CHAPTER 1

Elena Morgan had always felt like an outsider in her small town. It wasn't that she was more reserved than most of her peers and liked reading books or taking solace in nature; there was something more at the core, which she couldn't explain. Of late, the sensation had grown in its intensity. It began subtly, with her feeling that her senses were sharpening to capture smells and sounds others seemed unaware of. Leaves crinkling over vast distances, the very slightest scent of pine in the breeze, the almost inaudible murmur of conversation—everything was amplified, just like the world had finally turned up the volume in her life.

It was the dreams that troubled her most of all. All this past week she had been in this same dense, moonlit forest every night. She would float gracefully and fast, as never stridden in waking life. But the weirdest thing was that each night there were wolves—a whole pack of them—sitting with what seemed an almost human intelligence in their faces upon hers. She wasn't afraid of them, but their deeper attention unnerved her.

Elena came awake with a jerk that morning to the echo of a wolf's howl in her head. Her heart raced as she sat up, wiping the sweat off her brow. She glanced at her clock—5:00 AM. Too early for most, but she knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. That dream had been so real, the smells of the forest still in her nostrils and cool night air still tingling on her skin.

Elena was feeling restless and found it impossible to stay indoors, so she would take a walk to freshen her head. She donned a hoodie and sneakers and took her phone, slipping out of the house. The air was crisp early in the morning, the sky just starting to lighten, promising another day. She followed on out the edge of town, where the forest began. The well-worn path wound on through the trees, somewhere she'd gone many times to think or get some peace from the everyday noise.

She walked, trying to shake off the sense of dread lingering in her head. The forest today was alive. Leaves rustled, and the faraway call of a bird reached her, somewhere near and far away, the faint trickle of a stream. It was as if the woods whispered to her, drawing her deeper.

Elena lost in thought, had not seen the figure leaning on the trees until she came upon him. With a sudden jerk, she stopped, her breath catching at her throat. He was tall, his dark hair and coat blending in, his demeanour hinting at quiet authority. There was something incongruous about him, standing in this calm of the woods, a shadow in the light.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there," Elena stammered and took a step back. He didn't reply right away, looking at her so intensely that Elena felt a shiver run down her spine. There was something in those eyes—so dark, probing, like they could see right through her.

"Lost?" he finally asked, his voice smooth, fluid. There was something else in his tone, something Elena couldn't quite place.

"N-no, just taking a walk," she said with an attempted casual air. She was panting, and that danger sense crept over her again in waves. She took another step back and almost turned to run, but something stayed her, a weird compulsion that kept her there.

His gaze did soften then, though his expression remained impossible to read. "Be careful in these woods. They are. unpredictable." With this, he turned and walked away, disappearing into the shadows of the trees just as abruptly as he had come.

Elena stood there, her mind racing. Who was this man, and what was it in his words that sent shivers down her spine? She cast a glance around, feeling suddenly alone. The light was creeping in from early morning and created very stretched shadows across the floor of the forest. Elena could only hear the rustle of leaves; it was nearly silent.

Feeling she had enough for one morning, Elena turned to start heading back home. The memory of that strange encounter kept flipping in her mind as she walked home. She couldn't shake off the feeling that he knew something about her, something she didn't understand.

As she neared the forest edge, the buzzing of her phone inside her pocket broke Elena out of her reverie. She drew it out to find Jenna, her best friend, texting to see if Elena was free for breakfast. Elena smiled, feeling grateful for the distraction. She hastily responded and started toward the diner where they usually met.

But as she started off the forest, a feeling that her life was about to turn in ways she couldn't fathom overrode everything else. So now it truly did all seem like different jigsaw puzzle pieces falling into place—the forest, the wolves, the strange man.

As Elena walked down the street, she felt eyes on her. She turned quickly around, but nobody was there. The whispering wind and rustling leaves—it was them. Shaking her head, Elena quickened her step toward the diner; with every step, the feeling got worse.

It was little known to her, but that was only the beginning of her freaky morning encounters. She pushed open the inner door; to Elena's senses, anticipation hung in the air—the same kind that precedes a storm. Storm was brewing, and Elena stood right at the epicentre.