The moment the cursed wolves vanished into the trees, I felt it.
Like a door slamming shut inside my chest.
The air thinned, the forest seemed to exhale, and Nyx howled low in my soul. Not out of fear, but fury. Not just because we’d been watched. Hunted. Threatened.
But because of what it meant.
They knew about us.
They knew the bond was forming.
I stood in the clearing with Silas beside me, my fists clenched and jaw tight. My skin felt too hot, my thoughts too loud. I didn’t say anything at first. I couldn’t. Every instinct I had screamed for me to shift and run—to find higher ground, to tear through the forest and let the rage burn through my veins.
But I didn’t run.
Not this time.
“I should have fought them,” I said, breaking the silence. “I should have done something.”
Silas turned to me, his silver eyes unreadable. “You did the right thing. If you had shifted, they would’ve attacked. That wasn’t a challenge—they were scouting. Measuring us.”
I hated that he was right.
