Moonbound: The Alpha's Chosen

Emily's head swam with conflicting narratives as she drove back to the newspaper office. Jason's revelations about her mother—Helena Wind, not Grey—challenged everything she'd believed about her family. The idea that her mild-mannered accountant mother could have been part of a criminal werewolf dynasty seemed absurd. Yet the evidence Jason had presented was difficult to dismiss entirely.

"Werewolves aren't real," she muttered to herself, gripping the steering wheel tighter. "They can't be."

But if that were true, what had she seen in A Group's secret laboratory footage? What explained Lucas and Alexander's strange behavior, or the fact that everyone seemed unnaturally interested in her mother's pendant?

Catherine was waiting when Emily arrived, elegant as always in a tailored suit that somehow seemed more predatory than professional today.

"There you are," her editor said, voice deceptively casual. "I was beginning to worry."

"Sorry," Emily replied, fighting to keep her tone neutral. "I was following up on a lead."

Catherine's eyes narrowed slightly. "With Jason Chen, I presume? Your childhood friend seems quite... invested in your investigation."

The fact that Catherine knew who she'd been meeting sent a chill down Emily's spine. Had she been followed?

"He had some helpful insights," Emily said carefully. "He works at A Group, after all."

"Yes, in their IT department." Catherine's smile didn't reach her eyes. "How convenient."

Before Emily could respond, Catherine continued, "I've received information about a potential storage facility in the north section of the forest. Apparently, A Group maintains a secondary research site there, off the books. It could be where they're housing the subjects of their more... experimental work."

Emily tensed. Jason had mentioned a forest facility too—a corroboration that made her uneasy. "What kind of information?"

"Coordinates, security protocols, best times to access." Catherine handed her a folded paper. "Tonight would be ideal. Security will be minimal due to a scheduled systems update."

Warning bells rang in Emily's mind. This felt too convenient, too perfectly aligned with what she'd just learned from Jason. Yet if A Group really was conducting inhumane experiments, she had a journalistic duty to expose them.

"I don't know," Emily hedged. "Trespassing on private property is—"

"Is sometimes necessary for the greater good," Catherine finished smoothly. "Unless you're having second thoughts about this story? Perhaps your connection with Lucas Stone has compromised your objectivity?"

The accusation stung, especially given how coldly Lucas had dismissed her after their night together. "My objectivity is intact," Emily replied stiffly. "I'll check it out."

"Good." Catherine's satisfaction was palpable. "Take photos, but be careful. This could be the smoking gun we need."

As Emily left the building, she felt torn. Jason had warned her not to trust Catherine, yet his claims about a forest facility aligned with what Catherine had just told her. If she could find concrete evidence of A Group's experiments, she could finally separate fact from the increasingly bizarre fiction her life was becoming.

Twilight was settling over the trees as Emily parked her car at the forest's edge. Her mother's words echoed in her memory: "Never enter the forest." She'd respected that warning all her life, but now the answers she sought lay beneath those ancient branches.

The coordinates led her along a barely visible trail that wound deeper into the woods than she'd ever ventured. Night creatures rustled in the underbrush as darkness thickened around her. Emily switched on her flashlight, its beam cutting through shadows that seemed to move in unnatural ways.

After nearly an hour of hiking, she spotted a clearing ahead. In its center stood what appeared to be an ordinary storage shed, too mundane to house cutting-edge genetic research. Yet as she approached, she noticed the sophisticated lock system on its door and cameras cleverly disguised as bird nests in nearby trees.

"This is it," she whispered, raising her camera to document the facility.

A long, mournful howl shattered the night's silence, freezing Emily in place. It wasn't the distant cry of a natural wolf, but something closer, larger, more primal—and it was answered by multiple howls from different directions.

"Just ordinary wolves," she told herself, though she knew no natural wolves had inhabited these woods for decades.

A rush of movement caught her peripheral vision—something large and dark sprinting between trees with impossible speed. Emily spun to track it, but it vanished into the shadows. Another blur of motion appeared to her right, then behind her.

"It's your imagination," she insisted aloud, voice trembling. "Jason's werewolf stories getting to you. There's nothing—"

Something massive crashed through the underbrush directly toward her. Emily caught a glimpse of gleaming eyes, massive shoulders, a creature moving on all fours yet too large to be a natural animal. Panic seized her as she fumbled for her phone.

A sharp pain exploded at the back of her neck—not teeth as she'd feared, but a pinprick that sent immediate numbness spreading through her body. She tried to turn, to see her attacker, but her muscles no longer responded to her commands. The forest tilted sideways as she collapsed, her camera tumbling from nerveless fingers.

The last thing Emily saw before consciousness faded was a pair of boots approaching—human boots, not animal paws—and a hand reaching down to retrieve her fallen camera. Above, the moon hung near-full in the night sky, bearing silent witness to whatever fate awaited her in the darkness of the forbidden forest.