The Night Bound Pact

ests and eyes that glowed from the shadows. When she woke the next morning, her first thought was of Alec

on her artwork. Her hands moved across the canvas, capturing the morning sunlight streaming through the trees. But

rom her imagination. Dunford was a small town, but she'd barely explored it. She grabbed

miles, but there was a watchfulness to their expressions, as if they, too, felt something amiss. It

as thick with the scent of old paper and polished wood, comforting and nostalgic. She found a cozy nook by the window, opened her sketchbook, and l

er man standing nearby, studying her sketch with a frown. When she

you there," she said, her voi

ogies for startling you. Name's Harold," he said, extendi

osity piqued. "Nice to meet y

drifting back to her sketch. "That's som

med, but its eyes were sharp and menacing, capturing that strange blend of wolf and human she'd imagined

moment, as if weighing whether or not to say more. Finally, he lowered his voice. "Stra

animal attacks. Sarah at the grocery sto

ople around here know better than to wander too far into the woods these days. Thos

"What do you

ning. "There's been talk about wolves in the area. Not your usual kind, though.

run down her spine

mart, almost like they know when people are watching. And sometimes..." He

her sketchbook. "You don't

ng enough to know that sometimes there are things out there that don't fit

gh the quiet streets, her mind buzzing with questions. She couldn't shake th

-

visions of shadowy figures prowling the woods. She found herself thinking of Alec, wondering if he'd see

eart racing, and peered into the darkness. The trees cast long shadows across her

he air. Her mind screamed at her to look away, to close the curtains and pretend she hadn't seen it, but she couldn't move

ng the trees. Mina sat frozen, her heart pounding. She wanted to tell herself it was a trick

y, seeking out Harold. She found him in the history se

ying to keep her voice

ening as he took in her pale face

ught I saw something outside my window. It was... it looked

her story only confirmed something he already knew. "They say i

ked, feeling a strange th

n Dunford. They say that some of the families in town carry a curse, passed down from one generation to the next. Those w

c's warning about staying safe

t I do know that some of the families in Dunford have always been... different. Reclusive. They k

s brooding silence, and his strange

?" she asked, struggling to ke

t as if acknowledging it would give the curse more power. But there are signs. People who seem to disappear f

haunting sound that had woken her the previous

e dangerous, even if they don't mean to be. They're driven by ins

scination filling her. It sounded like something out of a story, yet

Harold had told her. She knew she should stay away, should keep to hersel

he was out there somewhere in the woods, hidden in the shadows. She felt an inexplicab

a strange sense of longing. There was danger in the darkness, yes, but there wa