information about the curse, flipping through brittle pages that told stories of despair and horror. Every account she read only c

the knowledge that the blood moon was drawing closer weighing heavily on her. The townsfolk seemed to feel it too. Faces that had once been merely wary n

His presence was both reassuring and unnerving, a reminder that Ma

-

at the darkened forest beyond the town's edge. The distant howl of a wolf echoed through the night,

bandages, even a vial of morphine. Her mind raced with questions she couldn't answer. How

o find Kieran standing there, his rifle slung ove

e," he sa

-

s thick with tension, the flickering light of lanterns casting long shadows on the wooden walls. Maren recognized some of the faces-far

hispered to Kieran. "

eplied. "The rest are barricading themselves in

w dangerous that

his voice heavy. "But fe

tomorrow night. You all know what that means. The beasts will co

p. "How do we know we can trust her?" He pointed a calloused finger at Ma

, but I'm here to help. I've seen what this curse does. If you want

thing under his breath b

e. If you see anything, signal immediately. Don't try to tak

ight of his words settling o

-

ed in hues of blood red and deep purple. Kieran had stationed the townsfolk around the perimeter, armed with rifles, axes, and

ed to hold its breath. Then came the first howl, long and mournful, cutting through the silence like

," Kieran said,

. It was faster than Maren had imagined, a blur of fur and muscle that moved with deadly precision. One of the townsfolk fired, th

toward her. But before it could move, Kieran's rifle cracked, the bullet striking the beast's

houted. "There's more

seemed to come from every direction, testing the perimeter and picking off the weakest defenders. Maren worked frantically, her ha

s littered with bodies. The surviving townsfolk were battered and exhausted, their

ace grim. "We held them off-

bling as she packed up her s

"The blood moon isn't ove

t to come. And as the sun rose higher in the sky, painting the snow-covered town in a deceptiv