Chapter 1 Shadows tangled in moon

The forest wasn't supposed to feel this alive at night.

Emma Collins tightened her grip on her backpack strap as the crunch of leaves beneath her sneakers echoed louder than it should have. She had taken the long way home after her shift at the diner-again. Not because she liked the dark, winding path through the woods, but because she needed the quiet. School, work, and the constant pressure of small-town expectations clung to her like a second skin. Out here, the silence let her breathe.

Until tonight.

She paused, heart stuttering. Something was watching her.

Emma spun, eyes scanning the trees, but there was nothing. Just shadows tangled in moonlight. She huffed, shaking her head. "Get a grip," she muttered, turning back toward the path.

That's when she heard it-low, guttural, and unmistakably close.

A growl.

The sound chilled her blood.

She backed up slowly, breath catching in her throat as the darkness ahead seemed to pulse. Then, a shape emerged. Eyes glinting silver in the moonlight. A wolf-but massive, unlike anything she'd seen outside of horror movies or nightmares. It didn't growl again. It just... watched her.

Frozen, Emma's brain screamed at her to run, but her body refused. She should've been terrified. She was terrified. But behind that fear was something else-an odd, magnetic pull that made no sense.

The beast took a step forward, and Emma flinched. But it didn't lunge. It lowered its head, ears twitching, then turned away. Retreating.

Gone.

Her legs gave out and she sank to her knees, heart thudding wildly.

"What the hell was that?"

She didn't know the answer. But she had a feeling it wasn't the last time she'd see those silver eyes.