The Night of the Crimson Moon
AIN
The rain had stopped just before midnight.
A cold breeze swept through Blackwood Forest, carrying the scent of pine, damp earth, and something strangely metallic. The full moon hung low in the sky, glowing with an eerie crimson hue that painted the treetops in shades of red.
Lyra Ashford tightened her jacket around herself as she hurried along the narrow trail.
“This is exactly why I shouldn’t have agreed to this,” she muttered under her breath.
Her best friend, Emma, had insisted on taking a shortcut through the forest after the college charity bonfire. It had sounded exciting an hour ago. Now, with Emma walking several steps ahead while trying to find a phone signal, it felt like the worst decision either of them had ever made.
“Still no signal?” Lyra called.
Emma held up her phone with an annoyed sigh.
“Nothing. I swear this forest eats phone networks.”
Lyra forced a smile, but something felt wrong.
The forest was too quiet.
No birds.
No insects.
Not even the rustle of small animals.
It was as if every living creature had vanished.
A strange chill crawled down her spine.
“Emma…”
“What?”
“Do you hear that?”
Emma stopped walking.
“Hear what?”
“Exactly.”
Emma laughed.
“You’re scaring yourself.”
Maybe she was.
Lyra had always had an overactive imagination.
Or at least, that was what everyone told her.
She glanced toward the enormous crimson moon.
For a split second...
She thought she saw a dark silhouette standing on a rocky cliff far above the trees.
A man.
Watching.
When she blinked—
He was gone.
“Lyra?”
Emma waved a hand in front of her face.
“You’re zoning out again.”
“Sorry.”
They continued walking.
A few moments later, the wind shifted.
Lyra froze.
She smelled something.
Not pine.
Not rain.
Something warm.
Wild.
Powerful.
Almost...
Like smoke mixed with cedar and winter air.
It was oddly comforting.
Yet it made her heart beat faster for reasons she couldn’t explain.
Then...
A distant howl echoed through the forest.
Emma immediately grabbed Lyra’s arm.
“Please tell me that wasn’t a wolf.”
Lyra swallowed.
“I’m... not sure.”
Another howl answered.
Then another.
Closer.
The trees trembled as something large moved between them.
Branches snapped.
Leaves scattered across the path.
Emma whispered,
“We should run.”
Before Lyra could answer—
A pair of glowing blue eyes appeared in the darkness.
Massive.
Unblinking.
Watching them.
Neither girl moved.
The creature stepped forward.
It wasn’t an ordinary wolf.
It was enormous.
Its silver-gray fur shimmered beneath the crimson moonlight, and every movement carried quiet confidence rather than aggression.
It didn’t growl.
It didn’t attack.
It simply stared at Lyra.
As though it knew her.
As though it had been searching for her.
Lyra couldn’t look away.
The wolf slowly lowered its head.
Not like a predator preparing to strike.
More like...
A silent greeting.
“What... is it doing?” Emma whispered.
“I don’t know.”
The wolf took one deliberate step closer.
Lyra felt an invisible pull in her chest.
A strange warmth spread through her body.
Her heartbeat became louder.
Faster.
Almost synchronized with the rhythm of the forest itself.
Without thinking, she took a step toward the wolf.
“Lyra!”
Emma grabbed her wrist.
“What are you doing?”
“I…”
Lyra didn’t know.
She simply felt...
Safe.
Suddenly—
The wolf’s ears snapped back.
Its calm expression vanished.
It turned sharply toward the deeper forest.
A low growl rumbled from its throat.
Not at them.
At something else.
Something hidden among the trees.
The air grew heavy.
The temperature dropped.
Then came another sound.
Footsteps.
Not one.
Many.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Dozens of figures moved silently between the shadows, their glowing golden eyes surrounding the narrow trail from every direction.
The silver wolf placed itself between Lyra and the darkness.
Its muscles tensed.
Its gaze never left the approaching figures.
For the first time that night...
Lyra realized the wolf hadn’t come to hunt her.
It had come to protect her.
The forest held its breath.
Not a single leaf moved.
The glowing golden eyes in the darkness multiplied until Lyra lost count. They surrounded the narrow trail like silent predators waiting for a command.
Emma’s fingers tightened around Lyra’s wrist.
“Lyra...”
Her voice shook.
“I think we’re trapped.”
Lyra couldn’t answer.
Her attention remained fixed on the enormous silver wolf standing between them and the unseen danger.
It didn’t move.
It didn’t panic.
It simply watched.
Waiting.
A deep voice echoed through the trees.
“Hand over the girl.”
The words seemed to come from everywhere at once.
Another voice laughed.
“You’ve protected her long enough.”
Lyra’s heartbeat thundered in her ears.
“Who are you?” she shouted, trying to sound braver than she felt.
Silence.
Then a tall figure stepped from the shadows.
He wore a long black coat despite the warm summer night. His face was hidden beneath the hood, but his golden eyes glowed unnaturally.
Behind him emerged six more figures.
Each of them had the same glowing eyes.
The same unsettling smile.
Emma whispered, “We should run.”
“We can’t.”
They were surrounded.
The hooded man tilted his head.
“So... this is the girl.”
His gaze swept over Lyra as if he were studying something valuable.
“I expected someone stronger.”
Another man chuckled.
“She doesn’t even know what she is.”
“What are you talking about?” Lyra demanded.
No one answered.
Instead, the leader took one slow step forward.
The silver wolf growled.
Low.
Dangerous.
The sound vibrated through the ground itself.
The hooded man smiled.
“You’ll die protecting her.”
The wolf bared its teeth.
For a heartbeat, no one moved.
Then—
“Take her.”
Everything exploded into chaos.
The attackers lunged at once.
The silver wolf leaped forward with incredible speed, crashing into the first man before he could reach Lyra.
A deafening snarl tore through the forest.
The force of the collision sent both figures rolling across the ground.
Emma screamed.
“RUN!”
Lyra grabbed Emma’s hand and sprinted toward the trees.
Branches whipped across her face.
Roots caught at her shoes.
Behind them came growls...
Shouts...
And the unmistakable sound of a brutal fight.
She dared one glance over her shoulder.
The silver wolf was surrounded.
Yet it fought like a creature born for battle.
One attacker flew backward after a powerful strike.
Another transformed before her eyes.
Bones cracked.
Muscles expanded.
Dark fur burst through skin.
Within seconds, a monstrous black wolf stood where the man had been.
Lyra stumbled.
“What...”
She could barely breathe.
The stories about werewolves...
They weren’t stories.
They were real.
Emma pulled her forward.
“Don’t stop!”
But it was too late.
A shadow dropped from the trees directly in front of them.
Another wolf.
This one larger than the others.
Its amber eyes locked onto Lyra.
The beast growled.
Every instinct screamed at her to run.
Instead...
She froze.
The wolf lowered itself, ready to attack.
Its muscles coiled.
Then it sprang.
“LYRA!”
Emma shoved her aside.
Lyra hit the ground hard.
The wolf landed exactly where she had been standing moments before.
Emma cried out as she fell.
“No!”
Lyra scrambled to her feet.
The beast turned toward Emma.
Its jaws opened.
Before it could strike—
A blur of silver crashed into it.
The two wolves slammed into a tree with enough force to split the trunk.
Wood splintered.
The forest echoed with furious snarls.
The silver wolf had returned.
It stood over Lyra again.
Bleeding.
One long claw mark stretched across its shoulder.
Dark blood stained its silver fur.
Still...
It refused to step back.
The hooded leader sighed.
“This is becoming annoying.”
He lifted one hand.
The attackers suddenly stopped.
Even the wolves obeyed.
The forest fell silent once more.
The leader looked directly at the silver wolf.
“You know the rules.”
No response.
“You cannot hide her forever.”
The silver wolf’s eyes narrowed.
Then something impossible happened.
Moonlight surrounded the wolf in a swirl of silver light.
Its body began to change.
Lyra stared in disbelief.
The enormous wolf slowly rose onto two legs.
The fur disappeared.
The claws withdrew.
Within seconds, a man stood where the wolf had been.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Dressed in black.
His dark hair was damp from the rain, and a streak of blood ran down one side of his face.
His piercing blue eyes met Lyra’s.
For one endless heartbeat...
The world disappeared.
She had never seen anyone like him.
There was something ancient in his gaze.
Something powerful.
Something heartbreakingly lonely.
He looked at her as though he had searched a lifetime just to find her.
His expression softened for the briefest moment.
Then he spoke.
His deep voice carried quiet certainty.
“I finally found you.”
Lyra blinked.
“What... who are you?”
Instead of answering, he stepped closer.
The hooded leader laughed.
“So she doesn’t remember.”
The stranger ignored him.
His eyes never left Lyra.
“You need to leave. Now.”
“I’m not going anywhere until someone explains what’s happening!”
A faint smile touched his lips despite the danger surrounding them.
“You always ask questions first.”
Before Lyra could respond, his expression hardened.
“They’re coming.”
The ground trembled beneath their feet.
A chilling howl echoed from somewhere deep within Blackwood Forest.
One howl became two.
Two became ten.
The night was no longer theirs.
Something far more dangerous had just awakened.
