When Anna Zielke returns to her home village of Alt-Kaster after her grandmother's death, she has no idea that the old legends she used to laugh at as a child are a bloody reality. Between the narrow alleyways, the mists of the Kaster Forest, and the unspoken secrets of the villagers, Anna soon senses an eerie presence that grows stronger with each full moon. The clues lead deep into the family history-to an ancient pact that should never have been made. The more Anna learns the truth, the more she herself is drawn into the vortex of a beast that not only threatens the village but is also awakening within her. Caught between human and monster, guilt and responsibility, Anna must decide whether to embrace or destroy the legacy-and what price she is willing to pay. A dark, atmospheric novel about legends and guilt, about community and exclusion-and the question of whether the true monster lives in the forest or within ourselves.