Marked From Birth
The sun had not yet breached the peaks of the Iron Ridge, but the sky was already a bruised violet, bleeding into a soft, pearlescent grey. In the old days—before the Altar, before the fire—this was the hour of the wolf. It was the time when the pack would run, a singular grey tide flowing through the pines.
But Audrey was no longer a wolf, and Lucas was no longer just an Alpha.
Audrey stood on the highest precipice of the World-Oak, her bare feet pressing against the silver-barked wood. The tree felt alive beneath her, a low hum vibrating through her soles that matched the beat of her own heart. She closed her eyes, letting her senses drift.