He'd been bitten by a wolf. A wolf from the woods. 

 Lowell was loved by the entire village. He was the golden child, always helpful, always kind. So, one can picture how much sadness they felt when the villagers discovered he was to be given to the Wood that winter. Each year, a child was bitten by the wolves, and if they weren't sent to the forest within a week of the bite, they would undergo a gruesome transformation, becoming one of the beasts themselves. So, that was why he hadn't tried to hide or protest when the next morning his loved ones accompanied him to the border. 

 In his case, the entire village followed along, their misery lingering in the air like a stifling mist. No one could believe it had been him. It was always the naughty children, who would sneak into the forest. But Lowell had simply been gathering wood for the fire... or so the villagers thought.

 The boy, had, in fact, been gathering kindling, but had been stopped by a noise... calling him into the dense forest. Overcome with curiosity and slightly entranced by the strange sound, he had entered the Black Wood.

 And woken up at the edge of the forest with a shallow bite on his forearm. The one time he disobeyed his parents' orders, he'd been instantly punished in the worst possible way.

 Now, as he neared the fringe of the trees, he blinked away his fear and remorse and thanked his family, along with the village for all they had done for him, causing many to burst into tears and curse the twisted forest for taking such a perfect boy.

 Lowell hugged his mother and father and brothers and sisters, before taking a deep breath and... and stepping across the treeline. 

 The rough trees closed in behind him- trapping him inside and sealing out the light. He bit down on his surging terror, and walked deeper into the Black Wood.

~

 A curious girl with hair as white as snow, skin as pale and pristine as marble, peeked through the brush and followed the young boy through the forest until his feet became paws, and the moon cast shadows that danced across his white fur.

 Heart pounding, she ran home, telling her mother that there was another Wolf in the woods.