WonNovels

1

The moon, tonight, was supposed to be perfect. A full, silver disc hung in the clear night sky above the suburban mountaintop, bathing every inch of the land in a cool, ethereal glow. Elara adjusted the focus on the observatory's main telescope; in the eyepiece, the shadows of the lunar craters were as sharp as an etching. Here, all was silent, save for the data, the stars, and herself. This orderly solitude was her refuge from the chaos of the city.

Suddenly, an unprovoked gust of wind shook the dome, followed by a blinding flash of lightning that tore the sky asunder, bleaching the world white. The thunder, like the passing of a titan’s chariot, roared and rumbled, vibrating through the metal floor beneath Elara’s feet. The power system let out a strained whine and then, the entire observatory was plunged into dead silence and darkness. The faint, red glow of the backup emergency lights flickered on, casting ghostly shadows.

"Damn it," Elara muttered, fumbling for a flashlight. Her work was interrupted.

Just then, a sound that did not belong to the storm echoed from the darkness. It was a suppressed, bestial roar, filled with endless agony, as if some great creature was wrestling with death itself. The sound was close, right outside the observatory.

Elara's heart leaped into her throat. There were wild dogs and foxes in the area, but never a sound so… primal, so powerful. She gripped the heavy metal flashlight in her hand and crept to the observatory’s side door, peering through the thick, bulletproof glass.

In the instant that lightning once again split the night, she saw it. The towering figure of a man, collapsed on the rain-soaked grass. He was curled up, his body tensed in excruciating pain, as though enduring some inhuman torment.

Was he an injured hiker? Or… something else? Elara’s rational mind told her to lock the door and use the emergency phone to call for help. It was the safest, most logical choice. She had already turned, her hand on the bolt.

Another pained groan echoed, closer this time, tinged with desperation. Elara froze. She looked out the window again. The man laboriously raised his head, as if sensing her gaze. Even through the rain and the distance, his eyes pierced the darkness like daggers, locking onto her with unnerving precision. There was no threat in those eyes, only an… unquestionable authority and a profound pain.

"No," a hoarse voice, nearly swallowed by the wind and rain, reached her ears with perfect clarity. "Don't call anyone."

Elara froze. Her hand fell from the bolt. As an astronomer, her entire world was built on logic, data, and predictable orbits. But in that moment, an inexplicable impulse—pity, perhaps, or a curiosity about the secret behind those eyes—overwhelmed her reason.

She opened the heavy steel door, and the cold rain instantly poured in. She rushed into the storm, struggling to reach the man's side. Up close, she could see the gruesome wound on his shoulder, deep enough to reveal bone. The flesh at its edges was a strange black, and silvery, web-like patterns spread across the surrounding skin. This was no ordinary injury.

"You need to go to a hospital," she said, her voice trembling as she knelt beside him.

The man shook his head, rain streaming down his well-defined face. "Can't," he gasped, each word a struggle. "They… will find me."

"Who?"

He didn't answer, only looking at her with those deep eyes, as if weighing and judging her. Then, he reached out and grabbed her wrist. His palm was burning hot, a stark contrast to her icy skin. The strength in his grip was immense.

"A place," he said with difficulty. "Just… let me get through the night. Just one night."

Elara looked at him, at the ominous aura of his wound, at the innate authority in his gaze that persisted even in his wretched state. She knew she was making a decision she might regret for the rest of her life. But still, she nodded.

She dragged the man, so much larger than herself, this stranger who reeked of danger, into her sanctuary of cold stars and absolute reason. The door closed behind her, shutting out the storm and the entire world.

2

The observatory was spacious, but the stranger's presence made it feel claustrophobic. In the dim light of the emergency lamps, his tall figure cast a huge shadow, like a caged beast. Elara settled him on a cot in the break room. The air was thick with the scent of rain, earth, and a faint trace of blood.

She brought the first-aid kit, intending to treat his wound. But when she approached with a pair of silver medical tweezers, he suddenly let out a pained grunt, his body convulsing violently. The silver patterns on his shoulder seemed to come alive, shimmering faintly.

"Don't use that!" he snapped, his voice sharp with warning.

Startled, Elara dropped the tweezers with a clatter. She looked at him, then at the tweezers, bewildered. "Why? It's sterilized."

"Don't," he repeated, closing his eyes, beads of sweat on his forehead. "Anything… silver."

The request was bizarre. Fleeting images from folklore and myth flashed through her mind, but she quickly dismissed them. She was a scientist. Perhaps it was a rare allergy or a chemical reaction. She eventually found plastic tweezers and non-metallic tools to carefully clean the wound. The flesh deep within was necrotic and black, and a dark fluid continued to seep out no matter how much she cleaned.

She gave up. This was beyond her knowledge.

"I don't know who you are or what trouble you're in," she said, standing up, her tone brisk to hide her unease. "But I have nothing here that can help you. When morning comes, you have to leave."

The man didn't argue. He simply opened his eyes and looked at her. "Thank you," he said, his voice regaining some of its steadiness, a strange magnetism in its depths. "My name is Luca. I promise, I'll be gone by morning."

That night, Elara barely slept. She locked herself in the main control room, listening to Luca's suppressed breathing and occasional low moans of pain. It felt like sharing a room with a ticking bomb.

The next morning, the storm had passed. Sunlight streamed through the clouds, bathing the observatory's dome. Elara emerged from the control room to find Luca sitting up. His color had improved overnight; though still pale, he no longer looked like a dying animal. His wound had stopped bleeding, but the silver patterns remained.

"Morning," he said, nodding at her.

"Your wound..."

"It's better," he cut her off, unwilling to elaborate. "The power outage last night was a blown main relay. I've re-routed it to the backup line. It should be enough for basic operations."

Elara was stunned. She went to the breaker box and saw that a backup cable had been expertly connected. How had he found and fixed it in the dark?

"How did you..."

"I heard the short circuit," Luca replied nonchalantly.

Heard it? Through several walls and heavy doors? The cloud of suspicion in Elara's mind grew denser.

The next 48 hours became a strange coexistence. Luca kept his promise and didn't try to leave, seemingly waiting for something. And Elara, driven by a curiosity she couldn't explain, didn't push him out. She continued her data analysis while Luca recovered quietly in the break room. He spoke little but was incredibly observant. He would suddenly comment on the trajectory of a distant comet she was tracking, with an accuracy that was almost unsettling. He showed a deep interest in her books on ancient astronomy and mythology.

Elara found herself growing accustomed to his presence. He was like an unknown celestial body that had crashed into her orderly universe—dangerous, yet fatally attractive. She could see that beneath his tough exterior, his eyes held a heavy, persistent burden. He didn't seem like a villain, but more like a king carrying the weight of the world.

On the third afternoon, two black SUVs stopped silently on the road below the observatory.

3

The moment the cars stopped, Luca was on his feet, his body tensing, his gaze sharp and alert. "They're here."

"Who?" Elara asked nervously.

"My people."

A firm, rhythmic knock sounded at the door. Luca looked at Elara, a silent request for permission. After a moment's hesitation, she nodded.

A man and a woman stood outside. The man was tall and resolute, his eyes full of loyalty; his name was Liam. The woman had calm, gray eyes and carried an old leather medicine bag; her name was Selena. They were visibly relieved to see Luca, but their faces were etched with respect and concern.

"Alpha," Liam said with a slight bow, a title that confused Elara. "We couldn't track your scent. We thought..."

"I'm fine," Luca interrupted, then turned to Selena. "How are things with the pack?"

Selena's expression grew grim. "Another one of the young ones is showing signs of losing control. Elder Caius is using it to stir up emotions. The situation is not good for you."

Alpha? Pack? Losing control? The words swirled in Elara's mind, forming a picture she couldn't comprehend. She felt like an intruder, spying on a secret world.

Selena quickly examined Luca's wound, her methods practiced, her ointments smelling strongly of herbs. When she saw the silver patterns, her face turned pale. "'Silvervein'… a poisoned weapon. Alpha, who did this?"

"A child we were supposed to protect," Luca's voice was filled with weariness and self-reproach.

They didn't stay long. As they were leaving, Luca whispered something to Liam, who glanced worriedly at Elara but nodded. As Elara saw them to the door, the last rays of sunset caught Liam's face. In that instant, Elara clearly saw his pupil contract in the light, narrowing into a vertical slit, like… like the eye of a wolf.

Elara’s heart skipped a beat. She stumbled back, the blood freezing in her veins.

After they left, the observatory was silent again, but it was a silence thick with tension. Elara backed against a cold wall in the main control room, her body trembling, staring at Luca.

"What… what are you people?" her voice was a dry whisper.

Luca was silent for a long time, as if fighting a difficult internal battle. He didn't deny or try to explain it away. He simply lifted his head, moonlight streaming through the dome's window, dyeing his eyes with a silver sheen.

"I am the Alpha of a werewolf pack," he said calmly. Each word was a stone dropped into the placid lake of her mind, sending shockwaves through her entire reality. "We are the Silver Creek Kin, living in the shadows of this land for generations. And I am their leader."

He told her he was injured while trying to subdue a pack member who had lost control to a mysterious illness and was attacked with a silver dagger poisoned with 'Silvervein'. The poison was designed specifically for them, suppressing their healing abilities and causing immense pain.

Elara's worldview shattered. Werewolves, Alphas, packs… words that belonged in myths and cheap novels had just smashed into her reality of science and logic. She should have screamed, run. But looking at the heavy resolve on Luca's face, she couldn't move. He wasn't a monster. At least, the man before her, burdened by responsibility and enduring pain, seemed more 'human' than many people she knew.

She chose silence, a silence filled with fear, shock, and an irrepressible curiosity. She decided to watch a little longer, to understand a little more about the man who had crashed into her starry sky and turned her world upside down.

4

"The sickness, we call it 'Moon Madness'," Luca's low voice echoed in the vast observatory. "It causes our people to gradually lose their minds, becoming bloodthirsty and violent, especially during the full moon. Eventually, they become nothing more than beasts, recognizing no one."

Elara hugged herself, trying to process this surreal information. "Is it… a virus?" she asked, attempting to define it in scientific terms.

"We're not sure," Luca shook his head, a shadow in his eyes. "It appeared suddenly and only affects the young ones. I suspect… it's not natural. Someone is behind this, trying to destabilize my rule."

"Who do you suspect?"

"Our pack's elder, Caius," Luca's voice turned cold. "He represents the old guard, always opposing our minimal contact with the human world. My brother, the former Alpha, fell in love with a human girl and broke his taboos. He… disappeared under mysterious circums