4. Obsidian Fur
Obsidian Fur
SUNANDA
The nightmares were relentless. Every night, they crept back into my mind, darker and more vivid than before.
The images would twist and contort, filling in the gaps with visions of people who made my life miserable, words I couldn’t hear, faces that blurred into grotesque shadows. It felt like something was coming.
I had woken up gasping, drenched in sweat, my heart pounding in my chest. My fingers trembled as I wiped the tears away, trying to steady myself. I needed air. I needed space. I needed to clear my head. And so, without thinking, I threw on a jacket, grabbed a small flashlight and left my apartment.
The night outside had a bite, the air sharp against my skin. Most people would’ve been asleep by now, but I couldn’t shake the unease that crawled over me, the weight of the nightmare still hanging heavy in my chest.
I didn’t know where I was going. I just kept walking, my steps echoing through the empty streets. It felt like I was walking away from the confusion, away from whatever had been bothering me for days now. The moon hung high above me, full and bright, casting an eerie glow over everything.
I reached the edge of the woods—the same woods I’d wandered through countless times as a child. They were comforting in a way, familiar. But tonight, they felt different. The trees loomed taller than usual, their branches swaying in a wind I couldn’t feel, as if they were whispering to each other.
I paused, unsure whether I should continue. But the pull was too strong. My heart was racing, my mind still lost in the haze of my nightmares. I stepped into the woods, my footsteps muffled by the thick carpet of fallen leaves.
The further I went, the more the world seemed to narrow around me. The moonlight barely pierced the canopy, leaving the woods in shadow, and the silence became oppressive. I felt it then—the unmistakable sensation of being watched.
I stopped. My breath hitched in my chest as the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
My hands shook, and I instinctively reached for the small flashlight I’d brought, flicking it on.
The beam of light barely cut through the blackness, but it was enough to make me feel less alone, if only for a moment.
Bushes rustled behind me and my heart skipped a beat. I whipped around, the flashlight trembling in my hand, but there was nothing. The woods were still, too still.
Then I heard it—a low growl, deep and primal. It made my blood run cold. I froze, unable to move, as the sound seemed to echo all around me, like it was coming closer, surrounding me.
I turned again and my pulse quickened, my eyes widening at the presence before me.
A massive shadow, moving swiftly between the trees.
At first, I thought it was a trick of the light, but then the shape became clearer.
It was huge—much bigger than any animal I’d ever seen.
It was like a wolf, but more monstrous. Its eyes gleamed in the moonlight, glowing yellow, and its body was covered in thick, obsidian fur.
I took a step back, my breath catching in my throat. The unnatural beast was closer now, and I could see the rippling muscles beneath its coat, the way it moved like it was toying with me.
I wanted to scream, to run, but my body wouldn’t obey. The fear was too much, paralyzing me in place.
Then, it lunged.
I tried to turn and run, my legs carrying me as fast as they could, but the beast was too quick. It was on me in an instant, knocking me to the ground, the air knocked from my lungs as I crashed into the forest floor.
The world spun around me, and I gasped for air, my hands scrabbling at the dirt, trying to push myself up, but the creature was on me again, its claws scraping across the ground beside my head, hot breath in my ear.
I felt my legs give out beneath me, and I collapsed, vision fading, darkness closing in on me.
Everything went black.
When I woke up, I wasn’t in the woods anymore. I was lying on a soft surface, tucked under thick blankets, the scent of something familiar and comforting in the air. I sat up too quickly, my head spinning, panic flooding my chest.
I blinked, trying to focus. It took me a moment to realize where I was. The room was small, cozy, with dim light filtering through the curtains. My eyes landed on the figure sitting in a chair beside me.
Mateo was here. But… how?
“Shh,” a signed, gentle but firm. “You’re safe. It’s okay.”
“What happened?” I croaked, my voice rough from the shock.
Mateo’s face was serious, his eyes dark, but there was an odd tenderness in his expression. “You’re safe now. You passed out in the woods. I found you.”
The woods. The wolf. The terrifying thing that had almost killed me.
I felt a wave of dizziness and rubbed my forehead. “The wolf…” I whispered, my voice shaking. “It was huge. It attacked me.”
Mateo didn’t say anything for a long moment. He just stared at me, his jaw tight, his fists clenched in his lap.
“Mateo?” I said again, this time more firmly, trying to get him to answer.
His eyes flickered to me, and I saw a kind of hesitation.
“I need to tell you something,” he signed slowly, his posture strained. “Something I should’ve told you before.”
I blinked at him, confusion twisting in my chest. I also realized I had lost my hearing aids somehow. “What are you talking about?”
He stood up, pacing a few steps before turning back to face me, his hands moving quickly. “I don’t know how to explain this, but... the thing in the woods? The wolf?” He met my eyes, his expression pained. “It was me.”
I froze, the blood in my veins turning to ice. My heart stopped.
“What?” I whispered, barely able to breathe.
“I’m the wolf,” he signed, his voice steady but heavy with guilt. “I didn’t want you to know. I didn’t want you to run from me. But now you’re here, and I can’t keep hiding it. I’m... I’m a werewolf, Sunanda. And you’re my mate.”
His words hung in the air, cold and heavy, and for a moment, I couldn’t process them. Couldn’t breathe.
This couldn’t be real. It couldn’t.
But Mateo’s face, his eyes full of something deeper than I had ever seen before, told me it was. And I realized, with a sickening lurch in my stomach, that everything had just changed.