ra'

lades. Lanterns glowed dimly against the dusk, their flames sputtering as though the night itself sought to smother them. I

aw the figure cloaked in darkness-the Alpha of Bloodmoon Hollow. His shadow lingere

"Mark my words," she muttered to another villager, loud enough for me to hear, "the Alp

I did not need to

n fog, as if waiting for me. For days now, claw marks had appeared near the cottages-long slashes across doors, wood splintered deep. Th

r. The howls no longer sounded like beasts-the

climbed high above the treeline, I found m

scarred tree trunk, tracing the claw marks carved into its bark. A tremor raced through me, not fea

la

e shadows, low and sharp. I spun, the basket falling

light catching the edges

le

ting and magnetic at once. His eyes caught the silver glow, gl

is voice was rough, weighted wi

hold his gaze. "And

bite them back. My pulse hammered,

g over his face. "You do not unde

rm. "What curse binds this place? Why do the vill

ant cry of an owl. He took a slow step closer, and thoug

" he said at last, his tone softer now, almos

ught. "What

ur blood stirs old power. Priestess blood. The s

stumbling. "That is impo

ice low, final. "And that

nder my palm. Priestess blood? I had never heard my family speak of such a thing. My mother

deep within me stir. As if the earth bene

I could feel the pull of his presence, heavy as gravi

the warning, behind the command, wa

. Not the call of a wolf, but something deeper, dark

ard the sound, his eyes

is voice rough with urgency.

o motion, swift as shadow

h shallow. The night pressed closer, the trees trembling

hummed in my veins, the strange claw marks glo

he world shuddered. For a heartbeat,

ara

warred within me, but one thing was certain. The se

carried the curse-then the night

strange forces close in, hinting her bloodl

m the crumbling wall of the chapel, dust clinging to her skirts, her breath uneven. The villagers' murmurs about priestess bloo

skin prickle. She clutched her shawl tighter around her shoulders, fighting the urge to run. That was when she s

itched. She

sound-low, deliberate, a growl that vibrated in her bones. Every i

air of eyes glowed-amber, un