Cedric Graythorn

Grayhaven had always worn its history like a shroud, the Victorian houses leaning close as if listening to every secret whispered through the fog. Long ago, when the malignant mist first crept over the town, Tanya Elmerwood and Cedric Graythorn forged a pact that kept humans alive and werewolves forgotten. Cedric, an ancient wolf locked in youth, guarded Grayhaven while resisting the Moon’s command to claim Seera. Emotions, he believed, were traps. The pact became his cage. Tanya kept her end until age stole her memories. Before the illness claimed her mind, she told her granddaughter the truth about the town, the pack and Cedric. She handed over a folder of instructions and a red box containing strands of his fur. When the granddaughter returned to Grayhaven, people recoiled, muttering as the fog thickened in her wake. They feared the witch's bloodline without knowing she held no magic of her own, only a role carved into the pact long before her birth. Mara the librarian guided her through the ancient forest where Cedric ruled the shadows. His betas arrived first, snarling warnings, but she refused to retreat. Cedric emerged next, all cold fury and sharp disdain, mocking every word she dared offer. He demanded she leave, demanded the pact be broken so he and his pack could finally be free. But logic could not reach him. So she opened the red box. Before Cedric understood her intent, she claimed the right Tanya had left her and swallowed a tuft of his fur. The forest went still. Cedric stared at her with a furious, disbelieving silence, bound to a mate he did not want and a fate he could no longer outrun. ©2025AnnaSenzai