Red Nordstorm prowled quietly through the thick underbrush of Yosemite’s southern woods. His senses became sharp and alive because of the energy of the Howling Moon. The night felt electric. Tonight wasn’t like any other hunting trip. It was special, sacred even.

"South it is tonight," Red muttered to himself. He stretched his muscles as the anticipation of the hunt built inside him. Normally, he would stick to his territory in the north, but something urged him to push boundaries tonight. He needed to feel the rush of something different. The south was home to the antelopes, a rare and challenging game.

What better way to celebrate his twentieth year and his first Howling Moon as a fully-fledged wolf?

He knelt briefly, pressing his palm into the damp earth. His eyes lifted to the sky as he whispered a quick prayer to the wolf gods. “Let this hunt be worthy.”

Red was not a wolf who lived among his pack. He valued his independence too much for that. But even though he refused to stay within their borders, he was still deeply connected to them—especially to the Alpha, who had placed immense trust in him despite his youth. And tonight, as the moon called to him, he knew he’d be expected to return with an offering worthy of the Howling Moon celebrations.

Mating season was just around the corner. Red could feel it deep within his bones. This was supposed to be his year. Every instinct in him buzzed with excitement, but tonight wasn’t just about finding a mate. No, tonight was about the hunt. About proving his strength, his agility, and his dedication to the pack, even if he didn’t live among them.

Hours passed as Red moved silently through the forest. The woods felt alive tonight. Red’s sharp eyes caught a glimpse of movement—a flash of light fur in the distance. His breath quickened as he honed in, following the trail of an antelope.

Just as he was about to make his move, something distracted him.

Another wolf.

But not one from his pack.

He froze. His eyes narrowed as he crouched low, watching from the shadows. The wolf’s fur was darker, sleek and unfamiliar. Red’s heartbeat quickened.

A rogue? Or perhaps a member of another pack?

Either way, something was off. He wasn’t supposed to be encountering wolves from outside the GrayBack Pack in this part of Yosemite.

The strange wolf darted between the trees, moving swiftly as if it were hunting something. Red’s instincts kicked in. He had to follow. If this wolf was a threat, he needed to know.

Keeping his distance, Red shadowed the unfamiliar wolf through the dense forest. It was only when the wolf reached a small clearing that something truly shocking happened.

Red blinked. He caught his breath in his throat as he watched the wolf's fur ripple and change. Its body convulsed slightly, bones cracking and reshaping, shrinking until what stood before him was no longer a wolf, but a young woman.

What the—

Red’s heart pounded. She was kneeling on the forest floor, naked under the pale moonlight. Her breath was ragged as if the transformation had taken everything out of her. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from her. Her long hair tumbled down her back in dark waves. Her skin, pale and smooth, glistened with the dew of the night. And even from a distance, he could see her eyes—wide and terrified, darting around as though she had no idea where she was.

Who is she?

Was she a rogue? A lost wolf without a pack? Or something else entirely?

Whatever the answer, Red felt his heart skip a beat as he continued to watch her. There was something inexplicably magnetic about her.

Bloom wandered through the dark forest. Her arms were wrapped tightly around herself in an attempt to shield her bare skin from the biting cold. She stumbled forward. Her head spun with confusion.

Where were her friends?

How had she ended up here of all places?

"Rachel? Sarah?" she called out. The thick trees seemed to swallow her words.

But she didn’t receive any response. The silence was deafening, only broken by the occasional rustle of leaves in the wind.

"This isn’t funny!" Bloom yelled. Her bare feet crunched on the forest floor, but it wasn’t just the cold that bothered her. It was the overwhelming sense of vulnerability. She was exposed, alone, and scared in a way she hadn’t felt in years.

That’s when she heard a twig snap behind her.

She spun around. Her eyes immediately widened because of what she saw. A man stepped out from behind the trees. His piercing blue eyes locked onto hers.

“Stay back!” Bloom shrieked as she instinctively tried to cover herself with her hands. She backed up into a bush. Its sharp branches scratched at her skin. “Don’t come any closer!”

The man raised his hands, palms out in a gesture of surrender. “Relax. I’m not here to hurt you.”

“Yeah, right,” Bloom spat, crouching low as if she could disappear into the bushes. She winced when she felt an uncomfortable sting where the branches pricked her skin.

“I wouldn’t hide in those if I were you,” he commented, nodding toward the bush. “They’re poisonous.”

Bloom froze. Her eyes darted to the leaves brushing against her legs. “What?”

“Look, I know this is weird,” the man continued. “But those bushes? They’ll leave a nasty rash.”

Bloom scowled, still clutching her arms around herself. She glanced at the bush again and reluctantly stepped away, hating that he was probably right.

“I don’t know who you are,” she began, “but you need to stay away from me.”

The man hesitated for a moment, then shrugged off his jacket. “Here.” He held the jacket out to her. “Take this. You’re going to freeze out here.”

Bloom eyed the jacket warily, but the chill creeping into her bones finally made the decision for her. She snatched it from his hands and wrapped it around herself, glaring at him the entire time.

“Thanks, I guess,” she muttered.

“What happened?” he asked. He kept his distance but watched her closely. “You’re... not exactly dressed for a camping trip.”

“I... I don’t know,” Bloom admitted reluctantly. “I woke up like this. I don’t remember anything after going to sleep.”

The man studied her for a moment. “You’re not used to this, are you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Bloom shot back defensively.

“Being... like this,” he replied slowly. “The confusion… waking up in the woods… it’s new for you, right?”

Bloom frowned. “What are you talking about? I don’t even know who you are.”

“My name’s Red,” he introduced.

“I don’t care who you are!” Bloom snapped, suddenly angry. “And I don’t need your help!”

Red’s lips twitched in amusement, but he said nothing.

Just as Bloom opened her mouth to say something else, she froze, hearing faint voices in the distance.

“Bloom? Bloom!”

It was her friends. Relief flooded through her, but it was quickly followed by another emotion. Dread. The last thing she needed was for them to find her like this—naked, in the middle of the woods, with some strange man. Her reputation was already fragile enough with the media always circling. And she couldn’t take that kind of hit.

“You need to go,” she hissed at Red, glancing around frantically as the voices grew closer.

“What?” Red asked, taken aback.

“You NEED to go!” Bloom repeated, shoving his jacket closer around herself. “If they see me with you, they’ll freak out.”

Red raised an eyebrow. “And why’s that?”

Bloom shot him a glare. “Because they’re my friends, and I don’t want them to think I’ve... I’ve...” She trailed off, realizing how ridiculous this was going to sound.

Red’s lips curved into a full, amused grin. “You think I attacked you?”

“Well, yeah!” Bloom blurted, then faltered when she saw the look on his face.

Red let out a bark of laughter as he shook his head. “You’ve got it all wrong. I found you out here. I didn’t touch you, I swear.”

Bloom’s face flushed with embarrassment, but she quickly masked it with a scowl. “You’re laughing at me?”

“I’m laughing because it’s absurd.” Red’s grin widened. “If I’d attacked you, do you think I’d be offering you my jacket right now?”

Before Bloom could respond, she heard Rachel calling her name. She could hear panic in their voices. Her friends were desperate to find her.

“Bloom! Where are you?”

She straightened, pulling the jacket tighter around her body. “You need to leave. Now.”

Red raised his hands again, backing away slowly. “Fine. Your secret’s safe with me.”

“Go!” Bloom hissed one last time. Then she turned away as she heard the crunch of footsteps approaching.

Her friends burst through the trees a moment later. Their eyes widened in shock. “Bloom! Oh my God! Where were you?” Rachel gasped then she rushed forward and grabbed Bloom’s arm.

“I’m fine,” Bloom said quickly, forcing a smile. “I just... went for a swim in the lake. Lost track of time.”

“What?” Nina asked as she scanned Bloom from head to toe. “In the middle of the night? And... where are your clothes?”

Bloom shrugged, glancing at the jacket she was wearing. “Yeah, I know. Crazy, right? I didn’t plan on going for a swim, but I couldn’t sleep and, well... one thing led to another.”

“And... the jacket?” Sarah asked, raising an eyebrow.

Bloom hesitated for half a second before forcing a casual laugh. “This? Oh, I brought it with me. It’s, uh, an old thing. Fugly, I know.”

Her friends exchanged confused glances, but before they could ask any more questions, Bloom turned on her heel. “Come on. Let’s just get back to camp. It’s freezing.”

As they started to walk away, Bloom cast one last glance over her shoulder, scanning the treeline for any sign of Red.

But he was already gone.

Bloom Tillbury paced around her lavish bedroom. She tugged on the hem of her silk robe. Her mind was replaying the events of that night in Yosemite. No matter how hard she tried to forget, the fragments would return—waking up naked in the woods, the confusion, the stranger with the piercing blue eyes.

But that was a year ago. She had sworn to herself that night to leave it behind. The park rangers had been helpful and professional. And after a thorough search of the area, they assured her and her friends that nothing sinister had occurred. Whatever had happened in those woods, it wasn’t because of them. They hadn’t done anything to her. And for Bloom, it was easier to believe that it was just a strange, unexplainable event.

Still, that didn’t stop the nightmares.

And it didn’t stop the incidents.

Bloom pulled open her wardrobe. She stared at the rows of designer clothes neatly hung. Her life was picture-perfect on the outside—always dressed to impress, always the center of attention. But inside, her world had been slowly crumbling since that night.

The first time it happened again, she had woken up in her garden. She’d convinced herself that she had sleepwalked—an embarrassing but not impossible explanation. But then it happened again, and again. Each time, she’d wake up disoriented, in strange places, sometimes far from her home. And her clothes were nowhere to be found.

The last straw had been the park near the city. Bloom cringed at the memory of that night—barefoot, wearing nothing but a stranger’s stolen shirt and pants. She had grabbed them from a clothesline in a desperate attempt to cover herself. The humiliation had been unbearable. Bloom Tillbury, the girl who wouldn’t be caught dead in anything without a high-end label, wearing some random person’s laundry. It was enough to make her want to scream.

She couldn’t ignore it any longer. Something was wrong with her. Something deeper than just sleepwalking or a wild night of partying gone awry. Bloom had tried everything to get answers, digging through old family records, asking discreet questions about her parents' past, but every door she knocked on remained closed. Her lineage, once a source of pride, now felt like an enigma. She started to wonder—was she some kind of freak?

Her friends noticed the change in her, too. They had begun to ask questions, especially after she locked herself in her bedroom for days at a time. She’d given her staff strict instructions to bolt the door from the outside, allowing no one to enter until she called for them the next morning. It was safer that way. She didn’t want anyone to see the aftermath—the torn sheets, the shredded pillows, and the destroyed furniture. It was as if something wild took over her during the night.

And maybe, it was true.

One morning, after another restless night, Bloom stood in her room, surveying the mess. The curtains were ripped from their rods. Her once-pristine bed sheets were in tatters, and her skin prickled with the aftermath of whatever chaos she had wrought while she was asleep.

She cleaned it up, like always. She had gotten good at hiding the evidence. No one could know, especially not her friends. If they found out, they would push her to get help. And the last thing Bloom needed was someone digging into her life, into her secrets.

She stared at herself in the mirror. She looked exhausted and pale. She rested her hands on the sink.

“What am I?” She couldn’t shake the feeling that something about her was different.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Red stood at the edge of a cliff, staring out at the sprawling forest below. It had been a year since he had seen her. He had spent countless nights replaying it in his mind.

Red couldn’t forget her.

He had tried to move on, to find his mate, but nothing ever felt right. No woman had stirred that connection in him, the bond he had been searching for his entire life. It was as if she had left a mark on him, an imprint he couldn’t shake. His pack had noticed his restlessness, but he brushed off their concerns, burying himself in his duties and the constant pull of the hunt.

But the truth was, his thoughts kept circling back to that night. To her.

Who was she?

Red hadn’t seen her again since. And no matter how much he searched, he couldn’t find her. She wasn’t part of his pack. And none of the nearby clans knew anything about a rogue wolf in the area. But there was something about her. He knew, deep down, that she wasn’t just any wolf.

His instincts told him that she was the reason he hadn’t found his mate.