Curious Encounters

The monstrous creature stalked closer on all fours, snarling low in its throat. Liv trembled, certain this was the end, until a blur launched from the trees and collided with the beast.

Man and animal crashed together with vicious snapping jaws and claws tearing at flesh. Liv scrambled backward in shock, barely distinguishing their wrestling forms in the scant light. One overpowered the other with a throaty snarl, pinning its rival to the damp earth.

The victor rose on two legs, a massive wolfish shape now standing erect as a man. Its fur melted away into tanned skin as glowing eyes settled upon Liv, still frozen in place. Recognition sparked that this was no ordinary man either.

"Run! Now!" His thunderous voice startled Liv into motion. She spun and sprinted blindly through the pitch forest, branches whipping her face and snatching at her clothes. Terror pulsed in her veins, yet some primal instinct guided her flight unerringly toward safety.

When Liv burst from the tree line, gasping for air, she found her sedan parked as she left it. The adrenaline crash hit like a freight train, leaving her heaving against the door frame. But a rustle in the brush behind jerked her alert once more.

"You're safe now." The stranger emerged, hands raised in a calming gesture, now fully human yet somehow wilder than any man she'd known. Starkly handsome features were marred by a fresh gash above one eyebrow, already knitting together before her eyes. Liv realized with a shock that he was the same entity that battled the beast, now presenting as a six-foot mountain of muscle with inches to spare.

"W-what are you? What was that thing?" Liv managed shakily between breaths.

"Let's get you home and tend your wounds first. Then I promise answers." His tone held infinite kindness despite apparent strength and leashed intensity.

Liv studied him warily but detected only concern behind those vivid eyes. She nodded and drove them silently to her cottage, his bulky frame barely fitting inside the tiny door. With gentle hands, he cleaned her wounds with antiseptic, his touch electrifying against her skin in ways Liv refused to acknowledge.

When finished, he sat intent upon the couch facing her armchair, patient yet unsettled as a wild stallion tamed too suddenly. Liv proffered a glass of water, which he drank gratefully before beginning his tale.

"That creature in the woods was an Omega, a werewolf exiled from his pack. I am the Alpha of ours, charged with defending this territory and those within it. My kind lives amongst humans in secret, keeping the balance."

His words stunned Liv to the core yet bizarrely answered all lingering questions. "And the attacks? Your true form?"

"The Omega grows desperate and unstable without a pack. He lashes out at your people to bait mine into an open challenge. As for this..." Two dimples punctuated his cheeky half-grin. "Fur and fangs come out three nights a month with the moon. The rest of the time, I appear as you see."

Liv studied him, finding only brutal honesty in his open expression. "So you change shape at will, heal supernaturally, and have increased strength, speed, and senses. Like a myth given flesh and bone." His nod confirmed the unbelievable.

An intrigued smile ghosted Liv's lips, surprising them both. After the initial shock subsided, her logical mind sought reason and wonder. "What else can you tell me of your kind and why they're here?"

Their discussion wandered deep into the long autumn night as Liv peppered Lucian with questions. He spoke of werewolf politics, history, and biology with a scholar's patience. She glimpsed a complexity to his nature far beyond the simple beast. Despite danger's pall over the forest and town, Liv felt drawn to his rugged charm and mystery like a moth to a flame.,

When dawn's first light peaked through curtains, Lucian excused himself reluctantly. "The pack will be restless without their Alpha. But you're not free of peril until the Omega is dealt with. Stay vigilant, and call if you need help."

Liv nodded absently, lost in thought. As the door closed behind his retreating form, she realized a curtain had been drawn back on the shadows haunting Willow Creek. And in seeking answers, she'd formed an attachment to the enigma who held them - Lucian, undisputed Lord of the surrounding Wood and all its creatures. What else might be revealed in the nights to come?