The path is a lie. The wolf is not the only monster in the woods.

In the isolated, snow-choked village of Oakhaven, Rosaline lives under the shadow of a suffocating fear she cannot name. Her mother is a ghost in their own home, and the crimson cloak passed down from her grandmother feels more like a burden than a gift. The villagers whisper of a pact that keeps the forest’s horrors at bay, a fragile peace bought with a terrible price.

But when her grandmother falls ill, Rosaline must break the one rule she has always lived by: never stray from the path.

Deep within the whispering trees, she discovers the horrifying truth of the pact. The creatures that stalk the darkness—the Hollow Jacks, the Skin-Thieves—are not just beasts of hunger, but monsters of envy, driven to steal the lives and skins of those they kill. And her village is not their victim, but their willing accomplice.

Attacked and marked by one of the creatures, Rosaline finds herself infected not with poison, but with a terrifying connection to the forest’s primal hunger. She learns that her bloodline holds a secret, and the crimson cloak is not a symbol of vulnerability, but a tool of the hunt. To save herself and avenge the fallen, she must abandon the frightened girl she was and embrace the legacy in her veins.

She must become the fire in the blood. She must become the hunter.

Perfect for fans of dark fantasy, creature features, and brutal fairy tale retellings, this novella transforms a classic tale into a heart-pounding saga of survival, vengeance, and monstrous secrets. If you love stories with strong female protagonists, visceral action, and folk horror that chills you to the bone, your watch begins now.