Chapter 2

The next day, Tom sat at his desk, staring at the case file in front of him. The more he read, the more confused he became. All of the victims had been found with their throats torn out, and there were no signs of a struggle. It was almost as if they had willingly let their attacker kill them.

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. This case was starting to get to him. He needed a break. Standing up, he grabbed his coat and headed out the door.

As he walked through the streets, he couldn’t help but notice the bright sun shining above him. It was strange, he thought, how the murders only seemed to happen once a month, always during the full moon.

Suddenly, he heard a scream coming from an alleyway up ahead. Without hesitation, he ran toward the sound.

When he arrived, he found a young woman crouched on the ground, holding her bleeding arm. Her eyes widened in fear as she saw him approach.

“It’s okay, I’m here to help,” Tom said gently, crouching down beside her. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” she whimpered. “Something attacked me. It was… it was like a wolf, but it wasn’t.”

Tom felt a chill run down his spine. Could this be related to the murders?

He helped the woman to her feet and walked her to the hospital, all the while keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings. Something was definitely not right in this town.

The next day, Tom went back to the station and began going through the case files again. As he read, he started to notice a pattern. All of the victims had been young, single women, and all of them had been out late at night when they were attacked.

Could it be that the killer was targeting a specific type of person?

Just then, his phone rang. It was his daughter, Emily. He sighed, knowing that this was not going to be an easy conversation.

“Hey, Dad,” she said, sounding nervous.

“What’s going on, Em?” Tom asked, his tone firm.

“I… I messed up,” she admitted. “I got caught shoplifting with some friends. I’m at the police station now.”

Tom felt his frustration rising. He had enough on his plate without having to deal with his daughter’s poor choices.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” he said, hanging up the phone.

As he drove to the station, his mind was racing. How was he going to deal with Emily’s behavior? And what was he going to do about the murders that were still happening?

When he arrived, he found her sitting in a small room, looking scared and ashamed.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” she said as soon as he walked in. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Tom took a deep breath, trying to control his anger. He knew that yelling at her was not going to solve anything.

“Let’s talk about this later,” he said calmly. “Right now, I need you to come with me.”

As they left the station, Tom’s phone rang again. It was his partner, Dave.

“Tom, you need to get down to the park,” Dave said urgently. “There’s been another attack.”

Tom’s heart sank. He had been hoping that the killer would take a break, but it seemed that they were only getting more active.

“Em, I need you to go home,” he said, pulling over to the side of the road. “I have to go take care of something.”

Emily looked at him, her eyes pleading. “Dad, please be careful.”

Tom nodded, then got out of the car and ran toward the park. As he arrived, he noticed that the area was eerily quiet. The usual sounds of children playing and families chatting were absent. He took a deep breath and stepped forward, his hand instinctively resting on his gun.

Suddenly, a loud growl echoed through the park, making Tom freeze in his tracks. He turned around, trying to locate the source of the sound. As he looked around, he caught sight of a shadowy figure moving through the bushes. Tom cautiously approached the bushes, his heart racing in his chest.

The growling continued, getting louder and more menacing. Tom drew his gun and held it steady, ready for whatever was lurking in the bushes. With a deep breath, he pushed aside the branches and came face to face with a massive wolf.

For a moment, the two of them stood there, staring at each other. The wolf’s eyes were bright yellow, and its fur was sleek and black as night. Tom felt a chill run down his spine as he realized what he was facing – a werewolf.

The wolf bared its teeth, growling once more. Tom could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he raised his gun, taking aim at the beast. But before he could pull the trigger, the wolf lunged forward, knocking the gun out of his hand.

Tom stumbled backward, hitting his head on a nearby tree. He felt a sharp pain shoot through his skull as he hit the ground, his vision starting to blur. As he lay there, struggling to stay conscious, he watched as the werewolf slowly advanced toward him.

He could hear his daughter’s voice in his head, urging him to be careful. But it was too late now – he had walked right into the heart of danger, and he didn’t know if he would make it out alive.

With a final burst of energy, Tom tried to scramble to his feet, but his body wouldn’t cooperate. The werewolf was closing in, its hot breath on his face. And then everything went black.

The wolf somehow left Tom and took off.

Forty minutes later, Tom was lying on the ground in the park. He sat up slowly and put a hand to his head, feeling a bump where he must have hit it when he fell. He looked around, trying to get his bearings. The park was empty, and the only sound was the rustling of leaves in the wind.