Sleep didn’t come again.
Even as the fire burned low and the others shifted into restless sleep, I remained still, my back against the cool stone of the cave wall. The dream clung to me like a second skin—its weight pressing against my ribs, thick with something I still couldn’t name.
I could still feel the bite. The phantom ache in my wrist, the way the black wolf had sunk her teeth in—not to wound, not to claim, but to stop me.
My wolf had stirred violently in that moment. And then, just before the dream shattered, before I was dragged back to reality—
Mate.
I clenched my jaw. It was impossible. It had to be.
The witch had been watching me for some time, silent as smoke curling through the dark. Finally, she moved. The firelight flickered against her features, casting shifting shad
