Chapter One
Ava
The forest had never felt so quiet.
Ava balanced herself on the thick branch of an ancient pine tree, boots pressed into the rough bark, her breath steady despite the tremor in her chest. Below her, the world breathed softly lantern light flickering, leaves whispering, the low murmur of a tribe that had survived by hiding for generations.
She just turned Eighteen.
The number echoed in her mind like a warning bell she couldn't remain silence.
From today until she turned twenty-five, the change could come at any moment. No one choses when. No one has escaped it. One night today you are human, the next day tomorrow you are already a wolf. Turned Forever.
She lifted her gaze towards the horizon where the forest thinned and the sky deepened into silver and blue. The moon was rising early tonight, round and watchful, as if it had been waiting for her.
Ava's fingers curled around the thin silver necklace resting against her chest around her neck a crescent moon ancient bead necklace etched with tiny runes. Her grandmother had pressed it into her palm before she died, eyes clouded but certain.
This will remind you who you are, even when the moon tries to take you.
Below the trees, the heart of the tribe gathered beneath the oldest tree anyone remembered planting.
Its roots rose from the ground like the bones of the earth itself, thick and twisted, forming natural seats and shelters. Lanterns hung from its massive branches, their glow spilling over a sight no outsider would ever believe.
Giant wolves nearly the size of an adult humans when standing sat and lay among people as naturally as breath. Their massive bodies curled protectively around children and elders. Some rested their heads in human laps. Others leaned against shoulders, eyes sharp with intelligence, grief, and memory.
They have the body of wolves.
But their eyes were unmistakably human.
A gray-furred wolf hummed low in its chest as a toddler pressed their face into its thick fur, small fingers clutching as if the creature were nothing more than a parent which, in truth, it was. Nearby, a white wolf nudged two teenagers closer to the fire with its nose, scolding them softly for straying too far from the light.
This was normal.
It had been normal for generations.
If a human from the outside world ever wandered this deep into the forest, they would scream or run or raise a weapon. Wolves and humans touching, embracing, mourning together cursed beings who spoke, understood, and loved.
But the tribe had long since stopped asking why.
They had accepted the truth because there was no other choice.
Once the curse claimed you, it never lets you go.
Ava climbed down from the tree and moved closer to the clearing, her heart tightening as her eyes found two familiar shapes near the edge of the firelight.
Amelia and Noah Theodore.
Her parents.
Both were wolves now massive, gray, and powerful. Amelia's fur shimmered silver in the lantern glow, her eyes soft and endlessly watchful. Noah stood beside her, broader, his scarred muzzle lifted as he surveyed the crowd with quiet vigilance.
They caught Ava watching.
Amelia's tail swayed gently. Noah inclined his head.
They could no longer hold her the way they once had. Couldn't braid her hair or cup her face in their hands. But they were still her parents. Still her protectors.
Ava swallowed and forced herself to breathe.
"Ava!"
She turned as Liam's voice cut through the clearing.
He jogged toward her, blond hair catching the light, his white shirt smudged with dirt from the day's work. He looked older than twenty-one tonight more serious, more careful.
Beside him walked Mateo, taller and broader, red fabric tied around his arm, his gaze sharp as it swept the forest.
"You're going to give everyone a heart attack disappearing like that," Liam said, lowering his voice as he reached her. His hand hovered at her waist, unsure.
"I needed air," Ava replied.
Mateo snorted. "She's been climbing trees since she could walk. If the moon wanted her, it would've taken her already."
Charlotte appeared moments later, her yellow dress bright against the darkening forest, red hair glowing like firelight. Mateo's expression softened instantly when he saw her, tension draining from his shoulders.
"There you are," Charlotte said, relief evident. "The chief's about to begin."
They moved toward the center together as the tribe fell silent.
The oldest living chief stepped forward. His back was bent with age, his hair thin and silver. He was one of the rare few part of the small fraction untouched by the curse. Fully human. Still mortal.
At his feet lay an ordinary forest wolf, already dead.
The sacrifice was swift and respectful. No cruelty lingered in the act only reverence. The wolf was an offering, not an enemy.
The chief raised his hands towards the sky.
"Moon Mother," he called, voice trembling but strong. "Watcher of the cursed and keeper of fate. Accept this life as our prayer. Protect our children. Guide those who will soon walk the path of no return."
Silence fell.
Even the giant wolves lifted their heads.
Then Suddenly
A flash of white light tore across the sky.
It wasn't lightning. It wasn't a star.
It was too bright. Too sudden.
The music faltered. Conversations died mid-sentence. Heads tilted upward as the light stretched, vanished, and left behind a strange silence.
Gasps rippled through the clearing. Children clutched fur and fabric. Several wolves rose instinctively, low growls rumbling in their chests.
Someone laughed nervously. "A blessing," an elder said. "The moon smiles on us."
The chief did not move.
He lowered his hands slowly, calm as ever.
"The moon speaks in light," he said. "As she always has. Do not fear what you do not yet understand."
Nervous murmurs followed. Forced laughter. Belief worn thin but still clung to.
Ava felt Liam's fingers lace with hers, tight and grounding.
But deep in her chest, something twisted.
That night, while she slept she dreamed again.
Dark clouds rolled over endless water. The moon goddess stood above it all, carved from silver and shadow.
The world is ending, the goddess said. And you, Ava Theodore, were never meant to hide.
Ava woked up before dawn, sitting upright on her sleeping mat.
Her heart was steady.
The fear that had once clawed at her ribs had dulled into something heavier which is acceptance, maybe. Or preparation. The dreams had come too often now. Night after night. The same voice. The same certainty.
She pressed her fingers to the moon pendant at her throat.
"I hear you," she whispered. "I just don't know how yet."
Outside, the forest stirred.
Somewhere nearby, a wolf howled not in rage, not in pain but in mourning.
And Ava knew, with quiet certainty, that this was the last morning her world would ever feel whole.