Chapter 1 — Viral Awakening

Caleb Morran

The tavern was a low, dimly lit cavern of wood and shadow, the kind of place where secrets clung to the air like smoke. Caleb Morran sat in the corner, his dark leather jacket blending into the gloom. The mug of lukewarm ale in his hand was untouched, its bitter tang a poor companion for the memories gnawing at the edges of his mind. Conversations buzzed around him, indistinct, until a particular word sliced through the haze like a blade.

“Werewolf,” someone whispered, their voice sharpened by fear.

Caleb’s faintly glowing green eyes snapped upward, their intensity hidden beneath the shadow of his brow. He leaned back, his movement deliberate, easing into the anonymity of the corner. His heightened senses filtered through the noise, honing in on the source of the conversation—a pair of men hunched over the bar, their voices low but urgent, their fear crackling like static in the air.

“You saw it, right? The video?” one of them said, his voice trembling, the faint scent of sweat betraying his rising panic.

“Yeah, I saw it,” the other muttered, his words coming fast. “Clear as day. A guy—just a normal guy—he starts changing. Bones breaking, his face... God, his face just stretched into this thing. Like something out of a nightmare. They’re saying he’s one of them. A damn werewolf.”

The first man’s breathing quickened. “And now the government’s gearing up. More patrols, more raids. I heard they’re hiding everywhere. In the forests, maybe even in our towns!”

The barkeep, an older man with a weathered face and eyes that flicked nervously around the room, leaned in toward the pair. “It’s worse than you think,” he said, his voice barely above a growl. Caleb’s sharp ears caught every word. “I heard on the news this morning that whole neighborhoods are forming watch groups. One sighting, and they’ll burn it all down just to be sure. If those creatures really are out there, they’re as good as dead.”

The men muttered in agreement, their conversation dissolving into a slurry of paranoia and bravado. Caleb tuned them out, his mind racing. A viral video? He hadn’t seen it—he avoided human technology when he could—but the implications were clear. Exposure.

He clenched his fists under the table, his nails biting into his palms as memories clawed their way to the surface. The fear in those men’s voices mirrored the hysteria that had followed him the night he was cast out, the night he became a danger to everything he’d sworn to protect. He’d buried himself in isolation to avoid this exact moment—humanity’s discovery of his kind, their fear igniting into something far deadlier. The fragile balance between the worlds of man and wolf was shattered, and he could feel the weight of the fallout pressing against his chest.

Setting the mug down with a soft clink, Caleb rose, his movements fluid despite the tension thrumming through his muscles. His lean, powerful frame drew a few glances as he strode toward the door, but he knew how to make himself unremarkable. A shadow among shadows.

Outside, the air was crisp and cool, carrying the faint, grounding scent of pine. The tavern sat at the edge of Rivermarch City, where the urban sprawl gave way to wilderness. Caleb paused, scanning the empty dirt road as the chill of the night seeped into his skin. A discarded smartphone glinted beneath a streetlamp, its screen cracked but still functional.

He hesitated, his sharp eyes narrowing. He hated these devices, their glow unnatural, their hum a constant reminder of humanity’s watchful eyes. His kind had survived for centuries by avoiding such things, by staying hidden, and yet here it was—glinting like a taunt. His hand hovered for a moment before he snatched it up, his jaw tightening. He couldn’t afford to indulge his discomfort. Not now.

The phone sputtered to life under his touch, the screen flickering like a fire on the edge of dying. The interface felt alien in his hands, his fingers awkward against the glass, but determination outweighed his unease. It didn’t take long to find it. The video was everywhere.

Caleb’s jaw tensed as he pressed play.

The grainy footage began with a man—ordinary, unremarkable—standing in an alley. The timestamp indicated it had been recorded just a week ago. At first, nothing seemed unusual. Then the man’s body stiffened, his limbs jerking unnaturally as a guttural scream ripped from his throat. Bones cracked audibly, his posture contorting violently as his hands elongated into claws. His face stretched grotesquely, human features vanishing beneath a snarling lupine visage. It was brutal, visceral—a stark reminder of the raw power and savagery Caleb worked so hard to bury.

The onlookers in the video screamed, their phones held high to capture every horrifying detail. The werewolf let out a howl that reverberated in Caleb’s mind, dragging him into the echo of his own earliest transformations. He could almost feel the agony, the raw, unrelenting instinct to survive no matter the cost. His stomach churned as long-buried memories surged, unbidden—of the hunt, of that night when everything shattered.

The video cut abruptly to a news anchor, her tone stern and unyielding. “Recent evidence confirms the existence of werewolves,” she declared, her words weighted with authority. “Experts warn that these creatures pose a significant threat to public safety. Citizens are urged to report any suspicious activity immediately. Authorities promise swift action.”

Caleb exhaled slowly, his breath misting in the cool night air. The world had changed in an instant. For years, secrecy had been their armor, their survival. Now, that veil had been torn away, leaving them exposed to the blaze of human fear.

He pocketed the phone, his hand curling into a fist as he stared down the road. He couldn’t ignore this—not when the consequences were so starkly clear. He had to reach Shadowpine Haven. It had been years since his exile, years since he’d seen Alayna or the pack. But this was bigger than his guilt, bigger than the mistakes that haunted him.

His thoughts turned to Alayna Voss, the resistance leader who had once been his ally. He could see her in his mind’s eye: tall, imposing, her amber eyes burning with the fierce intensity of a wolf protecting its den. She wouldn’t trust him now; she’d likely see his return as a betrayal in itself. But he would face her wrath, endure her accusations, if it meant warning them of what was coming. He had no choice.

The road stretched ahead, the faint glow of Rivermarch City on the horizon. Caleb’s steps quickened, each one carrying him closer to the shadows he’d tried so hard to leave behind. The pack needed to know. Alayna needed to know.

The world was fractured, teetering on the edge of chaos. But even in the darkness, Caleb clung to a sliver of hope. Perhaps, just perhaps, there was still time to make things right.

And so, with the viral video burned into his memory and the weight of his past pressing down on his shoulders, Caleb Morran walked toward the city. Toward confrontation. Toward redemption.