ELENA'S POV
The house was suffocating.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't escape the oppressive weight of its walls, the eerie quiet that filled every room like an unwelcome guest. My grandmother was somewhere upstairs, likely asleep or reading, but even her presence wasn't enough to ease the unease settling deep in my chest.
I grabbed my jacket and stepped outside, letting the cold night air hit my face. It wasn't much of a relief, but it was something. The streets of Silverwood were eerily quiet at this hour, with only the faint hum of the wind and the occasional rustle of leaves. It should have felt peaceful. Instead, it felt wrong. Something did not sit right with me.
And I should have turned back, gone home. But I didn't.
I walked aimlessly, my boots crunching softly against the gravel road. The moon hung high above me, casting everything in a ghostly silver light. For a moment, I let myself believe that the walk might help, that the night air might clear my head.
But then I felt it.
The sensation was faint at first, like an itch at the back of my neck, but it grew stronger with every step I took. I glanced over my shoulder, my heart beginning to race, but the street was empty. I did not see anything.
Get a grip, Elena, I told myself. I wa getting paranoid for nothing.
I picked up my pace, though, unable to shake the feeling. The silence suddenly felt too quiet, the shadows looming more than they should be. When I heard the soft crunch of gravel behind me, I stopped in my tracks.
"Who's there?" I called, my voice steady but sharp.
There was no answer.
My heart pounded in my chest as I resumed walking, faster this time, my eyes darting to every shadow. I told myself it was nothing, that I was imagining things. But then, as I rounded a corner, someone stepped out of the alley in front of me.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, and his face was hidden under a hood.
I froze, my breath caught in my throat.
"Excuse me." I said, trying to sound calm, even though my voice was trembling.
The man didn't move, neither did he speak.
I took a step back, my heart pounding now. Then I heard another sound, a soft shuffle of boots behind me. I turned, and there was another man, just as tall, just as imposing.
Panic surged through me. My mind screamed for me to run, but my legs felt frozen.
"Leave me alone." I said, louder this time, though it sounded more like a plea than a command.
Neither man responded.
I did the only thing I could think of. I ran.
My boots slapped against the pavement as I sprinted down the street, adrenaline surging through my veins. I didn't look back. The only thing I could hear was my ragged breathing and the pounding of my heart.
The trees loomed ahead, dark and foreboding, but I didn't have a choice. I darted into the woods, the cold air biting at my cheeks. My legs moved faster than I thought possible, the world blurring around me as I weaved between the trees with a speed that I never knew I possessed.
How am I running this fast?
It didn't make sense, but I didn't have time to question it. The men were behind me, their footsteps heavy and relentless. No matter how fast I ran, I couldn't keep them off my track.
My lungs burned, and my legs began to falter. The initial burst of energy was beginning to fade, and fear clawed at my chest. I tripped over a root and stumbled, catching myself on a tree.
That was when I saw it.
A massive silver wolf emerged from the shadows ahead of me, its fur glinting in the moonlight. It was enormous, easily larger than any wolf I had ever seen, its eyes glowing with an almost unnatural light.
For a moment, I froze, fear and awe warring within me.
The men behind me stopped, and to my horror, they began to change. Their bones cracked and shifted, their bodies elongating as fur sprouted from their skin. Their faces distorted, becoming sharp and animalistic, and within seconds, they were no longer men, they were wolves.
I stumbled back, my scream caught in my throat, I almost choked on it.
The silver wolf didn't hesitate. It launched itself at the two wolves with a ferocity that took my breath away. The sound of claws meeting fur and jaws snapping filled the air, and I stumbled back, unable to look away.
The first wolf growled and lunged, but the silver wolf countered with a swift strike, its movements precise and deliberate. The wolves tumbled across the forest floor, the moonlight glinting off their bodies as they clashed. Each blow seemed more forceful than the last, the forest echoing with the sound of their battle.
The second wolf joined the mix, attacking the silver wolf from the side. My heart pounded as I watched the silver wolf twist and turn, trying to fend off both attackers. The struggle was intense, each move calculated and desperate.
The silver wolf let out a deep, guttural snarl as it managed to overpower one of the wolves, pinning it to the ground. The other wolf darted in, forcing the silver wolf to release its hold and defend itself. The three creatures moved like shadows, their forms blending into the dark forest as they clashed again and again.
The fight seemed to last forever, though it couldn't have been more than a few minutes. At last, the silver wolf let out a piercing howl, a sound that seemed to reverberate through the trees. The two other wolves hesitated, their snarls faltering. After a tense stare down moment, they backed away, their glowing eyes fixed on the silver wolf before they melted back into the woods.
The silver wolf stood tall for a moment, its chest heaving, before its legs buckled beneath it. It turned its gaze to me, and for a second, time seemed to freeze. Its glowing eyes felt oddly familiar. I had seen those eyes somewhere before, I just couldn't place my hand on who it was.
Then the wolf collapsed. And even though everything in me screamed for me to run away from it, I ran towards it.
When the shifting ended, Lucas lay before me, bloodied and unconscious... and naked.