Into the Blackwood
Chapter 1: Into the Blackwood
Ava Harper had always been drawn to the edges of things—edges of maps, edges of crowds, edges of her own carefully ordered life. At twenty-two, she was the quiet girl in the small town of Willow Creek who worked the morning shift at the local library, shelved books with surgical precision, and spent her evenings sketching wild forests she’d never dared enter. Until tonight.
The Blackwood Forest loomed on the northern border of town like a living wall of shadow. Locals whispered about it the way sailors once spoke of sea monsters: with hushed voices and sideways glances. People went in. Some came out changed. Most didn’t come out at all. The official story was wild animals—bears, wolves, mountain lions. The unofficial story was far older, far darker.
Ava didn’t believe in monsters. She believed in deadlines, in overdue fines, in the comforting rustle of pages. But tonight, something restless had clawed its way through her ribs and refused to be ignored. She needed to prove the forest was just trees. Just darkness. Just silence.
She parked her beat-up Civic at the mouth of the old logging trail just after sunset. The sky bled crimson into indigo as she shouldered her small backpack: flashlight, water bottle, sketchbook, pepper spray.
The air grew colder the moment she crossed the tree line. The sounds of the town vanished as if sliced away by an invisible blade. Only the crunch of leaves under her boots and the soft rhythm of her breathing remained.
For the first hour, it was almost peaceful. Moonlight filtered through the canopy in silver shards, painting the forest floor in shifting patterns. Ancient oaks twisted like guardians. Ferns brushed her legs. The scent of pine and damp earth filled her lungs.
Then the path disappeared.
One moment there was a faint trail; the next, nothing but undergrowth and shadow.
“Okay,” she whispered to herself. “Stay calm. Retrace your steps.”
She turned—and froze.
A low growl rumbled through the darkness.
The sound vibrated in her bones.
Not a bear.
Not a mountain lion.
Something else.
Ava stepped back slowly. A twig snapped beneath her boot.
The growl cut off.
Silence pressed in around her.
“Probably just a dog,” she muttered, trying to calm herself.
But the forest didn’t feel normal anymore.
Another growl came—closer this time.
Ava ran.
Branches snagged her hoodie as she pushed through the undergrowth. Her flashlight beam bounced wildly across trunks and shadows. She didn’t know where she was going anymore—only away.
She burst into a clearing and stopped, chest heaving.
Moonlight poured down into the open space.
And someone was standing there.
Leaning against a fallen tree was a man.
No—something about him felt… wrong.
He was huge. Easily six-foot-five, broad shoulders stretching the worn black shirt across his chest. Dark hair fell in wild waves to his shoulders, tangled with leaves. His face was sharp and striking, marked with faint silver scars.
But it was his eyes that stopped her breath.
Amber.
Glowing.
Predatory.
Ava’s flashlight trembled as she pointed it toward him.
He didn’t flinch. He simply watched her.
Like prey.
“Stay back,” Ava said, raising her pepper spray.
The man tilted his head slightly, as if amused.
“Lost, little human?”
His voice was deep and rough.
She lifted the spray higher. “I said stay back.”
A faint smile appeared on his lips, revealing the hint of sharp canines.
“You think that will stop me?”
He moved faster than anything she had ever seen.
One moment he stood across the clearing.
The next he was directly in front of her.
The pepper spray vanished from her hand before she could react. His large hand wrapped around her wrist—not painful, but firm.
Ava gasped.
Heat surged up her arm at the contact.
“Who… what are you?” she whispered.
His thumb brushed lightly over the pulse at her wrist.
“I am Kael,” he said simply.
“And you, little one, have wandered into my territory.”
A distant howl suddenly split the night.
Kael’s head snapped toward the forest.
Another howl answered it.
Then another.
His expression changed instantly—predatory amusement turning into something darker.
“Rogues,” he growled.
He released her at once.
“Stay here,” he ordered.
Before she could speak, he turned toward the tree line.
And began to change.
Bones cracked.
Muscles twisted and swelled beneath his skin.
Dark fur erupted across his body as his form expanded, growing larger and larger. His face stretched into a powerful muzzle, fangs gleaming beneath the moonlight.
Within seconds, the man was gone.
In his place stood a massive wolf—easily the size of a bear.
Its amber eyes locked onto Ava for one brief moment.
A low rumble vibrated in its chest.
Then the beast turned and vanished into the forest shadows.
Ava stood alone in the clearing, heart pounding, the echo of the wolf’s presence still hanging in the cold night air.
And for the first time since entering Blackwood Forest—
She wondered if the town stories had been right all along.
A low rumble vibrated in its chest.
Then the beast turned—and vanished into the forest shadows.
Ava stood alone in the clearing, heart pounding, the echo of the wolf’s presence still clinging to the cold night air.
And for the first time since entering Blackwood Forest—
She wondered if the town stories had been right all along.
—
Note: This is a curated SFW edition. Some scenes and extended sequences are not included here. The complete version exists elsewhere.
-----
🔥 AUTHOR NOTE — YOU’RE NOT CAUGHT UP 🔥
Over 100+ UNCUT chapters of Feral Claim are already live on Patreon.
No delays. No holding back. Just the full story… the way it’s meant to be read.
And that’s not all—
🖤 The Widow’s Ledger 💀 They Ate My Wife for Breakfast 🥋 How to Make Out in Kung Fu …with more series waiting to drop.
If you thought this chapter was intense—
you’re not ready for what comes next. Patreon has 100+ Uncut chapters, more series ex - How to make out in Kung fu(Completed), The widows Ledger, They ate my wife for breakfast; more madness, more batshitcrazy sex, comedy n more
👉 https://www.patreon.com/cw/KripaShankarSharma
Because the version here?
It’s only the surface.
🎵 Smriti Hara — Original Song sang by the Author
https://youtu.be/fyUtsRiJUU0?feature=shared
