ra'

t my arms while I ran, desperate to put distance between myself and the whispers that had stalked me since lea

llagers' murmurs about the Alpha's curse gnawing at my sanity.

a glan

embers pierced the night. My throat tightened as fear froze my legs.

I fell, the world tilting. Claws scrap

t the silenc

rutal force. Bodies hit the ground, snarls and roars tangling with the cr

breath was rough, his chest rising like a storm struggling to calm. Moon

le

Al

cked onto me. For a heartbeat, I forgot to breathe. He stepped forwar

id, voice low, grave

invisible weight of command pressing down on my chest. Every ins

ed mine as he helped me to my feet. Warmth jolted up my arm,

invisible tether sparking alive in that touch. My pulse no l

though the sharpness in his words falt

I whispered. My voice betra

The tether coiled tighter, drawing me closer, until I could see the faint

jaw tensed, and though his grip remained gentle, th

, though I fea

re dragging back to my eyes. His chest rose and fell as

ess in these woods

ther had burned him too deeply. Yet even in th

oward the village. But I remained. His presence was both warn

d rose as if to brush a loose strand of hair from my face, but he stopped inches away,

e tasting strange in his mouth

istened. The pull between us threatened to

e, a howl split the night-lon

head snapped toward the trees. The

rowled, his voice no

. The sound of bones cracking filled the clearing. Shadows swallowed him whole, and

a silent promise etched i

pes slithered through the dark,

ling certainty-this nigh

full wolf form as unknown creatures close

the black car's departure still lingered in her ears, low and menacing, as if it had imprinted itself into the stones o

and found him standing in the aisle, his face unreadable, thoug

id quietly, not a que

owed. "Who

"Men who do not belong here.

sed, the memory of the stranger's piercing gaze

aid more than

and defiance intertwining.

ts way in. Father Elias stepped closer, lowering his voice. "Some truths,

hose storm-gray eyes found hers through the rain. She didn't kn