ANMELDENThe scent grew stronger, and for the first time since Harmony's words shattered the festival, I knew I wasn't chasing shadows.I could smell Analiese. I could smell her fear, the snow, and pine tangled together. Following the trail that cut through the forest ahead of me, my paws moved across the frozen ground as branches whipped past and snow exploded beneath me. The cold air burned through my lungs, but none of it mattered…only the scent mattered…only finding her mattered.My wolf surged, snarling, Find her. The command echoed through every part of me.The trail moved deeper into the woods where the trees crowded closer together; they were older and thicker, and the moonlight barely reache
Elias's jaw tightened. "Takoda."I looked at him. Every muscle in my body had gone rigid. "What?" The word came out rough enough to scrape.Elias held my gaze. "You think before you act."No, not tonight. Maybe not ever again where Analiese was concerned. The ugly part was that he knew it, too. My wolf surged. Find her. Nothing else mattered, not the pack, not the festival, and not the north. Only her.Elias stepped closer. "Listen to me."The crowd moved around us. People laughed. Christmas music drifted through the square, and children chased one another through the slush beneath the giant pine. The sounds reached me dimly, as if they belonged to another town
My wolf stirred. Go.For once, I agreed. Without another word, I turned away from the tree and headed back toward town."Takoda!" Elias called after me. I didn't stop. "Takoda!"I still didn't stop. The urgency building inside me refused to ease. Every instinct I possessed felt stretched too tight, like a wire pulled to the breaking point. The residential blocks blurred beneath my boots as the music grew louder, followed by the rising sound of voices, laughter, crowds, and lights. It was normal. Everything still looked completely normal. Then I stepped into the square, and my pace slowed immediately.Harmony stood beside the ornament booth. She was alone. There was no Analiese, no sarcastic comment
Jace had said the edge of town, not the mountains or the northern trails. He meant town itself.Christmas music drifted through the square while children ran through the slush beneath the giant pine. Families crowded around the tree lighting, and a group of college students laughed near the cider booth. Somebody dropped a tray of cookies, immediately becoming the center of attention. Nobody looked worried, nobody looked afraid, and nobody had any idea that someone had just crossed into Black Hollow.Jace's eyes stayed locked on me. Analiese stood between us with her arms folded tightly across her chest, though it was not because she was cold. The square was packed shoulder-to-shoulder, and the heat from food trucks, bonfires, and several hundred people drifted through the night air. This wasn't about the temperature; it was armor. It was the same armor she'd st
Analiese let out a short laugh, the sound scraping across the cold air between us. "Oh, wow."Snow drifted lazily beneath the courthouse lights. I rubbed a hand across the back of my neck and looked away for half a second, but the gesture bought me exactly zero time. When I looked back, she was still standing there, waiting. She wasn't hopeful anymore; she was just waiting.Analiese lifted her eyebrows and tightened her grip on her coffee cup. "Seriously? It's complicated?" The paper cup creased slightly beneath her fingers. Behind her, a group of kids sprinted past, nearly colliding with a vendor carrying a tray of hot chocolate. Christmas music floated through the square, but neither of us heard much of it.Analiese shook her head slowly, her eyes never leaving mine. "I don't know what happened, Takoda."The knot in my stomach tightened. One minute everything had been fine, the mountain, the truck, her hand in mine, and the look she'd given me when she'd climbed out of the passenger
The tree lit up at exactly seven o'clock. Thousands of white lights burst across the towering pine in the center of the square, the brilliant glare reflecting off the packed snow. The crowd erupted. Children cheered, clapping their mittens together, while festive music swelled through the hidden speakers mounted on the courthouse lawn. People laughed as fresh snowflakes drifted softly beneath the artificial glow, entirely unaware of the shifting territorial lines. Nobody noticed the wolves. Nobody noticed the raw tension moving beneath the surface, or the men stationed around the perimeter watching every entrance into town.That was the point. Black Hollow had survived for generations because normal people never saw the things protecting them.My eyes tracked the crowd automatically, scanning for faces, sudden movements, exits, and threats. Nothing looked wrong, and that bothered my inner wolf more than if something had. Jace had already disappeared back into the festival crowd, execu
Takoda didn’t slow as we hit the main lobby, his hand staying clamped around my wrist as he dragged me along behind him, at the same time, hearing the growl echo again, lower and closer this time, a couple of students near the entrance stopped walking and looked around.A guy by the vending machine
As we stayed still for several seconds, the background noise from the main lobby turned into a dull hum.Takoda lowered his head, his shoulders drooping as the tightness around his mouth finally loosened. Pressing his palms into his temples, breathing hard; he looked totally done.To keep my hands
Takoda’s question knocked the wind right out of me. It wasn’t what he said, it was the sudden, raw crack in his voice.“I’m fine,” I mumbled.His eyelids went heavy, his eyes locking onto mine with way too much weight. Oh, perfect. Apparently he spent his weekends mastering interrogation tactics.“
There are few things more psychologically damaging than a hot, emotionally unavailable guy telling you: you need to trust me, and then immediately refusing to explain literally anything.By Thursday afternoon, my brain honestly deserved overtime pay. I had replayed that conversation so many times t







