Ariana's mind raced as she walked back home, the encounter with Liam replaying over and over in her head. His warning echoed in her ears, sending chills down her spine.
_"There are things in this town you don't understand… Stay out of the woods."_
What was that supposed to mean? And how did he know her name? The questions swirled in her mind, but one thing was clear—Liam wasn't just some random stranger. There was something about him that made her stomach twist with both curiosity and fear. The way he moved, the way he had appeared from the shadows, and the way he had looked at her—it was like he was part of the darkness.
Ariana reached her front door and hesitated for a moment, her hand resting on the doorknob. The house was dark inside, her grandmother was likely already asleep. But Ariana's nerves were still humming, and she wasn't sure she could rest with so many unanswered questions spinning in her head.
She stepped inside and quietly shut the door behind her, leaning against it for a moment. The house was silent except for the soft ticking of the old grandfather clock in the hallway. She had always loved that sound growing up—it was comforting, a constant reminder of the stability and safety of her childhood home.
But tonight, nothing felt stable. Everything felt like it was teetering on the edge of something… unknown.
Ariana headed upstairs to her room, her steps soft as she moved through the dark house. Once inside, she locked the door behind her and leaned against it, taking a deep breath. She didn't know what she was expecting—wolves to burst through the door. Liam to appear out of nowhere again? Nothing about this felt right, and yet, the pull to find answers was overwhelming.
She crossed the room and sat on the edge of her bed, pulling out her phone. Her fingers hovered over the screen, considering who she could talk to. But who could she ask about giant wolves and strange men warning her about the woods? It all sounded ridiculous.
She shook her head and placed the phone down on her nightstand, her gaze drifting to the old attic door across the room. That attic had been closed for as long as she could remember. Her grandmother had told her it was full of old things from their past—a past Ariana had never really asked about.
But now, she wondered if there were answers up there. Something about Liam, about the wolves, had triggered a sense of familiarity she couldn't place. Maybe her family was connected to this strange world in ways she had never imagined.
Her heart raced at the thought, and before she could second-guess herself, she grabbed the flashlight from her nightstand and moved toward the attic door. The wooden door creaked as she slowly opened it, revealing a narrow staircase leading up into the darkness. A wave of dust and the smell of old wood hit her as she climbed the steps, her flashlight casting long shadows on the walls.
At the top of the stairs, the attic opened up into a wide, low-ceilinged space filled with boxes and old furniture draped in white sheets. It was a relic of the past, untouched for years, maybe even decades. Ariana stepped forward cautiously, her flashlight sweeping over the clutter. She had no idea what she was looking for, but something deep in her gut told her the answers were hidden up here.
She moved slowly through the attic, her eyes scanning the dusty boxes, old trunks, and broken furniture. Most of it seemed unremarkable, but as she reached the far corner of the room, something caught her eye—a small, leather-bound journal tucked inside an old chest.
Ariana's heart skipped a beat as she pulled the journal from the chest and wiped away the layer of dust covering it. The cover was cracked and worn with age, and the edges frayed. She opened it carefully, the pages brittle beneath her fingertips.
The handwriting inside was delicate and neat, but what stood out most was the name on the inside cover: **Eleanor Bellamy.**
Her mother's name.
Ariana's breath caught in her throat as she flipped through the pages, her hands trembling. Her mother had died when she was a child, and her grandmother had never spoken much about her. This was the first real connection to her mother that Ariana had ever found.
As she skimmed through the pages, it became clear that this wasn't just an ordinary journal. It was filled with strange symbols, notes on herbal remedies, and mentions of something called the **Moonstone**. There were sketches of wolves, moons, and… strange markings that made Ariana's skin crawl.
_What was this?_
Her mother's words were vague, but there was a clear sense of warning in the entries as if she had been preparing for something—or someone. Ariana's heart pounded as she found a passage near the end of the journal that seemed particularly important:
*"The Moonstone has been hidden, but I fear it won't stay that way for long. I must protect her—she is the last hope. The bloodline is powerful, but it will also be their downfall if they find her. The curse… it all begins and ends with her."*
Ariana's hands shook as she reread the passage. _The Moonstone. The curse. Bloodlines._
Her mind raced. Was this what Liam had been warning her about? What her mother had been afraid of? The words were cryptic, but it was clear that her mother had been involved in something far beyond Ariana's understanding. And somehow, it was tied to her—**she** was the last hope.
Suddenly, the floor creaked behind her.
Ariana froze, her breath catching in her throat as she turned, shining the flashlight toward the staircase. A figure stood in the shadows at the top of the stairs, watching her.
It was Liam.
Ariana's pulse quickened, and she instinctively took a step back. "How did you—?"
"Doesn't matter," Liam interrupted, his voice low but steady. "I told you to stay out of this, Ariana."
Her heart pounded as she clutched the journal to her chest, her mind racing with a thousand questions. "What is this?" she demanded, her voice shaking. "What does this have to do with me?"
Liam's gaze flickered to the journal in her hands, his expression hardening. "That's not for you to know."
Ariana's grip tightened on the journal, anger bubbling up inside her. She had been left in the dark for too long. "It's my family's," she snapped. "I have a right to know."
Liam stepped forward, his expression unreadable, but there was something almost… protective in the way he looked at her. "This world—this curse—will destroy you if you're not careful."
Ariana swallowed hard, her mind reeling from everything she had learned. "Then help me understand," she whispered, her voice laced with desperation. "Help me figure out what this is."
Liam hesitated, his eyes locking onto hers for a long moment. There was a battle raging behind those eyes, something dark and conflicted. But finally, he nodded, his voice barely more than a whisper.
"There are things you don't know about your family, about the wolves. Things that have been hidden from you your entire life."
Ariana's heart raced as Liam took another step closer, his presence overwhelming in the confined space of the attic.
"And whether you like it or not, Ariana," he continued, his voice low and tense, "you're a part of this now."