Chapter 1

Bryan Shaw never imagined that he would go from being an insignificant content operator at a small IT company to the most talked-about figure in the entire Shadow World overnight.

Bryan was the kind of employee nobody noticed at the company he worked for in Larkspri. His life revolved around endless revisions, trend chasing, video edits, and replying to floods of DMs.

Working past midnight had become routine. He was exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes that never faded, and the balance in his bank account barely covered rent and takeout.

His biggest dream was to create a video that could hit a million likes, escape the life of being someone invisible in the office, earn a promotion and a raise, and finally stop cramming himself onto the last subway home every night.

The thing that changed his life was hiding in a pitch-black alley in the old district.

That night, Bryan worked overtime until eleven again. The subway had already stopped running, so he cut through the narrow backstreets of the rundown district to get home faster.

There were no streetlights in the alley. Only thin strips of dim light leaked through cracks between the buildings. The wind rattled the trash cans, metal clanging sharply in the darkness.

Anyone would have been afraid to walk through alone this late at night, but Bryan was too exhausted to care. He only wanted to get home and sleep.

Then he saw the massive gray figure standing at the end of the alley. It was at least 6.5 feet tall.

It was crouching next to the trash cans, its back to him. Thick gray fur covered its entire body. Its shoulders were broad, and beneath the fur, the outline of muscles bulged faintly. Even from behind, its presence alone felt overwhelming.

Bryan thought, 'Whose giant pet got loose?'

Then the figure turned its head slightly, revealing a face covered in gray fur and packed with long fangs.

Not a dog. Not a bear. A werewolf. Alive!

Any normal person would have screamed, passed out, or run for their life. But years of soul-crushing internet jobs and viral obsession had broken Bryan's brain.

The moment he saw the werewolf, fear didn't even register. His professional madness kicked in instead.

He thought, 'Holy crap, an actual werewolf! The look, the texture, the sheer rarity! If I film this, it's going to blow up. A million times better than those staged special effects videos. This is the viral hit I've been dreaming of.'

Adrenaline surged. Bryan held his breath, and his hands went perfectly steady.

He whipped out his phone, opened TikTok Live, fixed the angle, and started streaming in seconds. He handled the whole thing with a level of skill he never showed while editing videos at work.

With the camera locked on the werewolf, Bryan lowered his voice, barely able to hide his excitement. "Guys, you're not gonna believe this. I was heading home from overtime and ran into something I never thought existed.

"Look at that—a real werewolf! No CGI, no cosplay. Just look at the fur, look at those muscles. This makes Twilight look like a joke.

"Hit that follow button right now, because tonight, we're going live into the Shadow World!"

The livestream quickly filled with its first wave of late-night viewers.

[Where is this filmed? This setup actually looks legit.]

[A werewolf? Damn, content creators are getting out of control now.]

[That fur looks insanely real. Gotta be a costume, right?]

[I'm staying for this. Bro, don't cut the stream.]

The werewolf obviously heard the noise and slowly turned its head.

What shocked Bryan more was that the werewolf had half a leftover sandwich in its mouth. Bits of crumbs were stuck in its fur, making the whole thing weirdly hilarious.

Those beastly eyes, which should have been fierce and predatory, showed no bloodlust or savagery. The werewolf looked confused, annoyed, and slightly offended.

It looked exactly like a giant dog caught sneaking food behind its owner's back.

The werewolf slowly pulled the sandwich from its mouth and held it in one enormous fur-covered hand.

Its deep voice rumbled like distant thunder, thick with a rough Larksprian accent. "What are ya filming me for? Ain't you got anything better to do this late at night? You outta your mind or what?"

Bryan and the online viewers all froze.

[LOL, the werewolf actually has a Larksprian accent.]

[This is so embarrassing. The werewolf is actually socially awkward.]

[The script is ridiculous, but the acting is pretty solid.]

[The scary werewolf with the Larksprian accent is killing me.]

Bryan froze for several seconds, then pulled the craziest stunt of his life.

Instead of running away, he stepped closer, pressing his phone camera right up to the werewolf's face, almost touching its nose.

"Did you guys catch that?" he said. "The werewolf's actually speaking in Larksprian. Come on, spam the chat with 'Cute Wolf Boy'. Let's show the werewolf some love."

The werewolf was left speechless.

He had lived for over three hundred years and seen more than Bryan could ever imagine.

His name was Luke. Over two hundred years ago, the Dark Forest in Asterland was his territory.

Under the moonlight, his howl used to shake the entire forest, making every beast bow in submission. He could tear apart a wild boar with his claws and outrun a deer with ease.

Under the banner of the Silvermoon Pack, he was a warrior respected and feared by all, a true king of the darkness.

Then came the Inquisition, and centuries of glory burned to ash.

Witches' pyres consumed the werewolves' dens. Holy water scorched his fur, and hunters chased his kind across entire continents.

The lands they once ruled became a living hell.

Luke barely survived. One by one, his packmates died to fire and weapons, and eventually, the entire pack fell apart. The survivors had no choice but to run.

Decades ago, they followed merchant ships across the ocean, fleeing all the way to Lioren.

Here in Larkspri, there were no cursed crosses and no hunters waiting in the shadows.

People knew almost nothing about werewolves, vampires, or the hidden creatures of darkness, which made the city the perfect hiding place.

In the beginning, life here wasn't too bad.

Back then, the city was still underdeveloped. The forest beyond the outskirts remained wild, untouched by noise or surveillance. Luke could slip deep into the forest to hunt wild game, preserving the last fragments of a werewolf's dignity.

However, in a few decades, the world had changed a lot. Skyscrapers rose across the skyline, highways stretched in every direction, and countless surveillance cameras formed an invisible web over the city.

This city was known as the "City of Eyes". Satellites watched from above, cameras monitored every street, and security systems guarded every residential block. A stray cat could be tracked with ease, let alone a 6.5-foot werewolf.

Hunting had become nothing more than a distant fantasy.