Evelyn
Most people feared the woods.
I craved them.
They said the trees were cursed, that shadows moved where they shouldn’t, that monsters with eyes like wildfire and teeth like knives hunted anything foolish enough to cross their path.
That’s what my father told me every night when I was a child, when the wind howled and I clutched my blanket tighter.
But I didn’t believe in monsters. Not the kind he described, anyway.
The woods were quiet. Peaceful. Unlike the training yards echoing with gunfire and commands shouted. Unlike our home, where the walls breathed my father’s rules and expectations into every room. In the woods, I could breathe, think, could be someone other than Dorian Vale’s daughter.
So, I snuck away—again.
Slipping past the main compound wasn’t hard. Most of the hunters were busy prepping for some new patrol. My father would be gone until dusk, and even if he weren’t, he never checked my room until dinner. My feet knew the path by heart, woven into my bones from years of rebellion done in silence.
As soon as I passed the treeline, something inside me exhaled. The air was crisp and damp, laced with moss and pine. Leaves whispered above brushing against one another like secrets passed through centuries. The deeper I walked, the more the tension in my shoulders unraveled.
This place wasn’t just a hiding spot—it was sacred. It belonged to itself. Here, I didn’t have to train or obey. I didn’t have to measure up to the ghost of the perfect daughter my father imagined. Here, I could simply be Evelyn.
I found my usual spot near a crooked ash tree with bark twisted like ribbons. The clearing was small and tucked away bordered by stones and moss, like a secret room nature had carved out just for me.
I spread out my thin blanket, and settled into the hush and I pulled out the only thing that made sense anymore—books about a girl who became a knight. About courage and kindness in a world that prized brutality. I've read it five times already.
Still, I opened it again.
As I read, the rest of the world slipped away. Words wrapped around me like a warm cloak, drawing me in, reshaping everything. The birds sang overhead, and now and then, the wind would nudge my hair into my eyes like a teasing friend. I tilted my head to feel the sun on my skin, savoring the brief warmth before autumn swallowed it for good.
The birds sang and now and then the wind nudged my hair into my eyes. I tilted my face to feel the sun on my skin. For a while, there was only the book, the forest, and me.
Time slipped away. I lost myself in the pages until the sky darkened slightly, and the shadows began to lengthen.
That’s when I noticed the silence.
Not peaceful silence. Sharp. Heavy. Like a held breath. No birdsong. No rustling leaves. Just… stillness.
A snap echoed through the trees.
I froze. It was subtle but it pulled me back to the present like a slap. I glanced up, heart thudding.
“Probably just a rabbit,” I murmured.
But rabbits didn’t step like that.
Carefully, I closed my book, listening. Nothing. But the air had shifted. My neck prickled. Something unseen pressed at the edge of the clearing. I thought I saw movement—a tall, dark flicker—but it vanished.
The hairs on the back of my neck lifted. The air had changed.I stood slowly, book clutched like a shield. “Is someone there?”
No answer.
And yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling—like being watched by something older than time itself. I turned, taking one cautious step back toward the trail.
Then another.
A low growl rolled from the underbrush.
Every instinct screamed to run, but my feet refused to move. I could barely breathe.
Then—
“Evelyn!”
My father’s voice shattered through the trees like a rifle shot.
The presence vanished—like it had never been there.
And suddenly, the forest came alive again. Wind rushed through the branches, birds chirped, and the shadows receded but the pounding in my chest didn’t stop.
He stormed into the clearing, black gear rustling, fury etched across his face. His hand twitched near the knife strapped to his chest.
He grabbed my arm. “What the hell are you doing out here?”
“I—I was just reading,” I stammered.
“In the forest? Alone?” His voice cracked with fury. “Have I taught you nothing?”
I tried to explain, but his eyes swept the area, body tensed like a coiled spring.
“There were new tracks today. Deep. Clawed. You could’ve been killed, Evelyn.”
“But nothing happened—”
“Yet,” he snapped.
I winced. His grip on my arm wasn’t bruising, but it was firm—commanding. The way he looked at me wasn’t the way a father should look at his daughter. It was how a commander looked at a liability.
“I didn’t go far.”
He didn’t believe me. I saw it in his eyes.
The fury in his face gave way to something else—fear. “If anything had happened to you…” His voice dropped. “You’re the only family I have left.”
That words struck deep, but the feeling of being watched still stayed with me.
“You are not to come out here again. Do you understand?”
“I’m not a child—”
“No, you’re not. Which means you should start acting like a Vale. This isn’t a game, Evelyn. You can’t run into the woods every time you want to pretend the world is gentler than it is.”
I looked away, biting back the words I wanted to say. Cause what would be the point?
He released my arm and I cradled it against my chest as he scanned the woods once more. “Go home. I’ll follow in a minute.”
I nodded and turned, keeping my head low as I picked my things.
I got home and climbed the narrow stairs to the attic and opened the window. The air smelled like damp earth and gun powder. The sun had almost vanished now, dipping beneath the trees like it, too, was afraid of the dark.
I pressed a hand to the glass and stared at the forest.
I knew I should be afraid.
But I wasn’t.
Because whatever had been out there hadn’t wanted to hurt me.
If anything… I felt drawn to it.
And worse—some small part of me knew, deep down it wasn’t finished with me yet.
EvelynThe torchlight wavered as I followed the priestess through a narrow archway at the back of the temple. Stone gave way to earth, and the air grew colder, heavier, as if it had not moved for centuries.We descended a twisting stair cut into the bedrock, the only sound our footsteps echoing against the walls. At the bottom, the passage opened into a cavern veiled in a pale, silver mist.The priestess stopped beside me, her eyes as sharp as a wolf’s. “This is the Veil,” she said. “The goddess’s test. It spares no one with an impure heart. Wolves go feral if they are false. Humans…” She paused, gaze cutting deep, “…lose their minds.”A shiver ran down my spine. The mist curled around my ankles like cold fingers, breathing secrets I couldn’t understand.“What do I have to do?” I asked, voice tight.She pointed to a shadowy archway on th
EvelynThe night air bit cold against my cheeks as I stepped outside. Rafe waited in the courtyard, a silent, towering shadow. The torches behind him cast flickers across the planes of his face, catching the harsh lines and the faintest glint of something unreadable in his dark eyes.He nodded when he saw me, approving, though he didn’t smile. “Good. Come.”I fell into step beside him as he led me out through the fortress gates. No one challenged us. No one even spoke. It felt as if the whole keep was holding its breath.Beyond the walls, the forest loomed, hushed and silver beneath a waxing moon. The path ahead twisted between ancient trees, roots curling like fingers across the trail. Rafe’s presence guided me forward — steady, assured — and I clung to that steadiness because I didn’t know what else to trust.We moved deeper into the night until even the noises of the keep faded. The only sounds left were the hush of our breathing, the distant calls of owls, and the rhythm of our st
EvelynThe next morning, I woke feeling like the weight of the entire night before still sat on my chest. Every howl, every cry, every shiver of fear seemed stitched into my bones.I sat up slowly, stretching against the dull ache in my ribs. A small fire still burned in the hearth, casting a warm glow across the room, but it did nothing to ease the restlessness under my skin.I couldn’t keep living like this — caged, guarded, always afraid. I had to do something, anything, to feel less powerless.I pulled on the heavy cloak Mara had left draped across a chair and stepped out of the room. The hallway was quiet, but I found Mara by the end of the corridor, talking with one of the older omegas about supplies.She turned when she saw me, surprise flickering across her face.“You’re up early,” she noted.I drew a breath, trying to steady the panic that still lurked beneath my ribs. &
EvelynThe night after the punishment, sleep didn’t come.I lay awake in Rafe’s quarters — because where else could I be? — staring up at the carved wooden beams overhead, replaying every lash, every scream, every ragged breath.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the silver biting into flesh, saw the way the guards’ arms had moved, so practiced, so merciless. I heard the way the crowd had gone silent, torn between fear and grim satisfaction.I’d wanted to feel protected. And I had — sort of. But there was a sickness inside me, coiled tight, a voice that kept whispering that this wasn’t safety. That this was a warning.That I was the reason for their pain.By dawn, the tension in my chest had grown unbearable. I finally gave up pretending to rest, swung my legs over the edge of the bed, and stood.The bite of cold air helped ground me. The window was cracked open
EvelynThat night, Mara helped me dress again—this time in thicker clothes, a tunic, heavy boots, and a deep blue cloak that brushed the ground.My stomach turned, bile rising every time I thought of what waited outside.“Where are we going?” I asked, though I already suspected.She didn’t meet my eyes. “You’ll see.”I hated that answer.The courtyard looked different under torchlight, transformed from a training ground to something more like an execution stage. Torches ringed the perimeter, flames whipping in the cold breeze, casting long, eerie shadows across stone and dirt. The pack had gathered, shoulder to shoulder in stiff, silent ranks, eyes gleaming in the night like predators waiting for blood.I swallowed hard as Mara led me forward. Each step felt heavier than the last. Every eye turned to me. I felt their judgment like a blade across my skin—some gaz
EvelynI was going to lose my mind.Three days trapped in bed and I was ready to throw myself out the window—even if it meant tearing every single stitch and crawling into the forest like a wounded animal. Each time I so much as shifted wrong, Mara was there, shooting me that look that promised she’d tie me down herself if I tried anything stupid.And Rafe?He didn’t have to say a word. His presence was like a thundercloud, hanging at the edge of the room, thick and heavy and impossible to ignore. Even when he stepped out to see to other duties, I could feel him. Like some invisible thread tethered us together, always tugging, reminding me he was close.It got so bad I started to sense him before he even walked in. My skin prickled with an unearthly heat when he was near. The bond hummed at the base of my throat, an echo of a second heartbeat, relentless.Once, I overheard them through the thin walls.“You can’t keep hovering over her like she’s broken,” Mara scolded. “She almost die