a's

time I closed my eyes, the memory of his hand brushing mine returned-the stranger who was not truly

hadows heavy with whispers. I stood barefoot in the cursed woods, the mist curling around my legs like graspi

he ap

speak. He only reached for me, and when his hand closed around mine, the ground beneath us

is name lodge

dows. I pressed my palm to my chest, as if I could quiet the f

t had been fleeting. As though fate itse

carried the sharp bite of pine and something darker

en I f

row of my bones, invisible threads tugging me forward. As

rned back. I should have locked the door and prayed to the old gods to sever whatever had

ou follow

m behind me, soft as mist yet heav

hung silver as spider silk, her eyes pale as frost. I had never seen h

though the tremor in my

but in sorrow. "The Alpha's curse is no

aking my head. "No.

ned straight through me. "You will

riddles became clear, but when I blinked, she was g

er clawed d

ow, drawing me deeper into the trees. A

at the edge of my vision. The world seemed

le

ough he, too, had been running from something he could not escape. Hi

is voice was raw, strained,

honesty frightening me more than his

words carved into him. He stepped closer, each

undeniable. My skin tingled, my blood roared. I wanted to ste

estion slipped free,

curse or fate, I do not know. But it

Instead, they rooted me deeper. For in his eyes I saw

until it felt like my hea

fists as though he feared his own touch. "Go, Elar

d rushing through the b

came the sound of growls-low, guttur

fr

blazing as his body shifted, muscles rippling as t

said, voice laced wi

ven breathe, the clearing erupted wit

unseen wolves closes in, their tether strong

ngers brushing the edge of the wood

t shake. Shadows stretched across the room, and she swore she felt his presence

ling her toward a destiny she was not ready to name. And in that silenc