BOUNDED BY THE MOON

Arden Blake's POV

The wolf watched me from the edge of the trees.

I didn't move. Not a step. My boots were buried ankle-deep in damp moss and I swore the air held its breath with me.

Its eyes locked on mine. Not animal eyes. Not wild. Too still. Too human.

Then it vanished into the shadows.

"Holy hell," I muttered under my breath.

"Did you say something?" Dr. McKay's voice crackled over the walkie clipped to my belt.

I fumbled for it. "Yeah. Just... saw a wolf."

A pause. "You're in the Darkpine sector?"

"Affirmative. Northern ridge. Near the creek."

Another pause. Then, "Arden, get back. Now."

"Why?"

"Because no wolves go there. Not real ones."

Static hissed. I stared at the place the wolf had stood. My skin prickled.

"Copy," I said, and clicked off.

I turned around, shouldering my gear bag. The wind picked up through the trees, carrying a scent I couldn't place. Not decay. Not dirt. Something warm. Metallic. Like heat and rust and musk.

Something that didn't belong in the woods.

Something that made my heart race.

I tried to shake it off. Probably just a black wolf passing through. Lone wolves happened. It wasn't like I hadn't seen predators before. But that stare... no way was that normal.

I walked fast. No-jogged. Every crack of a twig made me flinch. My head told me to be rational. My gut told me to run.

By the time I made it back to the cabin lab, my pulse was pounding in my ears.

"Jesus, Arden," McKay said, pushing his glasses up his nose as I threw the door open. "You're pale."

"I'm fine."

"You're sweating."

"It's hot."

"It's fifty-two degrees."

I dropped my bag on the floor and peeled off my gloves. "I saw a wolf. Big. Black. Watching me. From the Darkpine line."

McKay stared at me. "You sure?"

"I'm not hallucinating."

"I didn't say that."

"You were thinking about it."

"I was thinking that if a wolf was in the Darkpine Woods, then maybe you should stop poking around there."

"And maybe you should stop pretending like that area's off-limits for scientific reasons when really everyone around here treats it like it's cursed."

He sighed. "Look. There's a reason I sent you to Halewood. I thought maybe you could... connect to the place. Ease into the field again."

"Connect?" I gave a short laugh. "I'm not here to connect. I'm here to work."

"You were born here, Arden. Your mother-"

"Don't."

He shut up.

I hated when people used my past as leverage. I left Halewood when I was eight. After my parents died in a car accident-or so I was told. I didn't remember them. I didn't remember much except the smell of pine and blood.

This place didn't feel like home. It felt like a bruise I kept pressing.

"I'm going back out tomorrow," I said, moving past him.

"Not alone you're not."

"I'm not a kid."

"You're acting like one."

I stopped. Turned back. "I've done fieldwork in Alaska. With grizzlies. This is a patch of forest in a sleepy little town full of people who still believe in fairy tales."

His eyes narrowed. "Some tales come from the truth."

I didn't answer. I didn't want to hear it.

I showered, ate something cold and forgettable, and tried to sleep. I dreamed of yellow eyes watching me through the trees. I woke up gasping, tangled in my sheets, my heart thundering.

When morning came, I geared up early and left without telling McKay.

I needed to see it again. The wolf. The place. Something inside me pulled toward it like gravity. Maybe it was stupid. Maybe it was reckless. But I couldn't stay away.

The trail to Darkpine was quiet. Too quiet. Birds didn't sing. No rustle of squirrels or deer. Just the wind through skeletal trees and the distant drip of water off moss-heavy branches.

I crossed the line into the Darkpine Woods.

The air changed.

Colder. Thicker. Like stepping underwater.

I checked my GPS. Signal dead. Of course.

I walked for twenty minutes, maybe thirty. Then I saw it.

The wolf.

Same one. Black as shadow, massive, crouched on a rock just ahead of me.

"Okay," I whispered. "You again."

It didn't growl. Didn't run. Just stared.

Then it turned and walked into the woods, slow like it wanted me to follow.

"Nope," I said out loud. "No thank you."

It stopped. Looked over its shoulder.

My feet moved before my brain caught up.

I followed.

Branches snagged my jacket. Thorns scratched my arms. I didn't care. I just needed to see where it went. I couldn't explain it. My heart pounded like a drum. My whole body buzzed.

The wolf slipped behind a tree.

When I stepped around it, the world tilted.

No wolf.

Just a man.

Naked.

His back was to me, muscles tense, breath ragged.

My mouth went dry. "What the hell."

He turned slowly.

And I froze.

He was huge. Broad shoulders. Tall. Scars across his chest like claw marks. His eyes-gold, familiar.

The same eyes as the wolf.

"You followed me," he said.

His voice was rough. Dark velvet. Something primal curled inside it.

"You were a wolf," I said. "A literal damn wolf."

He stepped toward me. I stepped back.

"Stay away."

"If I wanted to hurt you, I already would have."

"Convincing."

"I brought you here."

I shook my head. "You lured me. Like a creep."

He smiled. It didn't reach his eyes.

"I needed to see if it was true," he said.

"What?"

He looked at me like I was a puzzle he'd already solved.

"You don't smell human."

My stomach dropped. "Excuse me?"

"You've been hidden for a long time. Cloaked. But now that you're here... I can smell it. Your blood. It's waking up."

I took another step back.

"Okay. You're crazy. Good talk. I'm leaving."

"You'll shift soon."

"What?"

"Full moon's coming. You'll feel it."

I turned and ran.

Branches whipped my face. My lungs burned. I didn't stop until I burst into the clearing.

Then something hit me from the side.

I slammed into the ground, gasping.

A figure loomed over me. Not the man from before.

This one had red eyes.

He growled. Loud. Inhuman.

"Found her first," he snarled.

I tried to crawl back but he grabbed my ankle.

"You're the key," he hissed. "You're the one who'll break the curse."

Then teeth sank into my shoulder.

I screamed.