Jaden Carter watched his old life disappear through the passenger-side window.

The road stretched behind them in a long ribbon of gray, carrying the last familiar streets farther and farther away. The grocery store where he used to stop after school. The football field where he had wasted entire evenings with his friends. The corner where everyone seemed to know his name.

All of it was behind him now.

Another town.

Another school.

Another beginning he had never asked for.

“Look at that view,” his father said from behind the steering wheel. “Tell me this wasn’t worth the drive.”

Jaden barely looked up.

His father laughed softly. “You’re determined to hate this place before we even get there.”

“I’m not determined to hate it.”

His mother turned in her seat to face him. “You haven’t smiled once.”

“That doesn’t prove anything.”

“It proves plenty.”

Jaden sighed and rested his forehead against the cool glass.

The move had happened too quickly. One month ago, his biggest problem had been deciding what to do after graduation. Then his father had accepted a new job, boxes had appeared throughout the house, and suddenly Jaden’s final year of high school was being transported across the country in the back of a moving truck.

His friends had promised to keep in touch.

They would. At first.

Jaden knew how these things worked.

New schools. New routines. New people.

Eventually, everyone became busy.

“Jaden,” his father called.

“What?”

“We’re here.”

Jaden lifted his head.

Moonridge appeared beyond the windshield.

For the first few seconds, he understood why his parents had been excited.

The town was beautiful.

Wide streets curved between rows of impressive houses. Old-fashioned streetlamps stood beneath towering trees whose branches met overhead like a dark green ceiling. Small cafés and shops filled the town center, their windows glowing warmly in the late-afternoon light.

And beyond everything else stood the mountains.

At their feet, stretching for miles, was a forest.

Jaden’s expression changed.

The trees were enormous, packed so closely together that sunlight barely reached the ground beneath them. From a distance, the forest looked less like part of the landscape and more like a wall.

Something about it made his stomach tighten.

He watched it as the car moved past.

For a moment, something shifted between the trees.

Jaden straightened.

“Did you see that?”

His father glanced at him in the rearview mirror. “See what?”

Jaden blinked.

There was nothing there now.

“Nothing.”

Probably an animal, he told himself.

Still, he didn’t look away until the forest disappeared behind a row of houses.

Their new home sat near the quieter edge of town: a large two-story house with a narrow front porch and a backyard that sloped toward another line of trees.

Jaden stepped out of the car and stretched.

The air smelled different here—cleaner, colder, carrying the faint scent of damp earth.

His mother smiled at him. “Well?”

He looked at the house.

“It’s a house.”

She gave him an offended look. “You’re impossible.”

“Thanks.”

Unpacking took hours.

Jaden carried boxes upstairs until his arms hurt, then finally escaped into his new bedroom. It was bigger than his old one, with dark wooden floors and a wide window overlooking the neighborhood.

He dropped onto the bed.

A minute later, his mother appeared at the door.

“You planning to help again?”

“I’ve helped.”

“You carried four boxes.”

“Five.”

She folded her arms.

Jaden smiled faintly. “I’m resting.”

“You’ve been resting since we left.”

“That was emotional exhaustion.”

His mother laughed despite herself. “Dinner in an hour.”

When she left, Jaden stood and walked toward the window.

From here, he could see the town spreading beneath the fading sky.

And beyond the last houses—

The forest.

He stared at it.

The afternoon sun was still visible, but the trees already looked dark.

Too dark.

Jaden pulled the curtain halfway closed.

That evening, just as his parents were finishing dinner, the doorbell rang.

Their neighbor was a woman in her forties with a warm smile and a plate of food covered in foil.

“Welcome to Moonridge,” she said.

Jaden’s parents immediately invited her inside.

Her name was Mrs. Bennett, and she knew practically everything about the town. She spoke about the school, the best restaurants, the people next door, and the annual winter festival.

Jaden listened only halfway.

Then she mentioned the forest.

“You’ll probably hear animals at night,” Mrs. Bennett said casually. “Especially out here.”

Jaden looked up.

“What kind of animals?”

She paused.

“Deer. Foxes. Things like that.”

“And wolves?”

The smile disappeared from her face for less than a second.

Then it returned.

“Not anymore.”

Jaden frowned. “What does that mean?”

His mother gave him a look. “Jaden.”

“What? I’m asking.”

Mrs. Bennett set down her cup.

“Just stay out of the forest at night.”

The room became quiet.

His father chuckled. “Is that local advice?”

“Something like that.”

“Why?”

Mrs. Bennett hesitated.

Then she smiled again, but this time the expression didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“It’s easy to get lost.”

Jaden leaned back in his chair.

He didn’t believe that was the whole reason.

Later, after Mrs. Bennett had gone home, Jaden returned to his room.

He showered, changed, and lay across his bed with his phone in his hand.

Messages from his old friends filled the screen.

You there yet?

New town sucks already?

Don’t forget us.

Jaden smiled slightly.

He typed a reply.

Never.

For a while, the loneliness didn’t feel quite so heavy.

Then the house grew quiet.

His parents went to sleep.

The lights outside disappeared one by one.

Jaden placed his phone beside him and stared at the ceiling.

Monday.

A new school.

A building full of strangers.

Wonderful.

Just as his eyes began to close, a sound drifted through the night.

A howl.

Jaden opened his eyes.

He sat up slowly.

For several seconds, he listened.

Nothing.

“Probably a dog,” he muttered.

He lay back down.

The second howl came moments later.

This one was closer.

Jaden sat upright.

His heart began beating faster.

He crossed the room and approached the window.

The street outside was empty.

Moonlight covered the pavement.

The houses stood silent.

His eyes moved toward the distant forest.

At first, he saw nothing.

Then—

Two faint shapes appeared between the trees.

Eyes.

Jaden stopped breathing.

They were watching him.

He stepped closer to the glass.

The eyes vanished.

Jaden stumbled backward.

For a moment, he stood frozen in the middle of his room, feeling ridiculous.

Maybe it had been a reflection.

Maybe he was tired.

Maybe Moonridge was already getting into his head.

He pulled the curtains shut.

But sleep did not come easily.

Deep inside the forest, something moved through the darkness.

Silent.

Watching.

Waiting.

And somewhere beneath the pale moon, a long howl rose again.

This time, Jaden heard it in his dreams.