The Wolf's Midnight Vow

d the sky, their serrated edges slicing into the fading light of dusk. She glanced at the map on the passenger seat, though she didn't need it. Every turn, every jagged rock, was burned into

carved faint paths through the thickening fog, revealing a crumbling wooden sign: *Welcome to Co

its narrow streets and rustic buildings exuding a timelessness that felt both quaint and oppressive. She passed the gas stat

eft behind. She hadn't set foot in it since their disappearance. In the years

faded to a sickly gray, and ivy crawled up its sides like skeletal fingers. She stepped out of the car, pulling her coat tighte

key she'd found in the envelope the lawyer sent. The door groaned on its hinges, protesting her return. Inside, the

ond floor, its banister covered in cobwebs. She hesitated, memories threatening to overwhelm her. Her fat

, ears straining for another sound. The house settled with a groan, the

ption was unreliable in these parts. She clicked on the flashlight app, its beam cutting

g over thick tomes about local legends and folklore. She scanned the shelves, her eyes falling on an old leather-boun

he wolves of Coldmoor Ridge, boun

gend of the Howlbound, believing it to be the key to understanding the strange happenings in the w

her hands, its pages fanning open on the floor. Heart pounding, she stepped

e. The wind must have caught it. She stepped closer to latch it shut,

at the edge of

ge to be a person. It stood perfectly still, its silhouette blending into th

lways been known for its wolves. She told herself that's all it

did little t

ed, a low growl reverberated through the house. The sound wasn't coming from o

he living room. Elena crept toward the s

ight landed on a pair

ght and its gaze locked on hers. It didn't move, didn't snarl or lunge

't obey. She clutched the flashlight like a lifeline, the bea

rward, its paws silent

pered, though her voi

re locked in a standoff, the air between them thick with tension. Then, just as suddenly as it h

ath her. She struggled to catch her breath, her m

at unsettled her. It was the way it lo

echoed in her mind- "The wolves of C

d the night, long and mournful. It was joined by another,

r answers, but now she wasn't sure she wanted them. Something was lurking in Coldmoor Rid