At school, things were tense.
The body found on the flagpole had everyone on edge. Rumors swirled—ritual killings, cults, animal attacks.
Jalen knew better.
He felt the hunter before he saw him.
Tall. Gray beard. Cold eyes. Dressed like a professor, but moved like a predator.
"Mr. Argent," Scott warned Jalen after class. "He's not like the others. He doesn't hunt for balance. He hunts for extinction."
Jalen clenched his jaw. "He after me?"
"He's after your bloodline."
Later that day, Jalen found a charm pinned to his backpack.
It pulsed when he touched it—and he saw flashes.
Of his mother.
Of the night she vanished.
Of a silver blade… held by a hunter.
He dropped the charm like it burned him.
Malia picked it up with a grimace. "They're trying to trigger your memories. Unlock something old."
"They're going to regret it," Jalen said.
And for the first time, he meant it.
---
That night, Jalen returned to the woods alone.
He needed to know.
He dug beneath the tree where the shadow woman first appeared.
He found a box.
Inside: a photo of his mother, eyes glowing black. A fang pendant. And a letter.
"Jalen—if you read this, they've found you. You are not cursed. You are chosen. The Shadowfang blood is ancient. Protect it. Awaken it. Trust no one with your full power."
He gripped the pendant.
Behind him, something moved.
A hunter's crossbow bolt fired—missed by inches.
Jalen turned—and the darkness answered.
He didn't shift into a wolf.
He *became* shadow.
And vanished.
---
The next morning, Argent found only a scorch mark and a broken bolt.
And three words burned into the bark:
"I see you."