n Vine was n

Sera to sleep. the soft rustle of the wind against the leaves, the chirping of crick

,tonight somet

che hadn't left, she still felt it, and It wasn't just the pull she felt earlier in the day, it was stronger,

skin did nothing to soothe the feeling. It wasn't pain, it wasn't hunger, exactly. It was more like an alert

e murmured frustrated, tryi

e trees loomed lazily, dark silhouettes against the pa

f, and the feeli

ldflowers pine and soil, now carried a strange smell ,

roze,

med. Her ears caught a brief shift in the air , a

that comes with the

Just the pounding of he

first how

t one of

ngry, guttural, an

gue'

darted towards her door, Before her fingers could hold onto the h

r removed fro

the c

Growls.

. Her mind racing for options , should she

The latch stuck. She tugged harder. Behind her,

he had one leg over the sil

d through the air, f

oad shoulders blocked the light, His presence swallowed the room. His scent hi

re her brain could proc

mmed into he

o, no

ipped her ankle, pulling her back inside. She landed hard on the floor, knocking the air from

r wrist, and then

t a sud

kled own

slowe

, focusing only on him. His dark eyes locked with h

a confi

mate

didn't w

chest, and in a low, guttura

in

ood ra

streaming down her f

her up like she weighed nothing. She pounded at his arms, screaming, kickin

dn't

ed the night. Her pack was unde

her home, The air was thick with smoke , blood and fear. She saw tw

was of her front door han

orest swal

rney wa

p on her never loosened, though his pace was relentless. Every s

d him. She had caught glimpses of them. , feral eyes, dirty clothes, blood on th

ew who

he was

the whisper in her blood that said closer i

nt here. The trees were thicker, The scent of rot clung

cks and thorn covered trees. In the center, a crude

carried

, then stood, breathing heavily. She scramble

ile, not soft. not gentle

look of p

a word, he t

ooden door

was

ift prison. No windows. One door. A pile

up, every li

hes, and worse. But none of it compared

s that

he reacte

y

mate. Not yet. Maybe not eve

y... it rem

skin. The way her heart had known. If felt like som

to her ears, trying to drown it a

d, gr

ped down h

dn't sto

ootsteps. Just o

aus

ld her

the sound of something being placed

ept fo

. Water. A sl

dn't t

t. Or maybe not. She couldn't tell. At some point,

ered.

nst the wall, baring her

't come

edator's gaze in his eyes, and then, with a q

idn't

I crossed the border.

re in

mirked. "Say what you w

bubbling beneath her ski

ut his voice dropped to somethi

turned a

the door

turned, it pressed

on herself. E

asn't ju

roken. The girl who had laid in bed dreamin

by some

ne hu

again, it was still there, alive, crawl

only

exhaustion claimed her

en me, but you w

, something sti