Chapter 1 : Moonlight Crossing

Midnight. The Bodleian Library clock chimed twelve times.

Alex White closed the heavy book. *Medieval Magical History*. He''d been reading about elemental resonance theory for six hours straight. His eyes burned. His back ached.

"If magic was real..." he whispered, tracing a finger over the intricate circle on the page.

The circle glowed.

Silver light. Faint at first, then blinding.

Alex tried to stand. Couldn''t move. An invisible force pinned him to the chair.

"What the hell?"

The library shook. Books tumbled from shelves. The silver light swallowed everything.

Then—nothing.

***

Cold ground. Damp earth. Moonlight through leaves.

Alex opened his eyes. He lay in a forest. Ancient trees towered above him, trunks wider than cars. The air smelled of pine and wet soil.

He sat up. Still wearing his Oxford clothes. White shirt. Gray sweater. Dark trousers.

"Where am I?"

A wolf howled in the distance. Close. Too close.

Alex scrambled to his feet. Heart pounding. Adrenaline surging.

Rustling in the bushes.

He backed away. "Hello?"

A silver wolf emerged from the shadows.

It was huge. Twice the size of any wolf Alex had seen in documentaries. Silver fur shimmering in the moonlight. Emerald eyes fixed on him.

Alex froze. Don''t run. Running triggers the chase instinct.

The wolf approached. Slow. Deliberate. Each step silent on the forest floor.

It stopped three feet away. Lowered its head. Sniffed.

Alex held his breath.

Then the wolf changed.

Silver fur receded. Limbs elongated. Bones cracked and reshaped. Within seconds, where a wolf had stood, now stood a man.

A silver-haired man. Bare-chested. Muscles defined in the moonlight. Leather pants. Eyes still emerald green.

"Human." The man''s voice was deep. Commanding. "Why are you in my forest?"

Alex''s brain short-circuited. "I... I was in the library. There was light. Then I was here."

The man—Silver, Alex would learn his name later—stepped closer. "Teleportation magic. Are you a mage?"

"No. History student. Oxford."

Silver''s eyes narrowed. He sniffed the air. "You smell of magic. Faint, but there." He gestured with his chin. "Come. You don''t leave until I know what you are."

Alex had no choice. He followed Silver deeper into the forest.

The trees grew thicker. The moonlight brighter. Everything felt... alive. The air hummed with energy Alex couldn''t name.

He glanced at Silver''s back. Muscles moved under smooth skin. Silver hair caught the light like liquid metal.

Beautiful. Dangerous.

Alex''s heart beat faster. Not just from fear.

He didn''t know it yet, but this forest, this silver-haired man, this accidental crossing—it was just the beginning.

War was coming. A war between worlds. And Alex was right in the middle of it.