The air in the forest was thick with mist, the scent of damp earth and pine clinging to Layla’s skin as she moved deeper into the forbidden stretch of Blackthorne land. The path ahead twisted through ancient trees, their branches reaching like skeletal fingers toward the sliver of moon overhead. Somewhere in the distance, an owl let out a lonely cry, the only sound in the otherwise eerie silence. The forest seemed to breathe around her, each rustle of leaves carrying an unseen whisper, urging her forward, yet warning her all the same.
Layla’s heart pounded. She had never ventured this far beyond the pack’s borders alone, but desperation had driven her here. If there was even a sliver of hope that the old witch knew of a cure for her mother, she had to take it.
The deeper she went, the mo
