Felicitas✔️

chapter one

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Third Person's POV.

In the cloak of night, a man drives across the invisible line marking the start of the town's territory. An outsider would have sensed nothing, but the man tenses up. He leans his head from side to side to crack it and rolls his shoulders.

He parks up outside the house and stares at the blacked-out windows for at least two minutes before making the decision not to go in. Instead, he opens the door and steps out into the chilled night air. With seven long strides, he enters the protection of the trees and kicks off his shoes. His clothes follow, dropping onto the fallen pine needles in a messy pile.

He, too, falls to the ground and lets out a grunt as he accepts the transformation. His body reshapes itself without a second thought. The metamorphosis takes only seconds and soon, the man has taken a completely different form, one that he feels equally as comfortable in.

With his breath appearing in fogs in front of him, he lifts his head and lets out a long, lone howl that shakes the leaves and makes it seem as though the trees are whispering to each other.

Across town, the howl stops people in their tracks. A couple eating a late dinner on the high street pause their conversation to look up at the sky. An elderly man smiles to himself as he nods in satisfaction and returns to his book.

A bright red Drako GTE stops at traffic lights and the two occupants of the vehicle glance at each other.

"Was that...?" The woman trails off, already knowing that her question is moot. Both of them instantly recognised the howl.

"He's back," the man growls back to her, the words ground out through gritted teeth.

As the lights change, he makes a sharp turn, changing their destination. The man heads up the hill, towards the manor that overlooks the town. He punches in the code by the gates and waits impatiently for them to open. Gravel is sent flying as he accelerates up the drive, pulling right up to the front steps.

"Wait here," he snaps at the woman and gets out of the car.

He has only made it to the third step when the front door opens. A woman twice his age but an equal to his looks steps outside. Her eyes land on the unannounced visitor and her lips purse into a thin line.

"He's back," she states the obvious.

The man stares at her. "Why? Why now?"

They both turn to look out across the forest that surrounds their beloved town. Both subconsciously stand closer to one another, sharing the same puzzled expression.

"I don't know...but I guess we're going to find out."

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Felicity's POV.

I'm back in the forest again. For the fifth time this week, I am having the exact same dream. I'm still in my cosy cotton pyjamas. My fluffy socks tread over the dried pine needles that litter the forest floor. The smell of fog and damp hangs heavily in the air, but the air is still and the temperature mild.

It's too dark to see much of anything, but I can make out flashes of movement around me. By now, I already know what they are. Wolves are running through the trees. Some go straight past me; others stop to stare. They seem confused by my presence but are not threatened by it.

The trees clear and bright moonlight shines upon an open area, just as it has each night this week. A wolf steps from between the trees, its pelt grey and shiny. I know it to be softer than down feathers. It approaches me and lets me pat it, as it always does.