The morning light came into Elara's bedroom through the curtains. It made shadows on the floor. Elara woke up suddenly. Her body hurt a lot. It felt like she had been running all night.

She remembered what happened that night. It was all very painful. She saw eyes that glowed in the mirror. She heard a howl. It sounded like it came from inside her body.

Elara sat up in bed. She rubbed her head. She tried to tell herself it was a bad dream. Maybe it was because she drank too much coffee. Maybe it was because she read journals before she went to sleep. She wanted to believe it was a dream.

The scratches on her arms told a story. These were scratches, they were red and looked like she had scratched herself. She was. She got dressed quickly. Then she went downstairs. She wanted to forget the things that happened by keeping herself busy with work. The kitchen was the same as she had left it.. The back door was not closed all the way. There was mud on the tiles. It looked like someone had walked in from outside. Had she gone outside. Then come back in? She did not usually forget things. Have blackouts. This was not like her.

At the Gazette Harlan put a pile of reports on her desk. He said "We have information about the attacks. This time the person who was hurt was a hiker. They found this hiker near the place where you live."

Elara's stomach did a twist. "Is it near my house?"

The Sheriff wants to keep this quiet. I need to get the information. The Sheriff is trying to keep it under wraps. I have to get the details from somewhere. I really want to know what the Sheriff is hiding so I will try to find out what is going on with the Sheriff.

She spent the day talking to people who saw things trying to figure out what happened. The hiker was found all torn up with some parts missing like something had eaten them. People in town were talking about luck and curses but nobody really knew what to believe. By the time it got dark she was really tired. She wanted to know more so she went to see Elder Miriam at her cabin. Maya had told her that Elder Miriam knows all the stories about the town.

The way to Miriam's place was all grown up with vines and stuff they were over the path.

Miriam's cabin was made of logs. It had a lot of dreamcatchers and carved things on it.

When I got to the door Miriam answered it she had a face with a lot of wrinkles and her hair was silver her eyes were really sharp, like a hawks eyes Miriam's eyes were very sharp.

The woman said "You are the Voss girl." She did not ask this. She said "Come in. I have been expecting the Voss girl."

Inside the house the air was really thick, with the smell of herbs and incense. Miriam was making tea. She was doing it very slowly and carefully. She said "Your parents came to me one time. They wanted to talk about the family problem."

Elara leaned forward. "What is this affliction thing? I was reading these journals. They talked about blood calls. What does that even mean?"

Miriam sighed. "The lunar curse is a problem. It gets passed down from family to family from a time ago. When the moon is full the beast inside of you wakes up. You get strong and fast. The lunar curse takes something away from you: control over what you do. The lunar curse is not easy to deal with."

Elara laughed in a way. She said "Werewolves are things you read about in stories, for kids. That is not real."

Miriam looked at me with a face. She said that fairy tales are based on things that happened. Miriam told me that my parents tried to fight against something. The forest took them away.

The words really hit Elara hard. She remembered what happened with the "accident". Their car was totally smashed up and the bodies were nowhere to be found. Elara thought about it. Then she asked "You think the people in the accident... Actually changed into something else?"

This is what it is about. A pack leader really wanted to have their territory. Darius Kane is the one who's in charge. Darius Kane is the alpha now. Darius Kane rules the shadows.

Elara's mind was totally spinning. This was completely crazy. She could not forget the pain she felt last night and those eyes. She really needed to know so she asked "How do I stop the pain and the eyes?"

You do not stop trying to deal with this feeling. You learn to live with it. Herbs can make the feeling less strong and rituals can be helpful.. If you try to ignore the feeling, for too long the feeling will take over your life. Herbs and rituals can only do much to help you and you have to be careful not to let the feeling consume the herbs and the rituals and you and your life and everything that herbs and rituals are supposed to help with which is you.

Elara was leaving with a pouch of dried leaves that she was going to use to make tea. She was feeling really unsure. I'm a little scared. When she was driving home her phone started ringing. It was Maya. Maya wanted Elara to go out and have some drinks with her. The message on the phone said "I need to unwind" and Elara thought about the dried leaves, for tea that she had with her.

Elara was at The Howling Wolf, a cool bar that was not very bright. She thought it was funny that it was called The Howling Wolf. Elara and her friend Maya were hanging out drinking beer and talking. Maya is a good friend. She is always happy and honest. As the night went on Elara saw a man she did not know. The man was really tall. I had big shoulders. He had hair and really blue eyes. The man was sitting by himself drinking whiskey. He seemed like someone important like people should notice him. Elara noticed The Howling Wolf was getting louder. She kept looking at the man. The man at The Howling Wolf was interesting, Elara thought.

"Who is that?" Elara asked.

Maya looked over. She said the new guy is named . He is renting the Miller cabin. Maya thinks that Thorne says he is a photographer. Maya believes that Thorne seems like a really quiet and mysterious person.

Thorne's eyes met Elara's eyes. It was like a shock to her body. It did not feel like fear, it felt like something was buzzing inside her. She turned her head away. Tried to focus on Maya but now her senses were really sharp. She could hear Thorne's heartbeat all the way from across the room. She could smell the smell of Thornes cologne mixed with the smell of earth.

Later as they were leaving Thorne came up to the reporter. "You are the reporter who is asking about the attacks."

Elara nodded slowly and cautiously. ". Who are you?"

Thorne Blackwood. I think I have some information that you need to know. We should meet up tomorrow at the edge of the forest.

Before she could say anything he just disappeared into the night. Maya gave her a push. "This guy is really mysterious is he not? You need to be careful, around him Maya said to her, referring to the man.

Elara made Miriam's tea. The tea was bitter. It helped calm Elara's nerves. As midnight got close the moon looked really big again. Elara started to feel pain. It began in her joints like an ache.. The pain got worse and worse until it was really bad. Elara tried to fight it and she held onto the counter. Everything got fuzzy. Her hands even looked weird like they were getting longer. Elara was still holding onto the counter. The pain from her joints was getting to her and her vision of the tea and everything else was blurry. The pain was bad, the moon was big. Elara was struggling, drinking Miriam's tea was not helping her that much now.

No she thought, this cannot be real.

The change happened fast. Her fur started to grow. Her muscles got bigger. A loud growl came out of her mouth. When she was in wolf form everything seemed real. The colors were super bright. The smells were really strong. She ran out of the door and into the woods feeling really free. The freedom of being a wolf was a feeling that was flowing through her veins. She was a wolf. She loved the feeling of freedom that came with it.

Time just went by fast and everything felt great: I was running after rabbits. Yelling at the stars.. Then I smelled something: a person, someone I knew. Thorne was standing in the trees with a crossbow, in his hands.

Her eyes locked with his and her wolf knew that this person was a threat. The man fired his gun and the bullet just barely touched her side.

Pain snapped her back. Then the rage took over the pain. The woman felt her body get ready to fight. She lunged at them with her teeth bared, ready to strike at the people who hurt her. The rage made her want to hurt them.

And in that moment, a deeper howl answered from the depths, drawing closer.

The bolt hurt Elara like fire. Elara did not feel it that much because Elara was running towards Thorne really fast in her wolf form. Thorne's face was very serious, his eyes were wide open because he knew what was happening. At the last second Thorne moved out of the way and Elara's claws scratched the tree instead of Thorne. The loud howl of the wolf was heard again; it was closer now. It felt like the ground was shaking with a warning. Elara and Thorne were in a bad situation because of the wolf.

Elara stopped fast, her ears standing up. She felt like something was wrong. Thorne jumped up. Put more bullets in his gun. He said "Wait I know what you are. Please do not make me do this to you."

His voice cut through the fog the sound of words hitting her animal instincts. She felt really confused. Part of her wanted to attack him. Another part wanted to run away. The tea she drank still had an effect on her. It made her anger not so sharp so she could think a bit. The tea's effects made it possible for her to have some control over the beast that was her.

A big gray wolf came out of the dark. This wolf had eyes and its fur was standing up. I was angry. It growled at Thorne. It did not even look at Elara. Thorne pointed his weapon. Fired. This time he did not miss. The bolt hit the wolf's shoulder. It made a hissing sound when it touched the wolf's fur. The wolf let out a cry and ran back, into the bushes. The wolf was. It went away. Thorne had shot the wolf with a bolt.

Thorne turned to Elara. He said to her "You need to run now. That person is a scout for Darius. We have to get out of here because that scout works for Darius."

The name brought back something Miriam said.. The pain in her body was still really bad and the rush of energy was going away. The hurt made her go back to being human and when she did her body shook over. She fell down naked and cold.

Thorne looked away, throwing his jacket over her. "Let us go now before it comes back with its friends."

He helped her to his truck that was hidden nearby. Then he drove to his cabin. The cabin was really simple inside. There were maps on the walls, weapons in cases and books about folklore. Thorne put a bandage on her cut. His touch was gentle even though you could feel the tension between them. Thorne was being very careful with her. That was nice of him.

"Who are you really?" Elara asked, she wrapped herself in a blanket. She wanted to know the truth about the person in front of her. Elara was very curious about this person so she asked again "What is it that you do and who is this person that I am talking to? I mean who are you really?"

Hunter. My family was killed by werewolves. That is a thing that the werewolves did to my family. I have been tracking the werewolves ever since they killed my family.. You are different from the other werewolves. You seem new to all of this.

She told him about when she woke up and the journals and Miriam. Thorne listened to what she had to say. His face became softer. He said "Darius is getting more powerful. The fact that you come from this bloodline is a threat to Darius. So Darius is getting rid of anyone who's not completely loyal to him the loose ends and that includes people, like you from your bloodline."

"Why help me?"

I do not kill people. That is not what I do.. You remind me of someone I know.

The conversation between Thorne and Elara went on and on until the sun started coming up. Thorne told Elara about his past. He talked about something bad that happened to him when he was a kid. He said he wanted to get at the people who hurt him.

Elara felt drawn to Thorne. She liked the way he smelled now. It made her feel safe.. Trusting someone is not easy. Trust is a fragile thing. Trust in Thorne was fragile.

In the morning she went home and her mind was all over the place. When she got to work her boss Harlan told her that he really liked the report she did but she did not tell him about the supernatural things that happened. Then Maya called her. She was really worried about what happened the night before. Maya said to her "You left early, is everything okay?"

"Fine, " Elara said, which was not true. "I am just really tired, " Elara said to that person. Elara was not being honest, about how she was feeling she was just saying that she was tired.

She went back to the places where the attacks happened. She found some fur. Then she took the fur to her garage. She looked at it really closely with a microscope she had from when she was in college. The fur was pretty rough like the fur, from a wolf. It was bigger.

That afternoon Miriam called her over. She said to her "The scout reported back to us. Darius knows about Miriam's friend now that Darius knows about her."

"How?"

The pack can tell when there is someone around. You really need to learn how to do things. The pack is talking about the time when you change into a wolf so you have to learn how to control that change.

They spent hours in the glade doing breathing exercises and visualizing chains on the beast. Elara was able to manage a shift of the beast, her claws extending without a full change into the beast. This was progress with the beast. It was really exhausting, for Elara and the beast.

The evening. Thorne was at her door. She said "I found something that I think is important. It is a map that shows the territories of the packs."

They looked at it together, their fingers touching. They got a lot of ideas. He moved in close to her. "We could. Check it out. We could find out what the other person is bad at."

Elara was tempted so she agreed to go with it. They went for a hike when the sun was setting trying to be quiet and sneaky. The forest was full of noises like owls making loud hooting sounds and leaves making rustling noises. When they got close to a clearing they. Watched as wolves came together and these wolves were talking to each other in human form about their hunting plans.

Darius stood in the center. He was really tall and he looked very strong and his voice was extremely loud. "The Voss heir is still alive. We need to catch her. The power of the Voss heir will belong to me."

Elara's blood ran cold. Thorne grabbed her arm tightly. He said to her "We have to go, now."

Something happened when she took a step. A twig snapped under her foot. People turned around their heads moving towards them. Everyone's eyes locked on the girl and her companion staring at them.

Darius yelled out loud "Intruders are here!"

The wolves. They were charging at them. Thorne fired his bolts. He was able to take down one of the wolves. Elara felt this pull and she shifted partially so she could fight them. Her claws were slashing at the wolves as she tried to defend herself. The wolves were still coming at them. Elara was ready to keep fighting.

They ran fast through the trees. Their hearts were beating fast. Thorne got it. Stumbled. Elara pulled Thorne. She felt a lot of strength. She kept pulling Thorne through the trees. Thorne and Elara just had to keep running.

They got to his truck. Speeded away but the howls followed them. The sound of the howls was still loud. His truck was going fast. The howls from whatever was, behind them kept coming.

At the cabin Thorne made a face. Said he was really hurt. "This silver poison is very bad."

Elara was really scared. She said "What am I supposed to do with the situation that Elara is in?"

"Antidote in my bag. But hurry."

As she gave it to him Darius's voice was in her mind saying "You can not hide forever heir." She thought about what Darius said. Darius's words were still, in her mind she remembered Darius saying "You can not hide forever heir."

And outside, shadows moved, circling the cabin.

Thorne's breathing was really rough as Elara struggled to open the antidote bottle. Her hands were shaking a lot because of the adrenaline. The wooden walls of the cabin felt too weak to keep out the night. It sounded like the howls were getting closer and closer like a rope getting tighter and tighter. Elara put the serum into Thorne's arm. Waited. She saw the color coming back, to Thorne's face. It was happening very slowly.

That was really close he said to himself sitting up slowly. I want to say thanks to the person who helped me. The person who saved me from that situation deserves a big thanks, from me so thanks.

Do not thank me yet. The people we are talking about are there.

Elara looked through an opening, in the shutters. She saw some shapes moving around outside. There were wolves and humans. Darius's pack was getting closer. Elara's heart was beating fast. She was still partly changed and her nails were sharp. Her senses were very sharp too. The wolves and humans Darius's pack were moving in on her.

Thorne picked up his crossbow. Said "We can either fight or we can run away. The decision is yours we fight or we flee it is up to you to decide what we do with the crossbow."

The woman said "Fight" and it surprised her. The beast inside of her agreed with this and was really eager for a fight. The beast inside the woman was very eager.

People blocked the doors. Set up traps using silver wire from Thorne's collection of weapons. The first attack happened fast. A wolf broke through a window. Its jaws were snapping wildly. Thorne shot the wolf while it was still in the air and the wolf's body hit the floor with a thud. Thorne's silver wire traps were ready for the attack, from the wolves.

More people came, banging on the door. Elara moved completely using the power and attacking the people who were hurting her with a lot of anger that she did not know she had. Blood went everywhere. There were loud angry noises in the air. Elara was really fighting the assailants with the power. She was very fierce. The power was making Elara strong. She was tearing into the assailants.

Darius himself walked in last looking like a person with a smile, on his face. "This is a cool heir.. The thing is, you do not know what you are doing."

The man turned into a black wolf and jumped at Elara.. The huge black wolf fought, rolling around in a big mess of fur and teeth. Thorne helped by shooting bolts from the side. The huge black wolf and Elara were still fighting. Thorne kept shooting bolts to help. The huge black wolf was very strong.

Elara did well using the things Miriam taught her but Darius was really strong. He managed to pin her down. Then his teeth barely touched her neck. Elara was in a spot because Darius was stronger than her.

Then something unexpected happened. Maya burst into the room holding a shotgun. She yelled "Get off her!"

She fired her gun and the pellets hit Darius's side. Darius let out a yelp and he started to retreat. The pellets really hurt Darius.

Elara said "How did you...?". Then she gasped. She shifted back looking really surprised.

"Followed you. Friend intuition."

The pack was really struggling without their alpha. They ran away into the night. Darius's mean parting snarl made it clear that the pack would be back. Darius's snarl promised that Darius and the pack would return.

The cabin was safe now so they took care of their injuries. Maya was really upset. She was not going to give up. Maya said "So werewolves are real. That is really scary. Also kind of amazing."

Elara told them everything. They felt really thankful. Thorne was. A gentle smile appeared on his face, which was usually very serious.

Dawn. It was time to clean up. People burned the bodies to get rid of the evidence. Elara's hands were shaking badly when she thought about what was happening. She said to herself "This is what my life is now?"

Thorne nodded. "You have got people with you, the people who care about Thorne and what Thorne is doing and that is important to Thorne."

Later at Miriam's place they talked about what happened. Miriam said "Darius will not stop doing what he is doing. You need to find people who will help Darius's opponents, people who will be on your side, against Darius."

Miriam thought it would be an idea to talk to the wolves in the pack who do not like the way things are being done. Elara said she thought this was an idea too but she was really scared. Miriam and Elara were thinking about the dissenters in the pack, the wolves who're unhappy with the rule of the pack. The pack has wolves who do not like the way Miriam and the others are being led.

That night Elara was by herself. She had a dream about her parents. In the dream they were walking under the light of the moons. They were happy. This was, before the curse that would eventually kill them. When Elara woke up she found a note that someone had slipped under her door. The note said "Meet at the ruins. Come alone.. A friend." Elara was supposed to go to the ruins by herself.

She was really curious so she went into the forest. The mist in the forest covered her path. The old ruins were made of stones. These stones had pictures of wolves carved into them. The stones had lots of wolf motifs on them, which was pretty interesting. The forest and the ruins and the wolf motifs all seemed to go.

Jax was waiting. He is Darius's beta, a guy with a lot of scars. He said "I am not here to fight you Darius is really mad at you. Darius wants you to be dead or Darius wants you to be bred.

Elara tensed up. She said "Why are you telling me this?"

I need help with something personal. This man killed my sister because she stood up to him. I want him to pay for what he did to my sister. I am asking for your help to make sure he does not hurt anyone, like my sister. I really need your help to take him down and get justice for my sister.

The alliance was not set in stone; they had just started making plans.. As they sat there talking they heard a strange rustling sound. The alliance was still on their minds. They wondered what this noise could be. The rustling sounded like it was coming from close by.

An ambush happened. Wolves came out. Jax was fighting right beside her. She was fighting these wolves and Jax was fighting them too. The wolves were a problem and Jax was helping her to deal with the wolves.

They got away in time but the bad people caught Jax.

Home Thorne waited and he was really worried. He wanted to know what happened to the people he cared about. Thorne kept thinking about what happened.

She told him that she really needed him. Their hug became a kiss. She and he had a need for each other. Their lips. They kissed desperately. The kiss was full of passion and needed the kind that the woman and the man had for each other.

A phone call came in. It was Miriam. She sounded really urgent. Miriam said "Darius has Jax. They are going to execute Jax at dawn.. Then Darius is coming for you next."

As the sun rose, a howl challenged from the woods.