The First Howl

Chapter 3: The First Howl

It was such a quiet night that it seemed impossible for such an extraordinary event to break the calm. The full moon illuminated the sky, but something beyond simple lunar influence was at play. Ethan Black, unknowingly, was about to cross a line that would change him forever

He had been having disturbing dreams for weeks. Fragmented images of a place that he did not know but that he felt familiar. A ritual, huge wolves surrounding a circle, and in the center, a colossal, intimidating beast, similar to the monster from your worst nightmares. This being, who seemed to have more in common with myths than reality, stared at him and uttered a warning in each dream: "Change is coming." Despite the fear that these visions caused him, Ethan had never talked about them, not even with his father. But tonight, the warnings would make sense.

Walking through the forest to clear his mind of the dreams that overwhelmed him, suddenly, a sharp pain went through his body as if every bone was fractured at once. Ethan fell to the ground, unable to control the spasms that coursed through him. "What is happening to me?" he thought between gasps. The pain was unbearable, as if his body was being torn from itself. "It can't be real," he repeated over and over in his mind. But it was. He felt his skin stretch, his muscles enlarge, and when he tried to scream, only a deep, piercing howl came from his throat

The howl echoed throughout the village. The listening ears of the village elders and chiefs caught the sound immediately. They knew what it meant. "It's happening," one of the bosses said quietly. Without wasting time, his father, along with the tribe's leaders, prepared for the inevitable. Ethan, his eldest son, had been the first to experience what they knew would eventually happen

Meanwhile, Ethan, now completely transformed into an imposing creature that he could barely recognize as his own reflection, he was staggering. He felt an incredible strength running through every fiber of his body, but also a disturbing sensation of not fully belonging to that new body. Everything around him looked different: the colors sharper, the smells more intense, the sounds of nature amplified as if he were living inside them.

Instinct drove him to run, and without thinking twice, he ran. He launched into the forest that bordered the village. With each step, his legs moved with agility and speed that he had not experienced before. He felt the wind against his skin and heard the sound of his breathing, in time with the accelerated beat of his heart. It was as if all of nature was aware of his presence

Upon reaching the edge of the territory, Ethan stopped. His mind was still a whirlwind of confusion. "What am I? What has happened to me?" He thought as he tried to process what happened. But he had no time for answers.

Back in the village, the howling had alerted everyone. People whispered nervously as his father and the bosses awaited Ethan's return. They knew that this transformation marked the beginning of something much bigger, something they had already foreseen. While they waited, Ethan's father, sitting in his wheelchair, couldn't help but feel a mixture of pride and worry. He knew this day would come, but he wasn't sure if Ethan would be ready for what was coming

Finally, Ethan returned to the place he had always considered home, but this time it wasn't the same boy he was. He had left hours before. Although he still felt clumsy and out of place in his new body, his instinct had guided him back

The bosses looked at him with eyes full of wonder, his breathing almost stopped. None of them expected to witness something so monumental. They knew what the legend said, but what they had seen surpassed any myth. Ethan's transformation wasn't just that of a wolf: he was the embodiment of an ancient power none of them had imagined. Then, before his eyes, Ethan's body began to shrink, his muscles relaxing, his bones rearranging until, in a matter of seconds, he was once again the young man they knew. Silence filled the air, broken only by the calm voice of his father. 'Come with us, Ethan.'

Ethan, still in shock from what had just happened, followed his father and the bosses into a small house nearby. What came next was a conversation that would change his life forever.

What came next was a conversation that would forever change Ethan's perspective on who he was and what his destiny was. They told him about the wolves, the legacy that ran through his veins, and above all, the treaty with a family of vampires called the Cullens. Although they didn't know it, these vampires would soon return to Forks.

As he listened to all this, still stunned by what he had just experienced, Ethan could only think of one thing: "What will come next?"