When the Alpha Comes Calling

Every fifty years, on the eve of an eclipse, a beast emerges from the forest to claim his bride in a small village tucked away in the woods. This phenomenon is referred to as "the taking" by the locals. The locals describe this beast as a serious threat. It goes door to door looking for the woman whose presence awakens his primal urges. Until he finds his bride, he will kill, disfigure, and destroy everything in his way. The beast does not hunt alone, despite the townsmen's previous attempts to track him down and kill him before he could take one of their daughters for marriage. To ensure that his objective is achieved, he has supporters in the shadows. After locating his bride, he returns her to the jungle, where she vanishes from sight. Celeste thinks that this alleged "legend" is merely a terrifying fable that her grandma invented to frighten her. But was she ever mistaken when a pair of starry eyes entered her bedroom and peered directly at her through the window? The next thing she knew, a half-naked man who claimed her as his was carrying her out of the home and into the woods. Who would have guessed? After all, Grandma wasn't insane.