Chapter 1 : the wolf who found me
The forest was too quiet that night.Ayla pulled her jacket tighter around herself and raised her flashlight, its weak beam cutting through the darkness between the trees.She checked her phone again.
No Signal.
“Perfect,” she muttered.She had only taken the forest path to save time. It was supposed to be a short walk home.Then the rain had started.The path had disappeared.And now, every tree looked exactly the same.Ayla swallowed hard.She needed to get out.She took another step.
Then—
Growl.
She froze.The sound had come from somewhere ahead.Slowly, she lifted her flashlight.Two pale, silver eyes stared back at her from behind the bushes.Ayla stopped breathing.
A wolf.
Not an ordinary wolf.It was enormous, its fur almost completely white, shimmering beneath the pale moonlight. Its body was tense, but it wasn't moving toward her.Instead, it was lying on the ground.And there was blood beneath it.Ayla's first instinct was to run.Every warning she had ever heard about wolves screamed inside her head.Never approach an injured animal.Never turn your back on a predator.
Run.
But something about those eyes stopped her.There was pain in them.
Not rage.
Pain.
“Hey…” Ayla whispered.The wolf lifted its head.A low growl rolled through its chest.Ayla immediately stopped.
“Okay. Okay. I won't hurt you.”
The wolf's ears twitched.Ayla looked at the wound on its side.It was deep.Too deep.
“You're hurt.”
The wolf watched her carefully.Ayla took one cautious step forward.Then another.
“I know this is probably the stupidest thing I've ever done…”She slowly lowered herself to her knees.but I'm going to help you.The wolf growled again.But this time, there was something different in the sound.Weakness.Ayla reached toward its wound.The wolf suddenly went completely still.Their eyes met.And something strange happened.The wolf stopped breathing.A scent had reached him.Something ancient.Something he had not smelled in generations.
Moon-Blood.
His instincts screamed at him to attack.Humans were enemies.His kind had been taught that since birth.Humans had hunted his ancestors.Burned their forests.Killed their families.And the wolves had returned that hatred for centuries.There was no trust between them.
No mercy.
No forgiveness.
Humans feared wolves.
Wolves despised humans.
It was the oldest law of his kind.Yet this girl.She didn't smell like the others.She smelled like the moon after rain.Like something lost.Something familiar.Something that belonged to his world.The wolf lowered his head.
Ayla hesitated.
Then, carefully, she placed her hand against his fur.The moment she touched him, a strange warmth spread beneath her palm.The wolf's eyes widened.The bleeding stopped.The wound began to close.Ayla stared in disbelief.
“What…?”
She pulled her hand away.The wolf immediately lifted his head.His eyes locked onto hers.Ayla's heart began to race.
“That wasn't normal.”
The wolf stood.For a moment, they simply stared at each other.
Then—A howl echoed through the forest.
AWWOOOOOO—
The wolf's entire body stiffened.His ears turned toward the distant sound.Ayla stood slowly.
“What is it?”
Another howl answered from deeper within the woods.This time, the wolf looked afraid.Not for himself.For her.He stepped toward Ayla.She instinctively stepped back.The wolf stopped.For a few seconds, neither moved.Then Ayla slowly extended her hand.
“It's okay.”
The wolf stared at her fingers.He shouldn't have gone near her.He knew that.He should have disappeared into the forest.He should have forgotten her.Instead, he walked forward.
One step.
Then another.
Until his enormous head rested gently against her palm.Ayla's expression softened.
“You're strange.”
The wolf closed his eyes.If only she knew.If only she knew what she was.If only she knew why her touch had healed him.And if only she knew that somewhere beyond the trees, his pack had already sensed her presence.The last descendant of the Moon-Blood had returned.And the wolves had been waiting for her.For centuries.
---
Far away, deep within the forest, a second pair of silver eyes opened.Then another.And another.A voice whispered through the darkness.
“She has been found.”
The wolves began to gather.Because according to their oldest law, the Moon-Blood girl should have been killed the moment she was discovered.But there was one problem.Their Alpha had already fallen in love with her.And he didn't even know her name.
