ra'

gainst my medallion, closing the clasp before anyone could see inside. The man behind the desk-Alpha Roderick Blackwood-wat

oice was low, lik

e me, staring straight ahead, h

"Kaelen. Leave us. Wait outside. Don't list

up immediat

word was no

ng at me. The door slammed. Now

gaze directly on my

d. "It's just a med

wears it. No one else possesses it." He stood up and walked around t

lie; Mara had never told me. "My grand

ly, as if remembering it. "And why did you come her

. She said this wa

le number one: You do not speak of anything you see here. Rule number two: You never go into the West Woods after nightfall. Rule number three-" He

ur son." I raised my chin

chair. "If I see you near him again-if I see that medallion open-y

up. "Und

. Get

behind me to find Kaelen leaning against the wall right next

t of me, blocking my path. His voice

I tried to walk around him. "And t

"You think that's it? You think you can just show up here, wear so

her arms with a bitter sneer. "Look at her, Kaelen," Lila scoffed, her voice dripping with pure disdain. "A pathetic stray wanderin

ered back down to me with equal fury. He turned his harsh gaze back

I pulled away, but his grip di

t isn't yours. And now my father is watching my every move because of you." He leaned in, his voice cold and cruel. "And if you think for even a second t

t I didn't look away. "I h

at me. Don't even breathe the same air as me. If my father sees us again-ever-it won't

come near you." I tur

la

ght he might apologize. Maybe part of all this wasn't jus

to see you suffer. And n

directly into the office, s

held back my tears, angry with myself for letting him get to

ing the sky in deep purple and gray. The air grew cold, sharp, laden with the scent of rain and pine.

ck, swallowing the last bruised streaks of twilight. The moon was r

orch, intending to head strai

the West Woods, a long, low grow

in my tracks. And in the darkness between the