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Elena's POV
The morning dawned with a crisp chill, the kind that made Elena's breath puff out in little clouds as she stepped outside. The forest was serene, bathed in soft golden light that filtered through the canopy. For a moment, it felt as though Blackwood Hollow's secrets were nothing more than her imagination.
But she knew better.
Last night's conversation with Dr. Langston had only deepened her curiosity. He'd been kind, even fatherly in his concern, but there had been something evasive about his words, as though he was deliberately steering her away from asking more questions.
Why is everyone in this town hiding something?
Determined to find answers, Elena grabbed her jacket and a notebook, then headed toward the trail that led into the woods. If no one would tell her the truth, she'd find it herself.
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The forest felt different today—quieter, heavier. As Elena walked deeper into the trees, she noticed how the light dimmed, shadows stretching across the ground like reaching fingers. She tried to shake off the eerie feeling, reminding herself that she'd grown up hiking in the countryside.
But this wasn't just any forest.
Her thoughts drifted to the wolf she'd seen, its piercing amber eyes vivid in her mind. She hadn't seen it since that night, but the memory lingered, like an itch she couldn't scratch. What if the wolf was connected to the stories she'd read? What if it wasn't just a wolf?
Pushing the thought aside, she focused on the trail ahead. She hadn't gone far when she spotted something unusual.
At the base of a large oak tree, half-buried beneath fallen leaves, was a fragment of something white. She crouched down and brushed the leaves away, revealing a shard of what looked like bone.
Elena frowned, her stomach tightening. It was too big to belong to a small animal, but it didn't look like a natural break. The edges were jagged, splintered, as if something had gnawed on it.
A chill ran down her spine.
Carefully, she wrapped the shard in a piece of cloth and tucked it into her bag. She didn't know what it meant, but she had a feeling it was important.
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Her curiosity led her further off the trail. The deeper she went, the more she noticed small signs that something unusual had happened here: scratches on tree trunks, patches of disturbed earth, and an unnatural stillness in the air.
Elena was just about to turn back when she stumbled upon a clearing.
The sight stopped her in her tracks.
At the center of the clearing was a large rock, its surface stained dark with what looked like dried blood. Surrounding it were faint symbols etched into the ground, their shapes unfamiliar and unsettling.
"What the hell...?" Elena whispered.
She approached cautiously, her heart pounding. The symbols were crude but deliberate, their meaning lost on her but their intent clear: this wasn't random. Someone—or something—had done this.
As she examined the scene, a low growl sounded behind her.
Elena froze, her breath catching in her throat. Slowly, she turned her head.
Standing at the edge of the clearing was a wolf.
Not just any wolf—the wolf.
Its amber eyes glowed in the dappled light, its stance tense but not aggressive. It watched her, unblinking, as though trying to gauge her intentions.
Elena's mind raced. Should she run? Stay still?
"Easy," she said softly, holding her hands out. "I'm not here to hurt you."
The wolf tilted its head, its expression eerily intelligent. For a moment, Elena could have sworn it understood her. Then, with a flick of its tail, it turned and vanished into the trees.
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Shaken, Elena returned to her cabin as quickly as she could, the shard of bone and the memory of the clearing weighing heavily on her mind.
Back home, she spread her findings out on the table: the shard, a sketch of the symbols she'd seen, and the notes she'd been keeping since her arrival.
The symbols tugged at something in her memory. She flipped through the books she'd borrowed from the library, searching for anything that might explain what she'd seen. Finally, in an old text about local folklore, she found a crude drawing of a similar symbol.
The caption read: "Mark of the Hunt."
The accompanying text described it as a warning used by early settlers in Blackwood Hollow to ward off dangerous creatures. According to legend, the mark was meant to repel predators—both animal and supernatural.
Elena's pulse quickened. Could the clearing have been some kind of ritual site? And if so, what had it been used for?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.
Heart pounding, she opened it to find Maria standing on her porch, a basket in her hands.
"Hi, Elena," Maria said, smiling brightly. "I thought you could use some company."
Elena forced a smile. "Thanks. Come in."
As Maria set the basket down on the table, her eyes fell on the sketch of the symbols. Her smile faltered.
"Where did you see this?" Maria asked, her voice suddenly tense.
Elena hesitated. "In the woods. Why? Do you know what it means?"
Maria didn't answer right away. Instead, she sat down, her expression grim. "It's... old. Older than the town itself. People say it's tied to the forest, to the things that live in it. But no one really knows for sure."
"Things?" Elena pressed.
Maria looked at her, her eyes filled with worry. "Elena, you need to be careful. Blackwood Hollow isn't just a small town with a quirky history. It's... different. The people here—they've learned to live with the forest, to respect it. But outsiders..."
She trailed off, leaving the warning hanging in the air.
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Caleb's POV
From his vantage point in the woods, Caleb watched Maria leave Elena's cabin. He'd heard enough of their conversation to know Elena had found the clearing.
His heart sank.
She was getting too close to the truth, and the pack wouldn't tolerate it. If she kept digging, it wouldn't just be Victor he had to worry about—it would be all of them.
Caleb leaned against a tree, running a hand through his hair. He couldn't keep this up. Every day, the line between his duty to the pack and his desire to protect Elena blurred a little more.
But he had to make a choice—and soon.
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