Lena's car coughed to a stop in the middle of the pine valley. The forest around her was thick with mist and darkness, her shadow stretched across the road like a long finger. She had been driving all evening, tired from the city, and was eager to escape, but the forest seemed to have other plans.
A howl tore through the night air, long and low echoing between the trees. It wasn't the playful call of a wolf or the wind. It was different, it was bone deep, hungry, and her heartbeat quickened. She gripped the steering wheel, considering her options, but the engine had died completely, leaving her stranded.
She stepped out and felt a cold bite through her jacket. Her boots sank into the damp earth. She froze noticing an enormous paw print pressed into the mud. Too wide, too deep, too human-shaped to be any ordinary animal. They formed a circle around her car, almost as if something had been waiting for her arrival.
A low rustle behind her made her spin. A man stumbled from the trees. His shirt was torn, his hair wild and his eyes were glowing faint gold in the dim moonlight.
"You shouldn't be here", he said in a low and urgent voice. "Not tonight".
Before she could respond, his back arched unnaturally. Bones cracked beneath his skin, his muscles bulged, and fur erupted across his body. The howl that followed wasn't entirely human, nor completely an animal, it ripped through the forest like a scream and a growl rolled into one. Lena's stomach turned, but he didn't move towards her. He gasped and trembled, a mixture of agony and warning.
"Run" he said.
Branches whipped across her arms as she fled into the forest. Something heavier than footsteps pounded behind her, growing louder, and faster. She didn't dare to look back. She couldn't.
The forest seemed endless, but somewhere in the distance, a cabin appeared in the clearing, its windows were dark, and unwelcoming. Lena ran towards it, her lungs were burning, not knowing if she would reach it before whatever was chasing her caught her.
And then, she heard it. A low growling voice just behind her, and it knew her name.