Asher stood there, unable to utter a word as he watched them walk toward the house. His beta held onto his arm tightly, although if he wanted to break free and kill the intruders, no one could stop him but the house itself. He knew that the building was protected by magic and wouldn't allow any wolf to approach it, yet these strangers could access it freely.

Conflicting emotions surged within him, and he struggled to keep them under control. His mind told him one thing, while his wolf vehemently disagreed. Never before had he felt such opposition to his inner wolf's desires, and it had never been so challenging to rein it in. He was out of his mind, and his Beta could sense the inner struggle he was going through.

"I want them gone today," he snapped through clenched teeth, feeling his wolf vehemently reject that request.

"Alpha, I don't want to argue with your orders, but perhaps this may be our only opportunity to break free from this curse. Wouldn't you like to regain our freedom?" The word "freedom" sounded foreign, as it had been far too long since their people had experienced it.

They had been imprisoned by the curse for a hundred and fifty years, trapped within the magical barriers of the village, barely able to survive. It wasn't that the lycans cared about maintaining contact with humans, but because of that witch, they lived in complete isolation from the outside world. She had cursed them all because of the actions of one of their own.

They had no contact with other wolf clans, they could not meet their mates, but they could not be attacked either, and this magical barrier kept them safe from any outside threat.

And so it had been until the day these two strangers had crossed it.

He ignored his Beta's words because he knew he was right. Everyone in the Clan had been waiting for this moment and he couldn't afford to lose their respect by banishing them without explanation. He had to tell them what had happened before he could make his judgment.

"How is this possible? I didn't sense any magic in either of them, they're just humans. How did they manage to cross the barrier?" he said aloud, although the question was not directed at his Beta. He knew that neither of them had an explanation for that.

The hopeful expression on his friend's face changed to a sad grimace and he shook his head.

"I noticed that too. The strange part is not just the absence of magic or the fact that they're not lycans, but rather that they appear to be mere humans... yet, there's something off about them. They may look ordinary, but there's definitely something not quite right."

Asher nodded, he had noticed it too, but it was even more mysterious not to know what kind of creatures they were up against. They had entered the witch's house without a problem and that puzzled him.

No one had ever entered it before; the strong energy surrounding it would repel anyone who tried to approach. That's why he hadn't pursued them, they were shielded inside. However, he knew they would eventually come out. When they did, he would be there, ready to uncover the whole truth.

“It's useless for us to stay here” he said to his Beta, we must inform the clan and keep an eye on the house while a decision is made.

“I'll take care of that right now.” His friend squeezed his shoulder before walking away to fulfill his orders.

Asher glanced at the house for a final time, noticing the curtain move in one of the windows. The woman named Emma revealed her face, causing his inner wolf to stir restlessly. Quickly, he turned away, determined to avoid seeing her, and sprinted away from the woman as swiftly as possible.

                                                                         ***

Emma couldn't resist the temptation to look out of the window, despite her brother's warning. Ethan seemed eager to assert himself as the older sibling and issue orders, but she wasn't ready to submit to that. She had endured her mother's control for far too long to now subject herself to her brother's commands.

"You're not going to tell me what to do," she muttered to herself, pulling the curtain aside to look outside and noticed that the man was still there.

They looked at each other for a moment, but it didn't last long as he turned and walked away.

She stayed there for a few minutes, her eyes focused on the street, amazed at the speed with which the man moved. It was her brother's hand grabbing her arm that forced her mind back to reality.

"I'm not giving you orders to control you, Emma. I'm not like Mom," Ethan whispered, his expression filled with sadness. "I'm just concerned. I was the only one who left the forest when Mom died, the one who met people, the one who..."

Emma cut him off, grabbing his shoulders and gently pushing him back until he bumped into the couch. The furniture was visibly old, but immaculately maintained. Everything in the house was, and she couldn't deny that they had better amenities compared to their cabin in Pennsylvania.

"I know you felt suffocated in our house, which is why you didn't hesitate to leave me alone when Mom died," she said. Her brother tried to protest, but his eyes dropped in shame. "You know it's true. We had barely buried her when you were packed and ready to leave."

"But I came back," he interjected hastily. "I was only gone for a month, and you did just fine. I didn't leave you forever. I wanted to see if what Mom said was true. If leaving the forest was really dangerous for us, I couldn't take you and put you in danger."

Emma nodded and sat down next to him, suddenly feeling exhausted from the journey.

"I appreciate it, but now it's my turn to explore and meet people. I think we made the right decision to moving here. It's peaceful, the house is cozy, and we even have a garden and some fascinating neighbors."

Her brother narrowed his eyes in concern and looked at her intently.

"No, Emma! They're not fascinating; the word you're looking for is concerning. That man is a psycho. He showed up naked, completely ignoring this artic cold, and started screaming out of the blue. And let's not forget this house. Didn't you notice anything weird about it?"

Emma felt her sun-shaped pendant heating up in her chest. She held it in her hands and squeezed it, but said nothing. Did she not notice anything?

Of course she did.

The word "weird" stood out in her mind like a giant neon sign. She may have grown up in a remote forest, far from civilization, but she wasn't naive. It was quite clear to Emma that the whole situation was not normal from the beginning; the house was just one more thing on the list of oddities.

The day the brochure inviting her to live in this town appeared on her Pennsylvania doorstep, Emma knew there was something unusual about it. Then a strong intuition told her that if she didn't travel to that place, things would take a turn for the worse. And as if that wasn't enough, there was the encounter with the old woman, who claimed to have spoken to Emma before. No matter how hard she tried to recall that conversation, she knew deep down that it had never happened. She hadn't rented that place as the old woman had said, but if they didn't stay there, they would be out on the street, defenseless.

Regarding the cabin, as soon as they stepped foot on the property, she immediately noticed several unusual things. There, in the cold and snow, was a garden overflowing with ripe vegetables, ready to be harvested. Upon opening, not even a speck of dust could be found despite seeming closed for a long time. But that was just the beginning. In that very moment, she was overcome by an eerie sensation, as if the walls were watching her every move and the house seemed to possess life of its own. Despite this unsettling feeling, leaving was out of the question. She felt an undeniable connection to the place, so she made the decision to lie.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Ethan, you're probably tired from the trip. I think this place is charming, we can't judge their people just because one of them wanted to show up here naked and screaming, maybe he's the town freak."

"The town freak?! For God's sake, Emma, I can understand you being naive, but that man didn't look just like a freak, more like a dangerous psychopath. Maybe you didn't notice the way he looked at you, but I did."

Emma wanted to convey to her brother the sensation that had come over her upon seeing that man. She felt an inexplicable urge to get to know him better, particularly when he was fully clothed, as it would be a safer approach. However, in order to achieve this, she needed to convince Ethan that there was nothing unusual about the place.

"Come on, let's just take it easy. We've just arrived, and we have a cozy roof over our heads and the comforting warmth of that fireplace."

"A fireplace that no one has lit, yet there it is, with logs that look freshly cut, and I certainly didn't put them there," her brother complained as he pointed to the place where the fire burned.

Emma ran her tongue over her dry lips, not knowing what to say.

"I'll head to the kitchen and whip up something warm to drink. Maybe there's some tea or coffee, or even a strong painkiller that can knock us out for a couple of days and help us reset our minds," she rambled on before quickly leaving the room.

She wanted to stay in that place, she didn't know why, but it was a strong need. At that moment she felt the same way as when she received that brochure where they talked about the town.

Emma was relieved that her brother hadn't followed her into the kitchen to continue their discussion. So she took a moment to examine her surroundings. Everything was made of wood, the cooking utensils were sturdy and heavy as if they were made of iron, and the stove was not electric or gas, but wood.

That was not strange to her, since they did not live in a modern home in Pennsylvania. Their small cabin did not have the new conveniences her brother had told her about, so she was glad that everything was ready except for lighting the fire and heating the water.

As she wondered where she was going to get water, a ceramic jug appeared before her eyes that she did not remember seeing before. Emma swallowed the lump she felt in her throat, but still approached the jar and looked inside to find it full of fresh water.

It didn't appear to have been sitting there for long, and it looked safe to drink.

"I can't mention this to Ethan if I want to stay here," she murmured, her voice trembling. But what truly startled her was when the stove ignited on its own and the wood began to burn, allowing her to heat up the water. Fear gripped her, but she managed to gather her composure and prepare the herbal tea she had found in the kitchen. She just hoped it wasn't poisonous and she wasn't taking her brother and herself to a tragic end.

Once the tea was ready, Emma carefully poured it into a teapot and found a tray to carry everything back to the room. With each step, her hands trembled, not from the cold, as the temperature in the house was pleasantly warm.

If she wasn't so scared she would have already taken off the woolen hat that the old woman gave her and the coat.

If she hadn't been so scared, she would have taken off the woolly hat the old woman had given her.

"Are you okay, Emma?" Ethan asked as he watched her approach, the cups on the tray clinking from her shaking hands.

"Yeah, just a little chilly. As soon as I get something hot to drink, I'll be fine," she tried to reassure him, but her nerves caused her to stumble, and the entire tray of contents went flying and crashed to the floor.

Immediately, the sound of the shattered cups mingled with the scream trapped in her throat. Her brother quickly jumped up to avoid being splashed with the hot water and stood beside her, offering a comforting hug.

"Did you burn yourself?" he asked, examining her hands and finding no signs of burns or injuries. They both shifted their attention to the mess on the floor.

"I'll clean it up right away," Emma said, her voice still trembling with fear.

Her brother shook his head and gently pushed her aside.

"I'll take care of it. You're scared, and I don't want you to accidentally cut yourself," he said, barely finishing his sentence before another scream echoed through the room.

This time, both Emma and her brother let out a scream as they watched the broken cups miraculously piece themselves back together, the water vanishing from the floor, and everything returning to the tray as if nothing had happened.

"Holy shit... Tell me you saw that too, Emma," her brother choked out, his fingers gripping her arms with an intensity that startled her.

"I-I saw it," she stammered, unable to conceal her fear any longer. "What's going on?!" she screamed as the tray levitated in the air and settled on the table by itself.

"I don't know, but we're not going to stay and find out!" Ethan commanded, swiftly gathering their belongings with an unnatural speed. Once he finished, he tugged her towards the exit.

They had to get out of there, even if every fiber of their beings resisted the idea.