around his.
"The full moon is tomorrow."
"I know."
"You must come straight home after school."
"I always do."
She hesitated before adding softly,
"Something is changing."
Malik laughed nervously.
"What now?"
"I don't know."
"But I've felt it for weeks."
Outside, a lone raven landed on the windowsill before flying away.
Loretta watched it disappear.
"Darkness is waking."
Blackridge High School buzzed with excitement.
A new student had arrived.
Groups of teenagers crowded the hallways, whispering as someone walked through the front entrance.
Malik barely looked up from his locker.
He wasn't interested in gossip.
Until he heard someone say,
"That's him."
Curious, Malik turned.
Walking down the hallway was a boy unlike anyone he'd ever seen.
His name was Ethan Brooks.
He was about Malik's age, with soft golden-blond hair that fell over bright blue eyes. Though handsome enough to attract attention instantly, it was his calm confidence that stood out. While students stared and whispered, Ethan simply smiled politely and kept walking.
Malik couldn't explain why he couldn't stop looking.
For the first time in years...
His heart skipped a beat.
Chemistry class began five minutes later.
Malik arrived late after helping his basketball coach carry equipment.
"Mr. Carter," the teacher sighed, "you're late."
"Sorry."
"The only empty seat is beside Mr. Brooks."
Malik froze.
Of course.
Trying to ignore the sudden pounding in his chest, he walked across the classroom and sat beside the new student.
"Hi," Ethan whispered with a friendly smile.
"I'm Ethan."
"I'm Malik."
The moment their hands met in a handshake...
Everything changed.
A cold shock shot through both of them.
The classroom lights flickered violently.
Several students looked around in confusion.
Malik's breathing caught.
His senses exploded.
He could hear every heartbeat in the room.
Smell every perfume.
Every pencil shaving.
Every page turning.
But above all...
He caught Ethan's scent.
It was unlike anything he had ever experienced.
It wasn't simply pleasant.
It felt... familiar.
Ancient.
His wolf stirred deep inside him.
Not with hunger.
With recognition.
Mine.
The thought wasn't his.
Malik jerked his hand away.
Ethan blinked.
"You okay?"
"...Yeah."
But Malik wasn't okay.
Not even close.
That evening, storm clouds swallowed the sky.
The wind howled through the pine trees as Malik hurried home.
Something felt wrong.
The forest had become unnaturally silent.
No birds.
No insects.
No rustling leaves.
Only the sound of his own footsteps.
Then...
A twig snapped behind him.
He spun around.
Nothing.
Another snap.
Closer this time.
His heart raced.
Golden eyes flashed briefly between the trees.
Before he could move, they vanished.
Night fell.
The full moon had not yet risen, but Malik could already feel the wolf clawing beneath his skin.
His grandmother led him to the underground chamber.
Steel chains hung from the concrete walls.
She locked them carefully around his wrists.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"You don't have to apologize."
"I promised your parents I'd keep you safe."
Before closing the heavy steel door, she looked into his eyes.
"No matter what happens tonight..."
"Remember who you are."
The door slammed shut.
Silence filled the room.
Then came the first c***k.
Malik screamed as his bones began to break.
Miles away, Ethan awoke suddenly in his bed, drenched in sweat.
He had dreamed of a black wolf standing beneath a blood-red moon.
The creature wasn't attacking.
It was waiting.
Waiting for him.
A deep voice echoed through the darkness.
"I've finally found you."
Ethan looked toward his bedroom window.
It slowly creaked open by itself.
Beyond the glass, at the edge of the forest...
Two glowing golden eyes stared directly at him.
Then they disappeared into the darkness.
End of Chapter 1
