Chapter 1 – The Night the Forest Called
The forest outside Blackridge Village had rules.
Don't enter after sunset.
Don't follow strange sounds.
And never, ever go near it during a full moon.
Arjun never believed in those rules.
At twenty-one, he believed in logic. In science. In things that could be proven. Not in stories whispered by old men at tea stalls. Not in tales about glowing eyes between trees.
But tonight was different.
The moon hung unnaturally large in the sky. Bright. Heavy. Red around the edges like it had been dipped in blood.
Arjun stood at his bedroom window, staring at the forest line. Something pulled at him. Not fear. Not curiosity.
Recognition.
His heart beat faster. Not from panic. From anticipation.
"Don't go near the forest tonight," his grandmother had warned earlier. Her voice had trembled in a way he'd never heard before. "Some nights don't belong to us."
He had laughed it off.
Now, standing there, he wasn't laughing.
A low sound drifted through the air.
A howl.
Not like a dog. Not like anything he'd heard before. It was deeper. Older. It carried something ancient in it. Something that made the hair on his arms stand up.
And without realizing when he made the decision, Arjun found himself walking.
Down the stairs.
Out the door.
Toward the trees.
The forest air felt different the moment he stepped inside. Thicker. Charged. The wind moved strangely, circling him instead of passing by.
The howl came again. Closer this time.
His pulse raced.
"Who's there?" he called out, hating the slight crack in his voice.
Silence.
Then—
A sharp pain exploded in his chest.
He stumbled forward, gasping. It felt like something inside him was trying to tear its way out. His bones burned. His skin prickled like it was too tight.
He fell to his knees.
"What's happening to me?" he whispered.
Another howl answered.
But this one…
Came from him.
He froze.
No. That wasn't possible.
The pain intensified. His fingers dug into the dirt. And he felt it—
His nails lengthening.
His teeth sharpening against his gums.
His hearing expanding. Suddenly he could hear everything. Leaves shifting miles away. The frantic heartbeat of a rabbit hiding nearby. The rush of blood in his own veins.
His reflection shimmered faintly in a pool of water beside him.
His eyes were glowing.
Golden.
Behind him, a shadow moved between the trees.
Massive.
Watching.
And then a voice—deep, commanding, not spoken aloud but heard clearly in his mind.
You have finally awakened.
Arjun tried to stand, but his legs felt wrong. Stronger. Heavier.
"What are you?" he breathed.
The shadow stepped into the moonlight.
It was a wolf.
But far too large to be natural. Its fur dark as midnight. Its eyes glowing the same gold as his.
The creature tilted its head.
You are one of us.
The word echoed in his skull.
Us.
Arjun looked down at his hands.
They were no longer hands.
Claws gripped the earth beneath him.
And when he opened his mouth to scream—
A powerful, earth-shaking howl tore into the night.
The forest answered.
End of Chapter 1