Novels by Dudrendal

The sight stopped Lauren in her tracks.The room was massive, its walls lined with industrial shelves and crates. But it wasn’t the size or the clutter that made her freeze.It was the wolves. Dozens of them, filling the space, their eyes glowing with an unnatural red light. Each one snarled and snapped, their lips pulled back to reveal razor-sharp teeth. Lauren had forgotten just how terrified she was of these animals. She'd never seen so many of her father’s creations in one place before. These weren’t ordinary wolves. They were rabid, their movements jerky and their stares too focused.“They’re waiting for something,” Aiden muttered under his breath, stepping slightly in front of her. Lauren’s throat was dry. “Yeah,” she whispered. “A signal from my father to attack us.”The wolves didn’t attack, but their growls deepened as another sound entered the room: a door creaking open. Lauren and Aiden turned sharply toward it.From a side entrance, Dr. Makovsky stepped into view, wipin

"Wait!"Lauren stopped suddenly in front of a small building that was a bar. The bar in question was different. Its windows were dark, and the sign above the door was faded and cracked, barely legible in the faint glow of a streetlamp.“Aiden,” she whispered, tugging his arm. “Circle back.”He frowned but followed her lead, doubling back until they stood in front of the bar. Lauren pressed her face against the glass, squinting to get a better look inside.There was only one person inside, a lone barman. He was wiping down a glass, his round face glistening with sweat under the dim lights. The place was empty. No patrons, no music, not even a hint of life. “This doesn’t feel right,” Lauren muttered.Aiden glanced at her. “It’s Perkins. Nothing here feels right.”Lauren ignored him. How could this bar be empty when the rest of the town was practically bursting at the seams with music and alcohol? It made no sense.“I’m going in,” she said abruptly, already placing her hand on the door.

Running as a wolf was exhilarating. The forest blurred past Lauren, trees and shadows twisting together into a single dark ribbon. She felt the earth under her paws, the wind streaking through her fur, the thundering of her pack all around her. It had been so long since she last did something like this, and for a few brief, wild moments, it was easy to forget why they were running in the first place.Eric.Aiden ran beside her, his sleek black wolf larger and faster than the others. His golden eyes flicked toward her, and for a split second, Lauren thought she saw something in them. Determination, maybe. Or worry. Whatever it was, it pushed her to run harder.Soon the edge of the forest came into view. Perkins was never much to look at. It was a grimy little town with cracked pavement and neon signs that flickered like they were running on borrowed time.Lauren shifted back into her human form first, and walked around to thaw herself out. She wiggled her fingers that were stiff from t

Lauren stepped outside, frowning when she saw Beth and her mother, Katherine, hovering near the doorway, clearly listening in. She folded her arms and asked, “What exactly are you two doing out here?”Beth and Katherine exchanged a sheepish look. “We were…just curious,” Katherine admitted, glancing away.Beth nodded, her voice quieter as she added, “We wanted to know what was going on. It sounded…serious.”Before Lauren could respond, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see Mike emerging from the room, looking more relaxed than he had a moment ago. Katherine noticed him as well and asked, “Is everything okay now?”Mike nodded. “It’s fine for now, but we need to focus on stopping Dr. Makovsky for good.”Lauren’s stomach tightened. Just the mention of that name was enough to make her blood boil. But before she could reply, she heard something—a series of voices and footsteps coming from outside the house. Her heart jumped, and without a word, she moved quickly toward the front

Mike sat in silence for minutes, while Lauren waited. His face was shadowed by more than exhaustion; it was weighed down by something that couldn’t be spoken aloud. She’d been around him long enough to know his moods, but this was different. This was heavy and dark. “So, you found him,” she prompted. She tried to keep her voice steady, almost afraid of setting him off. "Did he...did Scott recognize you?"Mike didn’t respond at first. His hands clenched together on the table, knuckles white. “He wasn’t...he wasn’t Scott anymore.”Lauren bit her lip, not sure of what to say. She knew what he was hinting at but was terrified to hear it. “Mike… are you saying he was—?”“Rabid,” he finished, voice cold, clipped. “I went there to ask him for help, and I found... a monster. A wolf that wanted nothing but to tear me apart. And the worst part? I could see him—Scott. My friend. My best friend… just trapped, like a ghost, in those cursed red eyes.”Lauren reached for him, her fingers hovering n

Lauren paced in Beth's living room, her footsteps echoing off the walls as she wrung her hands. She kept glancing between the clock and the front door. "Lauren, this room is too small for your pacing." Beth groaned. "You're making me sick just looking at you.""They should be back by now," Lauren muttered aloud, then turned to Beth. "Right? They should be back by now!"Her mother, seated on the couch beside Beth, gave her a comforting look, but it did little to ease Lauren's anxiety. "Maybe they're just taking time to rally the wolves. Things like this take time, Lauren," her mother said softly, though Lauren could tell she was concerned as well.Lauren scoffed and walked the length of the living room again. "For them to be taking this long, something must've gone wrong," she replied, glancing down at her wristwatch. The hands pointed to nine p.m., and she felt the knot of dread tightening in her stomach. Every minute that ticked by felt like a countdown she couldn't control.Without