CHAPTER 1: The Wolf in the Woods
The trees whispered secrets tonight.
Ashen Hollow always felt different under the moon, like the forest knew things I didn’t. Like it remembered things I hadn’t lived. I moved carefully, tucking my herb pouch against my hip, scanning the underbrush for the small, purple bloom of nightshade.
“I just need three more,” I muttered, brushing hair from my face. “Then I’m out of here.”
The moon cut through the fog in slices, painting the forest floor with shadows. My fingers grazed over damp moss, and I found one—nightshade, perfectly bloomed. I reached for it.
A c***k.
I froze. My hand hovered inches above the flower.
Another sound—closer this time. Not a squirrel. Not a rabbit. Too heavy.
I straightened slowly, breath caught in my throat.
“Who’s there?” I called out, stupidly. My voice didn’t carry confidence. It cracked like dry twigs.
Nothing answered. Just the trees breathing.
I backed away, the unease coiling in my gut.
Something was watching me. I could feel it. Like heat on the back of my neck. I turned around—
And nearly screamed.
Lying just beyond a cluster of blackthorns was a body.
A boy. No—a man.
Torn open. Barely breathing.
Blood slicked his chest, soaking into the ground beneath him. His clothes—what was left of them—hung in tatters. His hair clung to his forehead, and his chest heaved in shallow gasps.
I took a shaky step forward. “Hello?” I whispered.
No answer.
His wounds… they were deep. Vicious claw marks shredded across his abdomen and arms. But he was healing. I could see it—muscle knitting itself together, slow but unnatural.
This wasn’t human.
I knelt beside him, heart pounding. “What happened to you?” I reached for the torn edge of his shirt to stop the bleeding, but the moment my fingers touched his skin—
It was like fire in my veins.
My body locked up. My breath caught. Something inside me woke up.
The heat pulsed once—twice—and then disappeared, leaving my fingertips tingling.
His eyes snapped open.
Gold. Blazing, burning gold.
I fell back with a gasp as his arm lunged forward, clawed hand gripping my wrist with feral strength. He growled—no, snarled—and for a second, I thought he’d rip me apart.
Then his grip loosened.
His breathing slowed.
And he passed out cold.
I stared at him, my heart still hammering in my chest. What the hell had I just felt?
The leaves behind me rustled again—closer, faster. I stood up quickly, glancing around the trees. The howls rose from the distance, several of them—coming fast.
He was being hunted.
I looked back down at him, then back to the dark woods.
“i***t,” I muttered to myself.
I grabbed his arm and pulled.
He was heavy as hell. Muscle and dead weight. Every inch I dragged him felt like a mile. My legs slipped in the damp leaves, but I kept moving, heart in my throat.
I didn’t know why I was helping him. He could be a killer. A monster.
But something in me refused to leave him behind.
I found a small cave behind a curtain of roots, barely large enough to fit the two of us. I dragged him inside just as the howls cut through the night again, closer—angrier.
I shoved a rock in front of the entrance, crouched beside him, and pressed my hand against his chest. His skin was warm again. Healing faster.
“Who are you?” I whispered.
I brushed his dark hair off his face.
His lashes fluttered. He groaned.
“Water,” he rasped. “Please.”
I fumbled for my pouch, pulling out the canteen and lifting it to his lips. He drank greedily, then collapsed again. I checked his wounds. Still bad, but not bleeding as much.
Then came the voices.
Outside.
Footsteps crunching in the leaves. A laugh—low, cruel.
“Trail ends here,” someone growled.
I pressed myself deeper against the cave wall, covering his mouth with my hand.
Please don’t wake up. Please don’t make a sound.
Another voice, deeper than the first, said, “Alpha will want his head. Finish him.”
I couldn’t breathe.
The rock covering the cave shifted slightly, and pale fingers curled around the edge. A face appeared in the entrance—eyes glowing faintly.
My pulse slammed in my ears.
He sniffed once. Twice. Then his gaze locked onto mine.
“Well, well,” he murmured, voice a twisted smile. “What do we have here?”
I grabbed the nearest rock, heart pounding. “Back off,” I snapped, though my voice shook.
He ducked further into the opening, sniffing again.
“She’s not one of us,” he snarled. “Kill the human.”
