Ryan lay in his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, his mind reeling from what he had just overheard. The conversation between Harold, Marcus, and the mysterious third man kept playing on repeat in his head. **Sacrifice. Ritual. Full moon. Using him?** It all sounded insane, but the grim tone of their voices and the fact that they mentioned him directly left no room for doubt. Whatever was happening, it involved him, and it wasn’t something good.

  As his thoughts swirled, he heard something—footsteps. Faint, but unmistakable, the sound of multiple people moving quietly through the house. His heart skipped a beat. **Were they leaving?**

  Ryan sat up, his muscles tense, listening intently. He could hear the quiet shuffle of feet moving towards the back of the house. His curiosity flared. **The ritual... they’re going to do it tonight.** He had to find out more. There was no way he could sit back and let this happen without knowing what was going on.

  Throwing caution to the wind, Ryan decided to follow them. He slipped out of bed as quietly as he could, careful not to alert anyone to his presence. He crept through the hallway, following the sounds of their footsteps as they made their way to a part of the house he had rarely ventured into—the back gate.

  The back gate of the Hargrave estate was something of a mystery. In all his years living here, Ryan had never seen it opened. It led to a heavily wooded area behind the mansion, one that looked like a forest but felt even more remote.

  As he approached the gate, he saw Harold, Marcus, and the other man standing there. Harold pushed open the creaking gate, revealing a path that led deep into the forest. Ryan’s pulse quickened. **This is it.** He had no idea what he was about to witness, but he knew it was something he had never imagined in his darkest nightmares.

  He hung back, careful to keep his distance as the three men made their way into the forest. The trees closed in around them, the thick canopy blocking out most of the moonlight. The path they followed was rough, overgrown with roots and branches, as if it hadn’t been used in years. Ryan had to be extra cautious, not wanting to step on a twig or make any noise that would give away his position.

  Suddenly, they stopped. Harold, Marcus, and the other man stood in a small clearing, their figures bathed in an eerie light filtering through the trees. Ryan crouched behind a thick tree trunk, peeking out just enough to see what was happening.

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  He couldn’t make sense of it at first. They stood still, almost unnaturally so. Then, Harold moved. His shoulders began to tremble, his arms twisted in strange angles, and the sound of bones cracking filled the air. Ryan’s breath caught in his throat. **What the hell was happening?**

  Harold let out a guttural growl, and before Ryan’s eyes, his body began to change. His limbs elongated, his muscles bulged, and his face distorted into a monstrous snout. His clothes ripped apart as his body expanded, covered in thick fur.

  **He was shifting.**

  Harold’s transformation into a massive, fearsome wolf sent a wave of shock and horror coursing through Ryan. He tried to process what he was seeing, but his brain refused to accept it. Harold wasn’t human—he was a werewolf.

  Before Ryan could even catch his breath, Marcus began to change too, followed by the third man. The sounds of bones snapping, muscles stretching, and growls filled the air as the two men shifted into wolves as well. The sight of it was grotesque, like something out of a nightmare.

  Ryan’s stomach churned with fear and disbelief. His hands shook as he pressed himself harder against the tree trunk. Everything he thought he knew about the Hargraves had been a lie. They weren’t just a cruel, powerful family—they were something else, something inhuman.

  The words he overheard earlier about rituals and curses suddenly made more sense. The Hargraves weren’t just dabbling in dark secrets; they were deeply entrenched in a world of supernatural horror. And somehow, he was part of it.

  But then, all three wolves stopped moving, their snouts raised as if they were sniffing the air. Ryan froze, his heart hammering in his chest. **No. Please, no.**

  They had caught his scent.

  A low growl echoed through the forest as the three wolves slowly turned toward where Ryan was hiding. Their glowing eyes locked onto his position, and Ryan’s breath hitched. **They know. They know I’m here.**

  Panic surged through him as Harold, Marcus, and the other wolf began to approach, their massive forms stalking towards him like predators closing in on their prey. Ryan’s legs felt like lead, his body paralyzed by fear. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t run. His mind screamed for him to do something, but he was rooted to the spot.

  His pulse pounded in his ears, drowning out the sounds of the forest. He felt like he was going to pass out. As the wolves drew closer, their eyes gleaming with hunger and something else—recognition—Ryan knew he was done for.

  They stopped just a few feet away from him, their growls low and menacing. Ryan’s breath came in ragged gasps. He was cornered. There was no escape.

  Harold, now fully transformed, took a step closer, his massive paws barely making a sound on the forest floor. He sniffed the air again, his glowing eyes boring into Ryan’s. For a moment, Ryan thought the wolf was going to lunge at him, rip him to shreds right there. But instead, Harold’s voice, though distorted by his wolf form, rumbled through the night.

  “Well, well,” Harold growled, his voice cold and menacing. “It looks like our little pawn has finally discovered the truth.”

  Ryan’s body trembled as Marcus and the other wolf growled in agreement. He was surrounded, trapped in the middle of a nightmare he had never even dreamed possible.

  “What... what do you want from me?” Ryan stammered, barely able to form words through his terror.

  Harold let out a dark, guttural laugh. “You’ll find out soon enough. You’ve played your part for years, Ryan. Now it’s time to see just how valuable you truly are.”

  Ryan’s mind raced, but there was no way out. He was at their mercy, and whatever they had planned for him, he knew it wasn’t going to end well.