Chapter 2: The Attack
1047 Words
Luna Callahan POV
I should’ve run.
When those eyes vanished into the forest, I should’ve turned back. Fled. Screamed. I did nothing other than what I did—which was stand there like an i***t, heart pounding, feet frozen to the forest floor, every hair on my body raised like a thousand tiny alarm bells.
But something kept me there.
A force I couldn’t explain. Like the air itself had grown hands and wrapped around my limbs, keeping me in place.
The glowing eyes were gone now. But their memory still burned in my mind—bright, intense, terrifying.
I slowly backed away, my breath clouding in the air, fog mingling with mist as I stepped carefully through the trees. The woods had been too quiet. Not peaceful. Predatory. Like something was waiting for the exact moment, I let my guard down.
Snap.
A twig cracked behind me again.
This time, I didn’t turn.
I ran.
I bolted through the trees, branches slapping against my arms and legs, mist swallowing me whole. My lungs screamed with every breath, my bare feet slipping on the damp ground. I didn’t care. I needed to get away. I didn’t know what that thing was—or who it was—but it was hunting me now. I could feel it.
I didn’t know how far I'd run. The trees blurred past me, and my ears filled with the thunder of my own heartbeat.
Then came the sound that froze my blood.
A growl.
Low. Deep. So close, it vibrated the air behind me.
Something huge crashed through the underbrush, fast and relentless. I didn’t dare look back. My instincts screamed that if I looked, I would die.
A blur of black darted into the corner of my vision—just ahead. Then another to the right.
There’s more than one.
I stumbled over a root and hit the ground hard. The breath knocked from my lungs. The cold mud soaked my sweater, and sharp rocks bit into my skin.
I scrambled to my feet and kept running.
The mist thickened, curling around me like fingers. Every tree looked the same now—ghostly silhouettes in the dark. I had no idea which direction I was going. The cabin could be ten feet behind me or ten miles. I was lost.
And I wasn’t alone.
Something snarled behind me.
A warning—or a promise.
My foot caught on a fallen branch and I fell again, harder this time. Pain exploded in my ankle. I hissed through my teeth and tried to stand—but agony lanced up my leg.
Sprained. Maybe worse.
Tears sprang to my eyes, unbidden. Not just from the pain—but from the growing realization that I wasn’t going to make it out of this.
The fog parted just enough for me to see it.
A shape emerged from the trees.
Towering. Muscular. Four-legged, but too massive to be a wolf.
Its fur shimmered black under the moonlight. Its eyes burned golden. And its teeth… gods, its teeth were long, curved, gleaming in the light like polished bone.
A beast.
But not just any beast.
A werewolf.
It stalked toward me, slow and deliberate, as if savoring the moment. Its growl rumbled like thunder, vibrating through the ground.
I scooted backward until my back hit a tree.
Nowhere to go.
My mouth was too dry to scream. My thoughts shattered like glass. Every cell in my body told me to run—but there was no running left.
The werewolf lowered its head, its massive shoulders rippling with barely restrained power.
Then—something strange happened.
It paused.
Its nostrils flared. It sniffed the surrounding air. Confused. Like it recognized something. Like it was hesitating.
Its head tilted slightly to the side, and for a brief, impossible moment… I saw curiosity in its glowing eyes.
And then—
Another growl erupted from the trees.
But it wasn’t the same creature.
A second figure launched from the shadows, slamming into the first with enough force to shake the ground.
They collided in a blur of teeth and claws, snarling and snapping. The air filled with the sound of violence—bones cracking, flesh tearing, low guttural roars that didn’t sound human at all.
I covered my head and crawled behind a fallen log, my heart racing, breath coming in ragged gasps. I dared a glance over the edge.
The two wolves were locked in a deadly dance—biting, clawing, driving each other into the trees. One moved with wild fury, the other with terrifying precision.
The one with golden eyes—the one that had stalked me—was losing.
It let out a final, pained yelp before retreating into the mist, limping and bloodied. The victorious wolf stood in the clearing, heaving, watching its enemy disappear into the night.
And then—just like that—it shifted.
Right before my eyes.
Fur retracted. Limbs twisted. Bones cracked and reshaped. I should’ve screamed. Should’ve looked away.
But I couldn’t.
The creature—the man—fell to one knee.
Naked. Bloodied. Breathing hard.
His skin was tanned, streaked with dirt and blood. His body was carved from stone, each muscle honed like a weapon. But it was his eyes that held me in place.
The same golden eyes that had stared into mine moments ago.
Only now—they were human.
And beautiful.
He turned toward me slowly, like he sensed exactly where I was. His expression was unreadable. Fierce. Intense. Possessive. Wild.
And then everything went black.
When I woke up, I wasn’t on the forest floor anymore.
I was warm.
Safe.
Cradled in arms that felt like iron and fire all at once.
Strong hands held me close to a broad chest. I could hear the heartbeat beneath my ear—steady, fast, alive. My head lolled slightly, eyes fluttering open.
We were moving.
He was carrying me.
Through the snow.
I tried to speak, but my lips were numb.
I looked up.
And I saw him.
The stranger.
The wolf.
The man with golden eyes.
He looked down at me—and for just a second, something raw and aching flickered across his face.
Recognition.
Possession.
And something far more dangerous.
Desire.
- Writer
