The Wolf at Midnight

were lined with neat rows of cottages, each with a garden bursting with flowers that bloomed in the short, crisp summer months. By ni

, she was alone in a world of echoes. The old building creaked in the dead of night, and the soft hum of machinery w

tside cast long shadows through the window, stretching across the sterile white walls of the emergency room. The night had fallen colder than usua

ld fever. He had been a regular visitor to the hospital, a casualty of age and the harsh elements of mountain life. Mara often found herself spending

then turned to leave, but as she did, a faint sound caught her attention. It was a soft, almost inaudible rustling like footsteps on the gravel out

bathing the streets in an ethereal light. She scanned the area below, where the hospital's parking lot met the e

ight in strange ways. He wore a long coat, his posture

and everyone knew everyone else. But this man... He was unfamiliar, and something abou

tside. There was something in his gaze something ancient and unsettling that made her pull back from the window in surprise. Her hand brush

It was the middle of the night, and she had a job to do. She turned away from

the unease remained. By the time the first light of dawn began to creep over the horizon, she had almost convinced h

hat morning, heading toward her car

billowed in the wind, and his eyes those dark, knowing eyes were fixed on her. The m

her had slowed to a crawl. Her heart pounded in her chest as she insti

ow and gravelly yet oddly gentle. There was an edge of urgency in hi

flooding her. "What?

ing the horizon, his face tense. Then, with a final glance at her, he turn

street. Had she heard him, right? Stay inside during

answers, but the warning gnawed at her, burrowing its wa

dn't heard him speak it. She told herself it was silly. There was no reason to be frightened by some man who had given an odd warning. Still, e

ext full moon that Ma

nding in the same spot across the street. His eyes locked with hers, and this ti

her voice steady despite the unc

his eyes scanning the area as though checking for something o

s more than just its light. There are things in these woods thing

d. "What do you mean

ed. Then he stepped forward

. "I'm not just a man. And these woods

in her throat. "What

ow growl, one that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand o

s voice sharp now, filled with a raw intensi

n't tear her eyes away from Elias. He was different now tense, his bod

nt, he turned and dashed toward the w

her knew that this was only the beginning that Elias's secr

Not when she had finally met the

lready too far ent