1. The Beginning

Rhea

Nightmares. What are they made of? I used to ask myself that. Are they just scattered fragments of our fears stitched together by sleep? Or... are they warnings? I never found answers. Not until I came back to Ashwood.

The road to this town was just like I remembered—crooked, fog-choked, whispering. Trees leaned in like old men trading secrets. Nothing had changed… except me. And her. Elara.

I gripped the steering wheel tighter, my knuckles becoming white. The signboard for Ashwood passed in a blur, its wood chipped and rotting. Welcome to Ashwood. Home is where the heart is. The words felt like a mockery.

Elara’s cottage stood at the edge of the woods, surrounded by silence and shadows. I had inherited the place, apparently. She had no will, no instructions. Just vanished from the world one night and left behind questions—and blood.

I stepped inside. The air was stale with dust and lavender. Her smell. I stood in the doorway for a moment, bags at my feet, heart pounding. “Home,” I whispered. The word didn’t fit.

There were no pictures of us here. No smiling frames. Just thick bookshelves, empty teacups, scattered papers. It looked like someone had left in a hurry… or expected to return.

And in the middle of the living room table sat a journal. Black leather. Unlabeled. I hesitated before picking it up. My fingers brushed the cover, and I felt a twinge—like static—or maybe something deeper. I opened the first page.

“They follow me at night. Wolves, eyes glowing like fire. I hear them breathing behind the trees. I think they know what I am.”

– Elara C.

I froze. Wolves? I flipped through more pages. Symbols. Sketches. Half-spells. Moon charts. One line was circled over and over: "The Crimson blood is not a curse. It's a key."

I closed the journal and pushed it away.

“Okay, Elara,” I muttered, forcing a laugh. “Creepy journal, weird poems, dead girl in the woods. What the hell were you into?” The answer wouldn’t come that night. But something else did.

That first dream felt… wrong.

I stood in the forest, barefoot, the ground cold and wet. The trees were endless silhouettes. Wind howled through them, carrying whispers I couldn’t understand. “Elara?” I called. My voice echoed too loudly. I saw her. Up ahead. Running.

“Elara!” I screamed again, chasing her.

Branches clawed at my arms as I sprinted through the trees. She didn’t turn. Her white dress shimmered between trunks like a ghost. Then she stopped. Slowly, she turned.

“Elara!” I said again, reaching her—only to see the look in her eyes. Wide. Terrified. Her mouth moved but no sound came out.

“Behind you,” I whispered.

They came from the darkness. Four wolves, massive, unnatural. Their eyes gleamed yellow. Their growls vibrated through the ground. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. They lunged.

“Elara!”

She screamed as they tore into her. Blood sprayed across the snow-dusted ground. I ran. Fell beside her. Tried to push the beasts away. But they weren’t real—not in the way animals are. Their bodies shimmered. Half-shadow. Half-smoke.

And then… silence. The wolves scattered into the trees. A growl shattered the stillness. Low. Deep. Ancient. I looked up. On the edge of a fog-drenched ridge stood something… else.

A wolf—if you could still call it that. Twice the size of the others. Fur like ink. Eyes like hellfire.

It stood still, watching me. I felt something pour into me. Cold, like winter, crawling through bone. The forest bowed under its weight. It opened its mouth and let out a howl so loud I dropped to my knees. And then—

I woke up.

My heart felt like it had been running for hours. My shirt stuck to my skin. I stumbled to the bathroom and splashed water on my face.

“Elara,” I whispered to the mirror. “What the hell did you drag me into?” I didn’t notice the tiny scratch on my neck until hours later. It looked like a claw mark. A dream… shouldn’t leave scars.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand. A notification from an unknown number:

“Welcome home, Rhea.”

I stared at the screen for a moment. The chill that crept up my spine wasn’t from the cold. I tossed the phone aside.

I couldn’t sleep after that dream. Not again.

I wandered back into the living room and sat by the window, watching the fog roll across the woods. The journal still sat on the table like it was watching me. I reached out and opened it again, flipping toward the middle this time.

One page was burned at the edges. The writing was hurried.

“The seal is weak. I feel it. The dreams aren’t dreams. They’re warnings. He’s waking. The Red-Eyed One waits.”

My hands trembled.

“The Red-Eyed One…”

I thought of the wolf. That thing on the ridge. Suddenly, the wind outside howled, and something slammed against the window. I jumped. Heart racing. I peeked out. Nothing. But I could’ve sworn… for a second… I saw eyes.

Not glowing. Just… there. Watching.

I must’ve fallen asleep on the couch because the next time I opened my eyes, the sun was bleeding through the trees. I stretched, head pounding. Outside, the air was crisp, and a thin frost kissed the ground. My breath fogged up the glass. For a moment, everything was still.

Then I noticed something. Footprints. Not mine. They led from the woods straight to my door—and stopped. I opened the door slowly, expecting to find someone. A letter. A threat. A joke. Nothing.

Just the fading print of something large. Heavy. Was that a wolf?

Too big. And too direct. It wasn’t wandering. It came to my door. It knew where I lived. A dream… shouldn’t leave scars.

But what about footprints?

That afternoon, I tried to forget. I unpacked. I organized. I cleaned. Mundane things, human things. But Elara’s journal pulled me back in like gravity.

One passage stuck with me all day.

“The Draven heir still watches the borders. I saw him yesterday beneath the ridge. He’s grown colder. But he knows the pact. He must.”

The Dravens. I remembered the name. Old money. Private. Mysterious. They owned half the land around Ashwood, including the ridge I saw in the dream.

“Elara,” I whispered. “What the hell did you know?” The wind outside picked up again. I looked toward the woods. Somewhere in the shadows, I swear I heard howling. But not the kind you’d find in nature. No, this howl was something else and it sent shivers down my spine. .

And I felt… for the first time… it was calling for me.