The morning felt too bright. Too loud. Like the world hadn’t gotten the memo that everything had changed.
I hadn’t slept. Not really. Just stared at the ceiling until the shadows shifted and the ache behind my eyes settled into something dull and constant.
I wandered out back behind the clubhouse, past the gravel lot and the rusted fence line, where the trees grew thick and the air felt heavier. I needed space. Somewhere the noise couldn’t follow.
But it did.
My chest tightened. Thoughts spiraled. What if they found me? What if Wolf regretted telling me? What if I wasn’t strong enough to stay?
I crouched behind the shed, arms wrapped around my knees, trying to breathe through the static in my head. The panic came fast—sharp, suffocating, like drowning in air.
I didn’t hear Hovak unti
