Chapter 2 The Unseen World

• The walk back to the village was a blur. Meher’s legs moved mechanically, carrying her through the dense forest, but her mind was somewhere else—still trapped in the encounter she’d just witnessed.
• A werewolf. She had seen it with her own eyes. And the man, Ayaan, shifting from beast to human in the blink of an eye… She could still feel the weight of his gaze, a mix of strength and sorrow, like a storm trapped behind glass.
• She shook her head. It’s impossible. There has to be a logical explanation for this.
• But nothing made sense anymore. She had come to this village to uncover the truth behind a series of animal attacks, not to get caught in a web of myths and supernatural creatures. And yet, she had witnessed a legend come alive before her very eyes.
• The path to Rudrakund was steep and narrow, winding through thick trees and rocky terrain. The scent of damp earth mixed with the sweet fragrance of wildflowers. Meher’s mind tried to focus on the story she needed to write, but the images of the silver wolf and the man haunted her thoughts.
• She reached the outskirts of the village just as the sun began to dip behind the mountains. The villagers were already retreating into their homes, locking doors and pulling down shutters, as though anticipating something. Meher couldn’t help but notice the wary glances they threw her way when they saw her coming back.
• "Did you see it?" asked an old woman who had been watching her from a distance. Her gnarled hands gripped a cane as she leaned out from under the eaves of a small cottage. "The wolf? The Garun wolf?"
• Meher stopped in her tracks. "I… I saw something. But it wasn’t like anything I’ve ever seen before."
• The woman’s eyes darkened. "It’s not safe, girl. You shouldn’t have gone so deep into the forest."
• "Why?" Meher asked, narrowing her eyes. "What’s so dangerous about it?"
• The old woman’s gaze flicked toward the forest, then quickly returned to Meher. She leaned closer, whispering, "The Garun clan is cursed. They’re not like other wolves. They’re bound by blood, and if you interfere with their world… there’s no going back."
• Meher frowned, but before she could respond, the woman turned and hobbled away into her home, leaving Meher with more questions than answers.
• ---
• The evening was quiet, but the tension in the air was palpable. As Meher sat down in her small rented room at the village inn, her thoughts spiraled in a thousand directions. She opened her laptop and tried to focus on her article, but the words refused to come. Instead, her fingers hovered over the keyboard, lost in the enigma of the silver wolf and its mysterious alpha.
• She needed answers.
• She needed to go back.
• But how? And more importantly, why?
• Meher couldn’t shake the feeling that Ayaan was somehow calling her back. The intensity of his gaze, the warning in his voice—it all pulled at her in ways she couldn’t explain.
• She picked up her phone, half-expecting a message from her editor back in Delhi. But the screen was blank. No calls, no emails.
• For a moment, she thought about reaching out to the villagers. Maybe someone would share more about the Garun clan, or the curse they were supposedly under. But deep down, she knew they wouldn’t. The fear in their eyes was enough to tell her that any information they had would be buried under layers of superstition.
• With a frustrated sigh, she shoved the phone aside and stood up. The night was still young, and something in her gut told her that she wasn’t finished here. That the real story hadn’t even begun.
• ---
• The next morning, Meher was up before dawn. She had a plan, but it wasn’t a conventional one.
• She needed to speak to Ayaan. To understand him. To understand what he was—and why he had saved her. But more than that, she needed to know if there was any truth to the ancient curse that had been whispered about since her arrival.
• She packed her bag, checked the map the villagers had given her, and set out toward the forest again. This time, she was determined to find answers.
• It wasn’t long before she reached the edge of the forest, where the trees parted to reveal the dense woods beyond. Meher hesitated, glancing over her shoulder. The village seemed so far away now, and for the first time since arriving, she felt the weight of her decision.
• The air felt thicker here, charged with an energy she couldn’t quite place. Her heart raced, her instincts screamed at her to turn back. But she couldn’t. She wouldn’t.
• A crackling sound in the trees caught her attention. She froze.
• A figure emerged from the shadows—Ayaan.
• He was standing near the edge of the forest, his tall frame barely visible through the trees. His golden eyes met hers, and for a moment, time seemed to stop.
• "Meher," he said, his voice steady but with an edge of warning. "I told you to leave this place."
• "I couldn’t," she replied, her voice defiant. "I need to know what you are. What you’ve done. Why you saved me."
• Ayaan stepped forward, his expression unreadable. "You shouldn’t be here. It’s dangerous."
• "I don’t care," Meher said, her gaze unwavering. "You’re not just some animal. You’re not like the others. What are you?"
• Ayaan’s jaw tightened, and he looked away, as though wrestling with something deep within himself. "I told you. I’m the alpha of the Garun clan. We are bound by a curse that no one can escape."
• Meher took a step closer. "A curse?"
• He nodded, his eyes darkening. "A curse that has plagued my people for centuries. A curse that says if I fall in love with a human, the Garun clan will be destroyed. If you stay here, if you keep asking questions, you risk everything."
• Meher’s heart skipped a beat. "But I don’t understand. Why me? Why are you telling me this?"
• Ayaan’s expression softened for just a moment, his gaze flicking to her lips before he looked away again. "Because you’ve already become a part of this world, whether you want to be or not."
• A shiver ran down her spine, and she instinctively took another step forward.
• "Tell me everything," she said quietly.
• Ayaan hesitated. Then, with a resigned sigh, he nodded. "Come with me. I’ll show you what you need to know. But once you step deeper into this world, there’s no turning back."
• ---