Chapter 1 When the moon watches

The full moon hung low and heavy, casting a cold silver glow across the quiet town of Wolf rest. Shadows stretched long across the empty streets, draping the sleeping houses in soft darkness. The air felt still, almost too still, as if the night itself was holding its breath.

Something was watching.

Lyra walked alone beneath the flickering streetlamps, her boots tapping out a steady beat on the pavement. She had just finished another long shift at the hospital, her scrubs hidden beneath her oversized jacket, but the weariness in her bones ran deeper than her body. It was a tiredness she had grown used to - the tiredness of someone who never quite belonged.

At nineteen, Lyra had already learned how to carry exhaustion like armor - head down, shoulders tense, eyes forward. Her patients called her kind, her coworkers called her reliable. But tonight, the air pressed against her like an unseen hand. Her skin prickled. Her chest tightened.

She stopped under a blinking streetlamp and glanced up at the full moon. It looked impossibly close - as if she could reach out and trace its craters with her fingertips. She held her breath, sensing something ancient stirring inside her.

For as long as she could remember, the moon had always pulled at her in strange ways. As a child, she dreamt of forests she'd never walked, wolves she'd never met, and teeth that flashed beneath silver light. Sometimes she woke before dawn with dirt under her fingernails or leaves tangled in her hair. She had never dared tell anyone - not her friends, not her foster family, not even the doctors who offered quiet explanations she knew were wrong.

And lately, the dreams had grown stronger.

Tonight, they weren't dreams at all.

Every sound was louder. The rustling trees whispered secrets she couldn't understand. The scents of moss, damp earth, and distant animals filled her lungs like a wild perfume. Her pulse raced.

She hurried down her street, heart pounding as the invisible weight followed her home. By the time she reached her apartment, her hands were shaking. She slammed the door shut behind her and locked it, her breathing shallow.

But the pull wouldn't let go.

Her chest tightened. Her skin burned. The moon's glow crept through the curtains as if reaching for her.

Not tonight. Please, not tonight.

She stumbled into the bathroom, gripping the sink for balance. When she dared look up, her reflection wasn't her own.

Golden eyes stared back - wild, glowing, predatory. Her face remained familiar, but sharper, almost regal. Her fingers trembled as her nails darkened and lengthened into curved claws.

Her knees buckled. Pain bloomed through her spine, sharp and sudden. She arched backward, bones cracking and shifting beneath her skin. Muscles stretched and knotted, pulling her body into shapes she didn't recognize. She gasped for air as her jaw lengthened, her teeth sharpened, and fur sprouted along her limbs.

The pain was unbearable. But beneath it was something else - power.

Then it was over.

Breathing heavily, she stood in the small bathroom, no longer the girl who walked home alone. Her new form was tall and strong, her fur black streaked with silver, her golden eyes glowing with a fierce light. Her body felt foreign and familiar all at once, as if some locked part of her soul had finally awakened.

A low, powerful howl tore from her throat, echoing through the walls like a cry of both pain and freedom.

Without hesitation, she leapt through the window into the waiting night.

The forest greeted her like an old friend.

The damp earth softened beneath her padded paws. Moonlight sliced through the trees, casting strange, twisting shadows. Every sound was clear, every scent vivid. The heartbeat of the wild pulsed in her veins as if it had always belonged to her.

She moved with ease, slipping between trunks and leaping over roots, drawn forward by instinct rather than thought. This was not a strange place; it was home - a home she had never known.

And she wasn't alone.

Ahead, the broken remains of her father's cabin stood like a skeleton. Charred wood. Scorched stone. The fire had consumed everything but the memories.

Her human memories of him were few - quiet words, rough hands, eyes filled with unspoken worry. But now, other memories surfaced, ones she couldn't explain: a man standing beneath a full moon, whispering strange words; wolves surrounding him, eyes like burning coals; and her own heartbeat, quickening even as a child.

He had known.

He had always known what she was.

And now it was too late.

A soft howl carried through the trees - distant but clear. Not a threat, not a warning - a call.

Her ears twitched. Another answered. And another.

Wolves. Many of them. They were coming.

She braced herself as the shapes emerged from the darkness - but these were not like her. Their forms were twisted, corrupted. Limbs bent at odd angles, fur matted and filthy, red eyes burning unnaturally bright.

One stepped forward and growled low.

Fear clawed at her, but then a voice cut through her mind - steady, calm.

"Stay behind me. Don't shift unless you have to."

A massive silver wolf stepped between her and the creatures. His presence radiated calm authority. His voice belonged to Alexander - though they had never met before, she knew his name like it had been whispered to her by the forest itself.

The corrupted wolves charged.

Alexander met them head-on, teeth flashing. The clearing erupted into chaos - snarls, howls, snapping jaws, and the sickening crack of bones.

Lyra backed away, trembling. She didn't want to watch - but couldn't turn away.

Then one of the beasts broke free, lunging at her.

Her instincts roared. Pain surged through her body as the shift overtook her once more. Her bones cracked, her muscles stretched, and she met the creature mid-air, fur bristling, fangs bared.

They crashed into the ground, rolling, biting, clawing. She tasted blood, heard its cries. She was faster. Stronger. Ancient rage fueled her muscles.

She pinned it beneath her, growling deep into its face - a sound that felt ancient, primal, and entirely natural.

The creature whimpered and fled into the trees.

The fight was over.

Alexander stood, now in human form, his chest rising and falling. A fresh cut dripped blood down his arm, but he stood steady. Around them, broken branches littered the torn ground. The other shadow-wolves had scattered or fallen.

"You fought well," Alexander said, stepping toward her. His voice was calm, but his eyes studied her carefully.

"I didn't think," she whispered, still panting. "I just... moved."

He nodded. "That's the wolf in you. It remembers what you've forgotten."

The remaining wolves regrouped, tense and watchful. No one spoke.

Finally, Alexander's voice dropped into a whisper only she could hear.

"This was a test."

Lyra froze. "A test?"

"They're hunting you now. They know who you are. And they won't stop."

She swallowed hard, her hands still trembling. "What am I?"

Alexander met her gaze, his eyes glowing faintly. "The last time someone like you was born... the entire forest burned."

Her breath caught.

A new howl ripped through the night - higher, sharper. Wrong.

Alexander stiffened.

"What is it?" she asked.

The pale she-wolf beside him whispered, "The mountain. They've broken the seal."

Lyra's stomach turned. "What's in the mountain?"

Alexander's voice was grave. "Something that was never meant to awaken."

He reached for her hand, urgent.

"You have to come with me. Right now."