Chapter Four: The Howl in the Dark

That night, the wind carried something unnatural.

I felt it the second I cracked my bedroom window open, hoping for some fresh air to clear my head. Instead, an eerie stillness settled over the trees, the usual nighttime hum of insects gone.

I wrapped my arms around myself, staring into the dark expanse of the woods behind our house. I’d grown up listening to the rustling of branches, the distant hoot of an owl, the occasional yipping of coyotes. But tonight, the woods were silent.

A different kind of hush.

The kind that comes before a storm.

Or a hunt.

I swallowed hard and stepped back, pulling the window shut. Maybe I was just imagining things. Maybe my mind was still tangled up in the lingering presence of Jace Wolfe.

The way he had felt before I’d even seen him.

The way his golden eyes had flickered with something unspoken when he looked at me.

The way he had tensed the moment he saw my brother, like some invisible force had passed between them.

It was ridiculous. I didn’t even know him.

And yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow, he knew me.

A Restless Night

I tried to sleep. I really did.

But my body had other plans.

Every time I closed my eyes, I felt something—a presence, a pull—tugging at the edges of my consciousness. Not painful, not intrusive. Just... there.

Like I was supposed to be somewhere else.

At 2:37 a.m., I finally gave up.

I threw my blanket off and padded over to my window again, drawn by an urge I didn’t understand. The moon hung low, casting silver streaks over the treetops. The branches swayed, but there was still no wind.

And then—

A shadow moved.

My breath hitched.

At first, I thought it was just an animal. But then I saw the shape—tall, human, too still.

Watching.

A figure stood just beyond the tree line, half-shrouded in darkness.

I couldn’t see his face, but I knew.

Jace.

My heart slammed against my ribs. I should have been scared. What kind of guy lurks outside someone’s house in the middle of the night? But fear wasn’t what spread through me.

It was something else.

Something darker.

Something dangerous.

Then, as quickly as he had appeared, he turned—and melted into the woods.

I sucked in a sharp breath.

My fingers tightened around the windowsill, an unfamiliar ache blooming in my chest. An instinct I didn’t understand.

Follow him.

The thought was reckless. Irrational. Insane.

But my feet were already moving.

Into the Woods

The cold bit at my skin as I stepped outside, dressed only in a thin sweater and leggings. The wind had picked up now, whispering through the trees like something alive.

I hesitated at the edge of the forest, my pulse hammering.

What the hell was I doing?

And yet, I couldn’t turn back.

I took a step forward. Then another. The damp leaves crunched under my feet, the smell of earth thick in the air. My breath came in quick bursts as I wove through the trees, my senses on high alert.

Then—a sound.

A low, deep growl.

I froze.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. My eyes darted around, but the shadows were too thick, swallowing everything beyond a few feet.

The growl came again, closer this time.

And then—

A howl.

Long. Low. Bone-chilling.

A shiver rolled down my spine.

I should have turned back right then. I should have sprinted home and locked my doors and never looked back.

But instead, I stepped forward.

Because something inside me already knew—

The howl wasn’t meant to scare me.

It was meant to call me.

The Truth in His Eyes

I didn’t make it far before I saw him.

Jace.

He stood in the middle of a clearing, moonlight casting sharp angles over his face. His hands were clenched at his sides, his chest rising and falling in uneven breaths, like he was struggling to stay still.

Like he was fighting something.

He turned slowly, and when his eyes met mine, my stomach dropped.

Because they weren’t golden anymore.

They were glowing.

A deep, unnatural amber, like molten fire.

My heart stopped.

For a second, we just stood there, locked in some invisible battle. His expression twisted—anger, frustration, something else I couldn’t name.

Then, in a single, blurred movement, he was in front of me.

I gasped, stumbling back, but his hand shot out—catching my wrist before I could fall. His grip was warm, almost too warm, and his touch sent a jolt of heat racing up my arm.

“Elena,” he breathed, my name sounding like a warning. Like he hadn’t meant to say it out loud.

I opened my mouth, but no words came.

How did he know my name?

Why was he out here?

Why were his eyes glowing?

I didn’t get to ask.

Because the next second, a branch snapped behind us.

Jace whirled, his entire body going rigid.

The woods had been silent before, but now... now I could hear something moving.

Something big.

His grip on my wrist tightened. “You shouldn’t be here.”

I swallowed hard. “Then why are you?”

His jaw clenched. “Go home, Elena.”

The wind howled around us, and for a second, I thought he was going to push me away. Send me running.

But he didn’t.

Instead, his fingers lingered, his touch burning against my skin. His eyes flickered, something breaking through the hard edges of his expression.

Regret.

Longing.

Like he wanted to tell me something, but he couldn’t.

Then—

Another snap.

A low, menacing growl rumbled through the trees.

Jace reacted instantly, yanking me behind him. His body tensed like a predator preparing to strike, his stance almost inhumanly still.

A shadow shifted in the darkness.

And suddenly, I understood.

The howl. The growl. The eyes. The tension in his muscles, like he was barely holding himself together.

I wasn’t the one in danger.

He was.

Or worse—he was the danger.

A lump formed in my throat. “Jace...”

His breathing hitched at the sound of his name, like it physically hurt him.

Then he turned his head, just enough for his glowing gaze to find mine.

And in a voice so low it barely reached me over the wind, he whispered—

“Run.”

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