Ava Winters had always known something was different about her. It wasn't just the strange dreams that haunted her sleep or the unsettling feeling that she didn't quite belong in the small, sleepy town she had spent her whole life in. There was something deeper, something tied to her bloodline, though she'd never known the details.
For as long as she could remember, Ava had felt out of place, even in her skin. The world around her was filled with a softness she could never quite grasp a gentleness she couldn't understand. Her parents, kind-hearted and loving, had always shielded her from the truth. The truth about her past.
But Ava was about to learn that there was more to her story than she could have ever imagined.
It started with a phone call.
It was a late afternoon when Ava, sitting at the kitchen table in the home she had grown up in, received a call that would change her life forever. The voice on the other end was unfamiliar but carried a sense of urgency.
"Ava Winters?" the voice asked.
She sat up straight, sensing that something was off. "Yes, who's calling?"
"My name is Alistair Blackwood. I need to speak to you about your family."
Ava's pulse quickened. Blackwood. The name sounded oddly familiar, but she couldn't place where she'd heard it before. "I don't know anyone by that name."
The voice on the other end was calm, but there was an undeniable tension in his tone. "I think you should listen to what I have to say. Your parents have kept something from you something very important."
Ava's heart skipped a beat. She had always known there was more to her family's story, but she never expected this.
"Who are you?" she demanded, her voice trembling slightly.
"I am a member of a very old and very powerful family, Ava. Your family is connected to mine in ways you cannot yet understand."
Ava's mind raced. She glanced around the room, her gaze falling on the photo of her parents on the mantle. Her father's strong jawline, her mother's kind eyes. They had always been there for her, always protected her from anything that might have threatened her peace. But now, it seemed that protection was about to unravel.
"Listen carefully," Alistair continued, "I know you've been having dreams, strange ones. Dreams of running through the woods, of feeling... alive in a way that's beyond words. I also know that you've felt like an outsider in your own life. You're not imagining it. What you've been feeling... it's real."
Ava's breath caught in her throat. The dreams. She had never told anyone about the recurring visions, the sensations of running beneath a moonlit sky, the deep connection to something primal, something wild. She had chalked it up to her overactive imagination. But hearing him speak about it made her wonder if there was more to it than she had ever realized.
"Are you... are you saying I'm crazy?" Ava asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"No," Alistair said firmly. "But you're not human, either. Your true heritage is more complicated than you know. You're part of something ancient, something that's been hidden for generations."
Ava could feel her pulse pounding in her temples. "What are you talking about?"
Alistair sighed deeply. "Your bloodline is tied to the Blackwood pack, one of the oldest and most powerful werewolf families in the world. You've inherited a gift, Ava, one that has been passed down through generations."
Ava's mind reeled. Werewolves? It sounded like something out of a fantasy novel, a world far removed from the reality she had known. But the conviction in his voice, the way he spoke as though he truly believed every word, made her question everything she thought she knew.
"I know this is a lot to take in," Alistair continued, "but you have to understand, there are forces out there who want to control you. You need to come to us, Ava. You need to embrace who you are before it's too late."
Before she could respond, there was a click on the other end of the line. The call ended abruptly.
Ava stared at the phone in her hand, her thoughts a whirlwind of confusion and disbelief. She was part of something ancient? Part of a werewolf family? It didn't make sense.
But as she sat there, the pieces of her life began to shift, and a new, terrifying truth began to settle in.
The next few days were a blur. Ava barely slept, too consumed by the call and the questions that had followed. She had tried to reach her parents to ask about Alistair, but they were out of town on a business trip and unreachable. She tried to convince herself that it was all a hoax, that maybe someone had gotten her number and was playing a cruel joke. But deep down, she knew it wasn't.
There were things about her life about her family that she couldn't explain, things that didn't add up. And somehow, Alistair's words were the missing link, the key to unlocking everything she had felt but could never quite understand.
One evening, Ava made a decision. She couldn't wait any longer. She had to find out the truth.
With her heart pounding, she drove through the winding roads that led to the forest outside of town. The trees loomed like silent sentinels, their branches twisting in strange patterns. Ava had always felt a sense of familiarity when she visited this part of the woods, but tonight, the air felt different charged, almost alive.
She followed the trail she had walked many times before, but something was guiding her now, a force she couldn't explain. She moved deeper into the forest, her feet light on the ground, as if she was drawn by an invisible pull.
Suddenly, she saw it. A clearing in the woods bathed in the soft light of the rising full moon. And standing in the center of the clearing, like a shadow made flesh, was a man tall, broad-shouldered, with eyes that glowed like molten amber. His presence was commanding and terrifying, and yet, she couldn't look away.
It was Damon Blackwood.
Ava's heart skipped a beat as their gazes locked. There was something familiar about him, something she couldn't place. But in the depths of his eyes, she saw something else something ancient, something wild.
And in that moment, Ava knew. The dreams, the pull, the secrets it was all leading her here, to him.
"You're finally here," Damon said, his voice low, like a growl.
Ava's breath caught in her throat. "Who are you?"
"I'm your past," he said, stepping closer, his gaze never leaving hers. "And I'm your future, whether you like it or not."
Ava didn't know whether to run or stay, but she knew one thing for certain: her life was never going to be the same.