Chapter 1

The Awakening

The air inside Evelyn's home felt suffocating, as if the walls themselves were bracing for what was to come. Shadows stretched unnaturally long, pooling in corners where the fading light of the setting sun couldn't reach. The Kael family house groaned faintly, its age betrayed by every creak and shudder, as though it, too, carried the weight of an ominous secret.

Evelyn sat at her desk, her eyes fixed on the calendar tacked to the wall. A single date stood out, encircled in blood-red ink: her 18th birthday. Tomorrow.

Her gaze lingered on the circle, her fingers tapping a restless rhythm against the desk. There was no running from it now. The stories weren't just whispers meant to scare a child. Her family's dark legacy once dismissed as an unsettling fairy tale loomed closer, its presence as undeniable as the chill creeping through the room.

Her mother's voice echoed in her mind, soft but trembling, laced with fear Evelyn hadn't fully understood at the time.

"Evelyn, when the moon rises on your 18th birthday, you'll feel it," her mother had warned. "You can't fight it not completely. But maybe... maybe you can survive it."

Survive it. The words clung to her like a cold hand on her shoulder.

Back then, she had laughed it off. But now... now she wasn't so sure. Something had been stirring inside her for weeks. Her senses felt unnervingly sharp, as though the world had been turned up a notch. She could smell damp earth and pine even with the window closed, though the forest was miles away. Every sound seemed to crawl inside her skin the sharp chirp of crickets, the groaning pipes, the faint hum of electricity threading through the house.

And then there were the dreams. They came every night, relentless and vivid. Always the same. Running. Hunting. Blood.

Evelyn's hand stilled on the desk. The shadows seemed to close in tighter, and somewhere deep in the house, a faint creak echoed, as if the house itself had exhaled.

Tomorrow was coming, whether she was ready or not.

Tonight, the unease clung to Evelyn like a second skin heavier, darker, impossible to shake. Her fingers brushed the silver locket at her neck, its surface unnervingly warm against her skin. That warmth wasn't normal. Nothing about tonight was normal.

A sudden, searing pain stabbed through her hand. Evelyn gasped, jerking her hand away. Blood beaded from a fresh cut across her palm, the jagged wood of the desk splintering under her grip. Her chest tightened as she stared at the damage in disbelief. That strength it wasn't hers. At least, it hadn't been.

Wrapping her hand in a cloth, she pressed against the wound, but her pulse hammered wildly, louder than it should've been.

"Get it together," she muttered, her voice rough and unfamiliar, a guttural edge to it that made her stomach twist..

The air around her seemed to thicken, pressing in from all sides. She pushed herself to her feet, the room suddenly too small, too stifling. Crossing to the window, she shoved it open with more force than she intended. The night air rushed in, cool and sharp, but it offered no relief.

Her eyes drifted to the treeline of Blackpine Forest, its dark silhouette etched against the bruised sky. The forest loomed like a living thing, its presence as much a warning as it was a promise. If the stories were true, it was there her life would lead her. Or end her.

A sound broke the stillness. Low. Guttural. A growl.

Evelyn froze, her breath catching in her throat. The sound wasn't human and it wasn't far. Or was it? Her ears strained against the silence, but whatever it was had vanished, leaving her skin prickling with dread.

For a moment, she couldn't move. The night seemed to hold its breath, waiting.

Evelyn turned back toward the room, desperate for a distraction. Her gaze fell on something that hadn't been there moments ago a dusty book resting on her bed.

Her breath hitched. Her mother's journal.

A chill skittered down her spine at the sight of it. She hadn't seen the journal in years, not since she'd packed it away after her mother's death. Even then, she couldn't bring herself to open it. The strange symbols, the cryptic warnings, the occasional dark stains that looked far too much like blood-it had been too much.

Now, it was here, waiting.

Her legs felt heavy as she crossed the room, the weight in her chest growing with each step. Her fingers trembled as she picked it up. The leather cover was cracked and worn, its edges frayed, but it still carried that faint metallic smell she remembered all too well.

The journal fell open in her hands, the pages brittle with age. Her heart jumped as she noticed the page it had landed on. An inky black paw print stained the paper, its edges smudged as though something or someone had tried to wipe it away. Beneath the mark was a hastily scrawled passage, the ink uneven and frantic:

"The curse grows stronger with each generation. By the 18th year, the transformation begins. The pull of the full moon is irresistible, the beast unstoppable. But there is hope. Blackpine Forest holds the key. The artifact... the artifact... must be found before the change consumes the soul."

Evelyn's grip tightened on the book. The words blurred as her vision swam, her mind racing. The artifact. Blackpine Forest.

Her mother had known this would happen. She'd written about it-warned about it. But what was the artifact? What did she mean by "consumes the soul

Evelyn's pulse thundered in her ears. The journal trembled in her hands as she realized she might already be out of tim

Evelyn's eyes locked onto the words, a chill crawling up her spine. Her mother had always spoken in riddles about the curse, about the dark forces it brought, but never had she been this explicit. The warnings were cryptic, vague but now, this... this was different. Her fingers traced the paw print, the ink thick and unsettling under her touch, her mind a storm of racing thought

Something metallic gleamed from the binding of the journal, catching her attention. Her heart skipped as she reached for it, fingers trembling as they pulled free a folded piece of paper. Unfolding it slowly, her breath caught in her throat. It was an old map of Blackpine Forest, its edges frayed, the ink faded with ag

A red "X" marked a spot deep within the forest, far from any known trail, hidden among the thick tree

Evelyn's pulse hammered in her ears. Could it be real? Was there truly something in the forest-something that could stop what was happening to he

She stared at the map, her mind struggling to comprehend. The stories had always been distant, abstract, but now they felt too close, too real. And the forest... it felt alive in a way she couldn't explai

The wind howled outside, rattling the windows. The house groaned in response, as though it, too, were unsettled by the growing tension. Evelyn's breath came quicker, her chest tightening. The air was thick again heavy with something she couldn't name, a presence in the room that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand at attentio

Then it came. The growl. Louder, more distinct this time. Close

Her heart jolted. The sound didn't belong in the stillness of the night. It vibrated through her chest, primal and guttural, a warning that sliced through the silenc

She stumbled back from the window, her hand instinctively reaching for the silver locket around her neck. It felt cold against her skin, a strange comfort, but it did nothing to still the rising panic inside her.

And then it hit her.

A sharp, searing pain in her back, as though something deep within her was tearing its way out.

Evelyn gasped, collapsing to her knees, the world spinning around her. She could barely breathe, her chest constricted by an unseen force. Her vision blurred, but through the fog, she thought she saw her reflection in the window-only it wasn't hers.

The eyes staring back were wild, feral, glowing faintly yellow in the darkness, unrecognizable and twisted.

A scream clawed at her throat, but it was swallowed by the pain. She clutched her chest, her hands shaking violently as she gasped for air. The transformation it wasn't supposed to happen yet. Not until tomorrow. She wasn't ready for this. She wasn't ready for the monster waiting inside her.

Her mind screamed for escape, for some way to stop it, but there was no going back.

Then, as quickly as it came, the pain began to ebb, leaving her trembling, weak, and disoriented on the floor. The air in the room felt different now charged, like a storm was building. She stared at the journal and the map still clutched in her hands, its faded edges a stark contrast to the chaos in her chest.

The answer was out there. In Blackpine Forest. It had to be.

But what awaited her in those woods? She didn't know, but staying here waiting for the inevitable wasn't an option. The house, the walls, the shadows they were suffocating her.

Her hands moved on their own, grabbing a backpack and hurriedly stuffing it with whatever she could find her mother's journal, the map, a flashlight, the silver dagger that had once been her mother's, and the locket she could never part with.

She stood at the edge of her room, taking one last look. The house felt hollow now, as though it had abandoned her. Tomorrow, when the moon rose, she wouldn't be here. She couldn't be.

With a final glance out the window, her eyes met the dark, looming treeline of Blackpine Forest. She whispered, the words falling from her lips like a vow:

"I'm coming for you."

And with that, she stepped into the night, the air thick with the weight of the curse that now clung to her like a second skin. Her journey was just beginning.