Joe turned to Eva with his handsome smile. He came up to her and held out the packages.

"Have a good day, Rose's daughter," he said and walked out of the market.

Eva was both surprised and irritated by his cocky attitude. Just as she was about to say something to old David, who wouldn't sell to her, Elly grabbed her by the arm and dragged her outside.

"Thank you, David! Have a good day!" she said, practically running out.

Eva couldn't contain her anger. "Let me go! I'm going to tell him off. He wouldn't sell to me but sold to Joe? He didn't accept you, he didn't accept me, but when Joe wants it, suddenly he agrees. What is this?"

Elly was laughing. "He's like the crown prince of this town. It's normal that he'd listen to him. Everything here depends on his family."

Eva grew curious. "What do you mean?"

"His father owns most of the workshops in town. He gives jobs to many people here. They've been living here for a long time, they're a well-established family."

Eva raised her eyebrows. "Well, look at that. The cursed girl can't get what she wants but the crown prince can. Let me ask you something..."

Elly turned her gaze away and nodded.

"In that tale you told me, what exactly is this Joe?"

Elly's face clouded with unease. "Never mind, let's go..."

Eva's eyes flew wide open in shock. She started giggling. "Could he be one of those demons you told me about yesterday? He reminded me of them..."

"Eva, stop making fun already," Elly said and got in the car.

Eva also got in laughing, following her. She put the market packages in the back, then got in the driver's seat next to Elly.

Eva thought they'd had enough action for the day.

But... Just as they were rounding a curve, a vehicle suddenly cut them off.

Eva slammed on the brakes to avoid a collision. The car skidded and stopped just short of the cliff.

"What's happening?" Eva whispered.

Elly's face had gone white as a sheet. "Eva... back up. Now!"

But it was too late. Masked men surrounded the car. They had clubs in their hands. Their faces were covered with black ski masks, only their eyes visible.

Eva locked the doors, but one of the men punched the window.

"Get out, Rose's daughter!" he shouted.

"Get lost!" Eva shouted back. Her heart was pounding wildly.

Another man came to the front of the car and began hitting the window with his club. The window, which had held for a bit, finally shattered with a loud crash.

Elly screamed. Eva gripped the steering wheel, trying to hit the gas, but the men had blocked the car's path.

Just then, a shadow burst from the forest.

A wolf. Compared to the giant wolf she'd seen on the forest road, this one was somewhat smaller, its muscles taut, its fur black-gray, its eyes shining silver.

The masked men, as if this were a familiar danger, suddenly organized themselves and pulled back. There wasn't even a trace of fear on their faces.

Inside the car, Eva and Elly sat slumped in their seats, watching him with fearful gazes in shock.

The wolf stood there for a few more seconds. Its eyes locked onto Eva's. There was something in that gaze... It wasn't the warm feeling like in the wolf she'd seen last time. It was looking at her with an icy, chilling sensation.

Then, in a split second, it turned and disappeared into the forest.

Eva's hands were trembling. She couldn't breathe. Reality and fantasy had now become intertwined. Who were these people and why were they attacking her? Moreover, what was that wolf? Was it trying to protect her?

"Eva... Eva, are you okay?" Elly's voice came from far away.

"What... what was that?" Eva whispered. "Did... did you see it too?"

Elly said, "I saw it." Her eyes turned to the forest and she murmured, "You know what it was," she said quietly.

Eva quickly shook off the shock, jumped in the car, and they drove away.

Half an hour later, they were sitting in the warm living room of Elly's house. Elly's mother, a middle-aged woman with a kind face, had brought them tea.

"It's so wonderful to see you, Eva," the woman said with a warm smile. "Having you here brings me great joy. Your grandmother was a wonderful woman."

Eva nodded, feeling warmth inside. "Thank you. She loved you very much too."

The woman murmured, "We loved her very much too. I'm sorry for your loss, Eva."

Eva could only manage, "Thank you."

A few minutes later, the woman began to talk. They spoke of the past, the town, memories.

Then the woman, caught up in the energy of the conversation, said something it slipped out.

"Your mother made a terrible mistake but... your grandmother tried so hard to protect us."

Eva froze, her brows furrowing. She was trying to understand what she meant. "What do you mean?" she asked.

The woman suddenly fell silent, her face turning ashen. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. That was wrong."

With hurried steps, she returned to the kitchen.

Eva turned to Elly curiously. "What did your mother mean?"

Elly's face was shrouded in darkness. She averted her eyes from Eva.

"I'm sorry," Elly said quietly. "My mother was talking nonsense..."

"Elly!" Eva shouted. "What does this mean?"

But Elly didn't answer. She just lowered her head, her hands trembling. Finally she composed herself. "I'll tell you when the time comes, my friend. Please don't ask now," she murmured.

Until this time, Eva hadn't heard a single word from her grandmother about her parents' death. It was as if it were an event that needed to be kept secret from everyone. Now, from the fear in Elly's eyes, she understood that something big had happened.

Everything was about to change. Eva could feel it.

But was she ready?

As Eva left Elly's house, her mind was in chaos. Elly's mother knew something. Elly knew something too. But no one was talking.

It was expected that there would be a reason for the townspeople's hatred toward her family.

"Eva, wait!" Elly ran after her, grabbing Eva's arm.

Eva turned, her eyes holding both anger and a wounded expression. "What, Elly? What other secret do you want to keep from me?"

Elly swallowed hard, her eyes welling up. "I... I don't want to tell you. Because it will hurt. And you've already suffered so much."

"Then why did you start?" Eva's voice cracked. "Why did you tell me those tales?"

"Because you need to know!" Elly cried out desperately. Then she lowered her voice, looking around them. "But... I don't want to be the one to tell you. I have just one favor to ask."

Eva exhaled sharply in frustration and waited.

"Your grandmother must have had a small chest." Elly's voice trembled. "Do you remember? Wooden, small, old. Did she give it to you?"

Eva's breath caught. Memories of the funeral day flooded back.

Yes. She remembered.

Eva had taken the chest with her, but she hadn't been able to open it. She couldn't.

Because that chest was the last thing remaining of her grandmother. Opening it... it would be like truly saying goodbye to her grandmother. And Eva wasn't ready.

For days, that chest had sat on top of the cabinet. Eva looked at it every day, but couldn't bring herself to touch it.

"Yes," Eva said slowly. "I remember."

Elly reached out and grabbed Eva's hands, squeezing them tightly. "Open that chest, Eva. What's inside... will show you the truth. And whatever you find, whatever you learn..." She looked into her eyes. "If you need help facing what's there, I'm here. Okay?"

Eva swallowed. For the first time, she didn't put on her mask of strength. "I'm scared," she whispered.

"I know," Elly said softly. "But some truths cause pain. Others... set you free."

That night, Eva gripped the steering wheel with trembling hands. The mountain road was icy, but her mind was elsewhere. The chest.

When she finally arrived home, darkness had fallen. She rushed inside and lit the fireplace. As the flames came to life, Eva's eyes drifted to the cabinet above.

There it was. The small wooden chest.

For a long time, she just stood and stared. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest. Finally, she climbed onto a chair, took down the chest, and stepped back to the floor.

Its weight was surprisingly light. But in Eva's hands, it felt like it weighed tons.

She crouched in front of the fireplace. She placed the chest in her lap. She took a deep breath.

"Okay, Grandma," she whispered. "Let's see what you left me."

She unlocked it. The lid creaked open.

The first thing she saw was an old journal. Its leather binding was worn, its pages yellowed. Eva carefully opened it and froze.

The writing... wasn't familiar. An ancient language, perhaps Latin, perhaps something else. Symbols, drawings, diagrams. She didn't understand it, but she could feel something: this was no ordinary journal.

Beneath it were old books. In the same language. Notes and marks along the page margins.

Then strange tools. A small dagger, shining like silver but much lighter. Dried herbs, crystallized liquids in small bottles. And... gerbera flowers. Dried, but still retaining their color.

Eva's hands trembled. Grandma, why did you hide these?

Then at the very bottom, she saw something wrapped in red velvet fabric.

The moment she unwrapped the fabric, the room filled with light.

Her breath caught.

In the center lay a dazzlingly radiant medallion. But it was no ordinary medallion.

It was oval-shaped, its edges covered in intricate silver engravings. Runic symbols, wolf heads, moon and star motifs... But what made it truly captivating was the crystal section in its center.

Inside... there was a liquid. Amber-colored, phosphorescent, alive. When she gently shook the medallion, the liquid stirred inside, moving as if it were living.

It emitted light. A yellowish, warm light.

Eva stared as if hypnotized. She extended her finger and slowly touched the crystal.

Suddenly, lightning flashed through her mind and images began to flow.

Burning amber eyes, glowing in the darkness.

A massive wolf, howling beneath the moonlight.

Her grandmother's face, young, tears streaming down. "I will protect you. I promise."

And then... that voice. Deep, raspy, wounded:

"I will wait for you. Rose's daughter..."

Eva screamed and jerked backward. The medallion slipped from her hand and fell to the floor, but the light didn't go out. It still glowed, as if breathing, pulsing like a heartbeat.

She couldn't understand what she had just experienced. Eva was breathless. Her heart felt like it would burst from her chest. Her hands trembled. "This can't be real. It can't be!" she murmured. She clutched her head between her palms and huddled in the corner of the chair.

But what she had seen was so vivid... Those eyes. That wolf. Her grandmother.

She could feel it. It was all real.

Eva jumped up, went to the kitchen, and with trembling hands grabbed the wine bottle from the cabinet. She didn't search for a glass. She drank straight from the bottle.

The wine burned her throat, but she didn't care. She took another gulp. Then another.

She returned to the fireplace and collapsed to the floor. She held the bottle between her knees, leaned her head back, and stared at the ceiling.

"What happened, Grandma?" Her voice cracked. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "What did you go through? Did these people... treat you this way too?"

She took another gulp from the bottle. Wine and tears mingled.

"What happened to Mom and Dad?" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Why... why didn't you tell me any of this?"

And the most painful question:

"Why... did you leave? Why did you abandon me?"

These thoughts were the screams of the grief growing inside her.

Eva looked at the fireplace through her tears. The chest was still there. The medallion still glowed.

Slowly, she reached out. She picked up the medallion. This time she felt nothing. There was only that warm light, pulsing in her palm like a heartbeat.

"Did you hide this to protect me?" Eva whispered. "Or... were you trying to protect something else?"

But it didn't matter anymore. Grandma was gone. And Eva was alone.

With longing, almost desperately, she clung to the last thing remaining of her and placed the medallion around her neck.

The chain was cold, but the medallion was warm. It fell against her chest, settling just above her collarbone. It vibrated in rhythm with her heartbeat.

Eva gripped it tightly in her hand. Her tears had stopped now. Only exhaustion remained. A deep, bone-penetrating exhaustion.

She set the wine bottle aside. She curled up in the velvet chair in front of the fireplace. Her eyes closed.

"I miss you so much, Grandma," she murmured.

And she fell asleep.

About an hour later, the darkness of night had fully descended.

Eva was in a deep sleep, lying with the medallion on her chest. And then... it began.

The amber light began to pulse like a heartbeat. Like the beating of a heart.

Then faster, in a rhythm as if it were about to explode.

Suddenly, a small light spread. First it illuminated Eva's chest. Then her face. Then her entire body.

The room began to shimmer. The walls, ceiling, floor everything was covered in amber light.

The liquid inside the medallion began to spin wildly. Like a hurricane. Like a storm.

And then...

A tiny sound. A small crack appeared in the crystal. Suddenly, it spread like a spider's web.

Eva was still sleeping. She wasn't even aware.

The light grew brighter. It spilled out through the windows. The entire mountain house glowed like a lantern in the darkness.

And finally...

Silent but powerful. A shockwave radiated out from the room. Trees swayed. Snow rose from the ground. Animals fled.

The medallion blazed... And then stopped.

The light went out. The crystal had clouded over. The amber liquid inside had vanished. It was empty now.

Eva was still sleeping. Unaware of anything.

But outside...

Outside, something had changed.

That night, snow fell silently. The night was pitch black.

And then... the sound of bare feet on the veranda.

Male feet. Walking across the snow.

The feet were covered in dirt and mud. The nails were long, almost like claws. But they were human feet. Now.

The feet stepped onto the veranda. They moved forward with the creaking of wood. Slowly approaching the window.

Through the glass, Eva could be seen. She was sleeping in the chair, calm, peaceful. On her chest, the medallion now glowed faintly with a white light.

A hand reached out. Large, powerful, covered in scars. It touched the glass.

The glass fogged. Stained with warm breath.

Fingers slowly traced across the glass. As if wanting to touch. As if wanting to enter.

And then, a deep, hoarse voice whispered:

"Bound by blood, sealed by magic... Welcome, my mate. Welcome, Rose's daughter."

Eva woke in the early morning hours to sunlight and a pounding headache from sleeping awkwardly. She was disoriented, and the old velvet chair had left her aching everywhere. But she felt something strange.

She opened her eyes and looked around carefully, but what she truly perceived wasn't a sight. It was a scent. Gerbera flowers and the aroma of coffee spread throughout the house. Colombian extra roast this was her coffee.

She suddenly stood up, but then noticed another oddity. The blanket that had been draped over her fell to the floor with her abrupt movement.

But she hadn't covered herself last night! In fact, this blanket had been in the bedroom she hadn't brought it down.

Then she startled in fear and called out toward the rooms. "Hello? Is someone there?" But there was no answer.

She moved toward the kitchen and saw fresh gerbera flowers in a vase. And in the coffee pot, a beautifully brewed coffee waited for her, ready.

If she hadn't seen the flowers, she might have thought Elly had come early. After last night's tension, she would have worried about her, Eva thought. But Elly had said these flowers were very difficult to gather. Besides, this wasn't her style.

Then she clutched her head between her palms and tore at her hair in frustration. "Nothing is normal in this fucking cursed town! I can't even be surprised anymore!" she shouted. She remembered her conversation with Elly from the other day, did she really have an elderly stalker? Even the thought unnerved her.

Finally, she gave up on all the madness, poured the coffee into a mug, and tasted it. A huge smile spread across her face. She thought she was beginning to lose her mind.

"Well, at least he makes good coffee," she muttered.

Shortly after, she thought she should light the fireplace and take a shower. She grabbed her coat and pulled on her boots. The moment she stepped outside, her eyes caught on footprints in the snow. Now she was truly starting to get scared. But driven by curiosity about what would come of this, she followed the footprints on the ground. She traced them step by step to the beginning of the forest path, where the tracks suddenly ended and vanished. Did this guy fly away? she wondered. Suddenly she raised her head and collided with a large, solid body. When she opened her eyes, she saw Joe standing before her, his lips curved in a sly smile.

"You'd make a good hunting dog. You follow tracks well," he growled.

Eva was furious. She instantly raised her hand and swung to slap him, but Joe caught her wrist with quick reflexes. "Don't. You'll hurt yourself."

Eva narrowed her eyes and shouted with an angry glare. "Let go of my wrist! And explain how you entered my house without permission!"

Joe raised his eyebrows, looking at her with curious interest. From his expression, Eva almost believed he wasn't the one who had entered the house. But logic wouldn't allow it-there could be no other explanation.

Joe said, "Go inside."

"I'm not going to ask you what to do. Answer my question!"

"I didn't enter your house, Eva! Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. Now go inside."

She understood the "I didn't enter" explanation, but what kind of explanation was "even if I wanted to, I couldn't"?

"If I asked why you can't enter the house, you wouldn't answer, would you?" she asked.

Joe shook his head with a roguish smile, as if saying "no."

Eva was truly angry now. She quickly turned around. "You and your secrets can go to hell!" she shouted and took several steps toward her house.

But she couldn't contain her anger. She suddenly spun around, pointed her finger, and yelled, "I'm going to the police! Stay out of my house!" But no one remained there. "Great! He has teleportation powers! Perfect!" she said, entering the woodshed to grab logs and carry them inside.

As she lit the fireplace, she noticed the medallion swinging in front of her. The liquid inside the medallion that had glowed brilliantly amber last night had disappeared. At that moment, she screamed out the scenario that was beginning to make sense in her mind.

"Fuck! I released a ghost!"

Her voice carried all the way to the forest. And hearing this, there was a bestial, rasping growl. As if... laughing.

Eva took a shower, then poured herself another mug of the remaining coffee. She began to examine what she'd taken from the chest yesterday. Words. Symbols.

"The wolf's woman," she murmured. She didn't understand the meaning. She pulled out her phone and began searching for the symbols. But she found nothing on the internet. Finally giving up, she rested her head against the chair.

"I'm not the bookworm here. Looks like I need to go to Elly."

She quickly got ready and went to Elly's, telling her everything that had happened last night. Elly suddenly screamed and began pacing around the house. She was stomping her feet like a child. Laughing with delight.

Eva crossed her arms over her chest with a sullen expression. "You're all medical cases! All of you! What am I even doing here!" she grumbled.

Elly came over shortly after with excitement, bringing a dusty book. The symbol on the cover caught Eva's attention. It looked like an arrow embedded in a large letter L. She touched the raised design with her hand.

But Elly was excited. She pushed Eva's hand aside and showed her. "Did the light from the necklace look like this?" she asked. The picture showed orange lights streaming in horizontal bands.

"Yes, it was exactly like that, like you'd lit a lantern," Eva replied.

"I can't believe it. It's a spirit!" Elly clapped her hands.

Eva took a deep breath. "I knew it. I released a ghost, didn't I? Please tell me you have a ghost hunter team in this town. Because I made a promise to my grandmother! I'm going to celebrate this Christmas in that house!"

Elly laughed. "This isn't a normal spirit! It's an ancient spirit." She flipped through the pages. "Look, there are many legends about this around the world. The Turks' wolf ancestors, the female wolf Asena! The male great protector Bozkurt! For the Tatars, the great wolf Börü! For the Mongols, Borte Çino! And for Native Americans, a spiritual guardian." She showed her. Eva stared, mesmerized, breathless.

Eva tried to stay calm. "Okay, so I summoned the ancient wolf of the witches from your legend?"

Elly nodded happily. "I think so."

Eva rolled her eyes. "Elly! Those legends also have virgin sacrifices, girls eaten alive, and people whose blood is drained! How do you know this thing is friendly?"

"I know," she said.

"Because he's your mate."

Eva's eyes flew wide open. She was in shock. "Okay, you've completely lost it!" she said, standing up and reaching for her coat. She wanted to get away from here as soon as possible.

Just as she headed for the door, Elly grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

Eva turned angrily and shouted, "Enough of this crazy nonsense! I'm single! I haven't married anyone! I don't intend to!"

"Wait, wait!" Elly insisted. "We can see this."

Eva suddenly stopped. She raised an eyebrow, looking at her curiously.

"Bare your chest. If the seal has begun to form, he has set foot on earth," Elly said.

Eva's shoulders suddenly dropped. "And here I was hoping you'd say something logical. How stupid of me," she said and headed for the door.

Elly shouted, "Can you explain everything that's happened so far, Eva! If you can explain it, then go. But if you can't, check just once, and if it's real, then I'll tell you all the truths!"

Eva looked at her with hopeless eyes, pulled down her blouse, and fixed her gaze on Elly's eyes. She stared at her angrily.

Elly's face took on a mesmerized expression. She was staring directly at Eva's chest.

Eva suddenly became flustered and turned her eyes to herself. She saw a hazy circular mark on her chest. Barely there, faint purple veins forming a mark that was between existing and not existing, but there it was, just sitting there...