Haruki's heart raced as he plunged deeper into the forest. The trees seemed to close in on him, their branches twisting like ancient hands, grabbing at his clothes and pulling him toward an unknown fate. The girl—her eyes, glowing with an unnatural light—was just ahead, moving gracefully through the shadows. She was like a part of the night itself, a figure from a dream or a legend.
He could hear her footsteps, light as the wind, but every time he thought he was about to catch up, she seemed to slip further into the darkness. His frustration grew. His body ached with the urge to catch up, to demand answers. Who was she? What did she mean by "what you're becoming"? The weight of her words pressed down on him like a storm cloud, threatening to overwhelm him.
Haruki's mind raced as he tried to understand what she had meant. He had always known there was something different about him—an odd connection to the full moon, an unexplainable shift he felt when the night grew dark. But he had always pushed those feelings aside, convincing himself they were just a part of who he was. That all changed the moment he saw the girl. She had looked right into him, as though she could see the deepest parts of him that he himself had only begun to understand.
His thoughts were interrupted as he suddenly stumbled, nearly losing his balance as a thick root rose up from the ground. He cursed under his breath and caught himself, but when he looked up, the girl had stopped. She was standing still, her back to him now, gazing out at something beyond the trees.
Haruki slowed his pace, hesitating. The last few moments had been a blur of confusion and adrenaline. It felt as though his heart was beating out of his chest, and the pull of the full moon, now rising higher in the sky, was making him feel more alive than ever before.
Taking a deep breath, he approached her cautiously, his feet crunching softly against the forest floor. There was something about her, something that felt familiar yet completely foreign. A part of him wanted to turn back, to retreat into the safety of the village. But another part of him—an undeniable part—compelled him to move forward.
When he reached her, he stopped a few feet away. The air between them felt thick with tension, like a charged wire ready to snap.
"Why did you run?" Haruki asked, his voice steady despite the storm of emotions swirling inside him. "Who are you?"
The girl didn't turn around immediately. For a long moment, she simply stood there, her hair blowing lightly in the wind, her gaze fixed on something in the distance. Haruki's gaze followed hers, but all he saw were the trees, the dark shadows, and the moon hanging high above.
She finally spoke, her voice like the sound of rustling leaves, soft but clear. "You're not ready to know everything yet." Her words were calm, but there was an underlying urgency in her tone. "Not yet. But you will be. Soon."
Haruki frowned. Her words made no sense. She was as cryptic as the night itself, as elusive as the wind that danced through the trees. He wanted to ask her more, to demand answers, but something in her voice told him that pressing further would only push her away.
"You've felt it too, haven't you?" she continued, her voice now carrying a quiet intensity. "The pull of the moon. The hunger. You're changing, Haruki. There's no going back from it."
Her words sent a chill down his spine. She knew his name. How could she possibly know about the strange pull he felt when the full moon rose? How could she know about the hunger, that deep, gnawing feeling that always lurked beneath the surface of his thoughts?
He swallowed hard, the weight of her words settling in. "What are you talking about?" he asked, though he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know.
The girl turned to face him then, her eyes locking with his. For the first time, Haruki saw the full depth of those eyes—pale, almost silver, but there was something wild in them, something ancient. They glimmered with a knowledge that felt beyond this world.
"You're a werewolf, Haruki," she said, her words like a heavy weight crashing down on him. "The beast inside you is awakening, just as it has for every generation before you. The bloodline of the wolves runs through your veins."
Haruki staggered backward as though the ground beneath him had shifted. The word "werewolf" rang in his mind, but he couldn't quite comprehend it. It was too much—too sudden. His pulse quickened, and for a moment, everything around him felt distant, as if the forest and the world had become a blur. He reached out to steady himself against a tree, his hand trembling.
"W-what?" he stammered. "I'm… a what?"
The girl's expression softened slightly, but her eyes still held that piercing intensity. "I know it's hard to believe," she said gently. "But it's the truth. You've always known, deep down. The full moon calls to you. It always has. But now… now it's different. You're changing."
Haruki's mind raced, trying to process everything she was saying. It felt like the world was spinning around him, each word crashing over him like a wave.
"You can't hide from it anymore," the girl said, her voice now firm, like a command. "You're not the only one. There are others like you, Haruki. Others who are trying to control the beast within. But there's danger. There are forces that would use your power for their own purposes."
He tried to steady his breathing, his mind a whirlwind of confusion. "But… why me? Why now?"
The girl stepped closer, her gaze unwavering. "Because the bloodline is calling. The moon is rising higher, and with it, the darkness that has been dormant for centuries. You have to embrace what you are, Haruki. Only then can you protect the ones you love. Only then can you stop the coming storm."
She took a deep breath and turned her gaze to the trees. "You're not alone. There are others who have been trained to control the beast, to tame the wolf. But there are dangers you don't yet understand. Forces that want to take that power from you."
Haruki felt a shiver run down his spine as he realized the gravity of what she was saying. His life, the one he had always known, was unraveling before his eyes. This girl—this mysterious stranger—was offering him answers, but she was also plunging him into a world filled with danger and uncertainty.
Before he could speak, the girl turned away, as if she knew the conversation was over for now. "I'll be watching you, Haruki," she said over her shoulder, her voice barely audible above the rustling of the leaves. "You're not ready yet, but you will be. And when the time comes, you'll have to choose."
The air felt charged, like the calm before a storm, as the girl disappeared into the shadows of the forest, leaving Haruki standing alone with his thoughts.
His heart still pounded in his chest, his mind swirling with the revelations she had dropped on him. A werewolf? He could hardly wrap his mind around the idea. But deep down, beneath the disbelief, there was a part of him that knew it was true. He had felt it—felt the power stirring inside him, the connection to the moon, to the wolves.
The questions raced through his mind, but one thing was clear: his life would never be the same.