1 Butterfly Running From The Wolf.

Night.

Damdow Woods.

Dam’s Keep, Damoria.

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The night was thick with the promise of rain, the air heavy and cool. The moon was partially shrouded by ominous clouds, casting a dim, eerie glow over the dense forest. Seraphina sprinted through the underbrush, her heart pounding in her chest like a war drum, her curly black hair wild and tangled in the wind.

She was clad in a tattered dress, its once vibrant fabric now a dull, muddied reminder of her past life. Her breaths came in ragged gasps, each one a desperate plea for survival, but she kept running. Tree branches clawed at her arms and face, leaving stinging pain in their wake, but she pressed on, driven by a terror so profound that it left no room for pain.

“How did it come to this?” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the sound of her own labored breathing. “How could I have trusted him?”

She had once known this forest as a place of refuge and beauty, but now it was a labyrinth of shadows and threats. Every rustle of leaves, every snap of a twig was amplified in the oppressive silence, and her mind conjured images of the beast she had fled from. The beast that chased her still.

He was close. She could feel it. Adolphus's presence was a palpable force, a dark and confident hunter toying with its prey, and she was the prey.

‘What a monster,’ she cried mentally. She couldn’t believe that she had once desired him, trusted him with all her heart and life. Only for him to destroy her.

Now everything she’d felt was in the past. Before he had turned into the monster that annihilated her entire family, leaving nothing but a trail of blood and horror in his wake. Her foot caught on a root, and she stumbled, barely catching herself before she fell face-first into the damp earth. She let out a soft uncontrollable cry before pressing her lips together.

“How could you, Adolphus?” she sobbed, a mix of anger and despair in her voice. “How could you do this to us?”

Suddenly, lightning struck and the rain began to fall. It was light at first, then became more insistent, soaking through her dress and plastering her hair to her face. She had begun to cry and didn’t even know it until her vision blurred, the raindrops mingling with her tears, though she could hardly tell the difference anymore as she wiped her face carelessly.

‘No,’ she darted and hid behind a large oak tree, pressing her back against its rough bark, her chest heaving. Her eyes were wide with fear, darting back and forth, searching for any sign of him. The sound of his approach was almost unnoticeable, a whisper of movement that sent chills down her spine. He was toying with her, and she knew it. He was enjoying the hunt, enjoying her suffering.

A low, mocking growl echoed through the trees, and she bit back a scream, her hand flying to her mouth. "You can run, but you can't hide, Butterfly," his voice came, dark and taunting, dripping with a cruel amusement that sent waves of nausea rolling through her.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the sound of him, trying to think. There had to be a way out, some path she could take to escape him. But his realm was vast and unfamiliar, a twisted reflection of the world she once knew. The rain was falling harder now, a relentless torrent that blurred her vision and masked the sounds of the forest.

‘Seraphina, how could you have been so blind?’ she chided herself as her mind raced back to the nights they had spent together, the way he had held her, whispered sweet nothings into her ear. It was a cruel irony that those same lips now spoke only of death and despair. She had wanted him, once. But her soft spot had turned to betrayal, and now, she was left with nothing but the desperate need to survive.

“Think, Seraphina, think!” she muttered under her breath, her eyes darting around. “There has to be a way out of this.”

She peered around the tree, her eyes straining to pierce the darkness. There, a flicker of movement, a shadow within a shadow. He was closer than she had feared. She could see the gleam of his eyes, red and feral, his reflection under the moonlight looking more dangerous now.

‘He was in his element,’ she mused. A predator relishing the chase, his body moving with a deadly grace that belied his size.

With a final, deep breath, she pushed off from the tree and ran again, her feet slipping in the mud, her legs burning with exhaustion. She could hear him behind her, his footsteps a steady, menacing rhythm that matched the frantic beating of her heart. He was gaining on her, his laughter a chilling promise of what was to come.

As she burst into a small clearing, the rain now a relentless downpour, she knew she had only moments left. ‘How can I fight back?’ she mused, hopeless in her thoughts. Her eyes darted around, searching for anything that could offer salvation and luckily she found something, a fallen tree, its massive trunk covered in moss and slick with rain, lay ahead.

Without thinking, she dove beneath it, her body pressing against the cold, wet earth. She squeezed herself into the narrow space between the trunk and the ground, her body trembling with both fear and the chill of the rain-soaked night. The mud smeared across her face and arms, blending her with the forest floor, her breaths shallow and rapid as she tried to stay silent. The mud helped conceal her scent from the wolf.

The minutes stretched on, each one feeling like an eternity. The rain hammered down, creating a symphony of chaotic drumming on the leaves above. She could hear her heartbeat, a loud, relentless thudding in her ears, and she feared he could hear it too, but the rain overpowered her heartbeat, almost drowning out the sounds of the night. Almost.

Then, she heard him. Adolphus's footsteps, deliberate, each one a calculated move, a predator's stride as he entered the clearing. She dared not peek, yet she could sense him, feel the oppressive weight of his presence. He was so close now, so unbearably close. His scent, a mix of wet fur and something metallic, like blood, filled her nostrils.

"You can run, but you can't hide forever, Seraphina," his voice was low, a growl of dark amusement that sent shivers down her spine. "I can smell your fear," he let out.

Her fingers dug into the mud, her nails breaking as she tried to ground herself, to stay silent, to not give in to the terror that threatened to engulf her. The rain intensified thankfully, the downpour a curtain of water that further obscured her from his view, but she knew it wouldn't be enough. Not against him.

Adolphus's footsteps drew closer, each one a drumbeat of doom. She could see his feet now, powerful and clawed, moving methodically as he searched for her. He stopped mere inches from her hiding place, and she held her breath, her body tensed and rigid.

He crouched down, and she could see his hands, now more claw than human hand, pressing into the mud. He lowered his head, and she could feel his breath, hot and heavy, as he sniffed the air trying to locate her, tracing her movement.

"You always did like playing games," he murmured, his tone almost conversational. "But this one is getting old."

Her mind raced, desperate thoughts flashing through her head. She had to move, had to do something, but what? If she bolted, he would catch her. If she stayed, he would find her. Her fingers brushed against a sharp stone, half-buried in the mud, and she closed her hand around it, the edges cutting into her palm.

“Please, just go away,” she begged silently, her body trembling. “Just leave me alone.”

As he began to rise, a dark, triumphant smile on his lips, she knew she had to act. He had caught onto her!

With a cry that was equal parts fear and defiance, she lunged from beneath the trunk, driving the stone into his leg. He roared, a sound of pain and fury, and stumbled back, giving her precious seconds.

Seraphina scrambled to her feet, her body screaming in protest, and ran. She didn't look back, couldn't afford to. The forest blurred around her, the rain a relentless torrent that masked her tears. She could hear his frustrated howls behind her, the sound of a beast wounded and vengeful.

The terrain became treacherous, the mud slick and treacherous, roots and rocks hidden beneath the waterlogged ground. She slipped and slid, her feet barely finding purchase, but she kept going, driven by sheer will and the knowledge that stopping meant death.

Did he ever like her? she wondered. But even if he did, that likeness had turned to ashes this night, this night when Adolphus revealed his true nature, slaughtering her family in a savage, unthinkable rage. Now, he was not just the man she once craved; he was the werewolf she feared more than death itself.

Seraphina darted between towering trunks, her bare feet barely making a sound on the forest floor. She was acutely aware of every rustle of leaves, every snap of twigs, fearing they would give away her position. The wind began to pick up despite the rain, the wind howling through the branches like a chorus of anguished spirits. She feared it would carry her scent to him.

Behind her, Adolphus moved with the lethal grace of a predator. He was taunting her, his voice a low, mocking murmur that seemed to come from all directions at once. "Butterfly," he called, his tone dripping with dark amusement. "Come out and let’s go home, you’ll catch a cold."

She pressed herself against a moss-covered boulder, trying to steady her breathing, her mind racing for an escape plan. Then she remembered. A dagger! She had a dagger.