Chapter 1
The laughter of children drifted across the park like music.
Evelina Storm sat on a wooden bench, her gaze fixed on a little girl running toward her mother with a bouquet of wildflowers clutched in her tiny hands.
The woman knelt and opened her arms.
The child crashed into her embrace.
A smile tugged at Evelina’s lips.
Then it faded.
A familiar ache settled in her chest.
She looked away.
At twenty-six, she had a good job, a comfortable apartment, and a boyfriend she had loved for five years.
Yet the one thing she wanted most remained out of reach.
A baby.
A family.
Someone who would call her Mom.
The desire had followed her for years, growing stronger every time she saw a stroller, every time she attended a baby shower, every time she watched mothers hold their children as if nothing else in the world mattered.
Her phone buzzed.
Ryan.
A small smile returned.
She answered immediately.
“Hey.”
“Still at the park?” Ryan asked.
“Yeah.”
“You sound sad.”
Evelina forced a laugh.
“Do I?”
“You do.”
For a moment, neither spoke.
Ryan knew exactly why she was upset.
They had been trying for a baby for nearly two years.
Two years of disappointment.
Two years of hope followed by heartbreak.
“Don’t think about it too much,” Ryan said softly.
“I’m trying.”
“It’ll happen.”
She stared at the little girl in the distance.
“When?”
Ryan sighed.
“Eve..”
“When?” she repeated. “Everyone keeps saying it’ll happen. But when?”
Silence greeted her.
The answer never came.
Eventually Ryan changed the subject.
He always did.
They spoke for a few more minutes before ending the call.
As the screen went dark, the loneliness returned.
Evelina leaned back against the bench and closed her eyes.
A cold breeze brushed her skin.
For some reason, a strange unease crept through her.
She opened her eyes.
Nothing looked unusual.
People walked along the pathways.
Children played.
Dogs barked.
Everything appeared normal.
Yet the feeling remained.
Like someone was watching her.
Her gaze swept across the park.
Then stopped.
A tall man stood beneath a cluster of trees near the edge of the park.
He wasn’t moving.
Wasn’t looking at his phone.
Wasn’t talking to anyone.
He was simply staring.
At her.
A chill ran down her spine.
The man turned away before she could get a better look.
Seconds later, he disappeared into the crowd.
Evelina frowned.
Maybe she was imagining things.
Maybe she was becoming paranoid.
Still, the uneasy feeling lingered.
She rose from the bench and headed toward her car.
The sun was beginning to set.
Long shadows stretched across the pavement.
Halfway there, she froze.
A sound reached her ears.
A low howl.
Distant.
Mournful.
Impossible.
Her heart skipped a beat.
There were no wolves here.
There hadn’t been wolves anywhere near the city for decades.
Yet somehow she knew exactly what she had heard.
The howl came again.
Closer this time.
And for reasons she couldn’t explain, pure hatred surged through her veins.
A hatred so sudden and intense that it stole her breath.
Her hands clenched into fists.
Her pulse thundered.
The sound echoed inside her head.
Wolf.
The word appeared without warning.
Wolf.
Wolf.
Wolf.
Evelina staggered backward.
“What is wrong with me?” she whispered.
The howl abruptly stopped.
The world fell silent.
Then her phone rang again.
It was her mother.
The moment Evelina answered, she heard panic in her voice.
“Evelina, where are you?”
Her stomach dropped.
“Mom?”
“Answer me.”
“I’m leaving the park. Why?”
A shaky breath came through the line.
Then her mother said something that made Evelina’s blood run cold.
“Come home right now. Someone has found you.”
