~Aria ~
The clock clings to me, damp with sweat and blood. My lungs drag in ragged breaths, chest heaving as if the hunt still rages, though the forest is quiet now. But my wolf isn’t. She stalks beneath my skin, restless, ears pricked,eyes still searching for prey.
I should be horrified. God! I should be sick!.
But all I can think about is how alive it made me feel.
Kael watches from the shadows, his cloak heavy across my shoulders, his chest streaked with blood, silver eyes gleaming like knives in the dark. He doesn’t move. He looks like the night carved itself into a man—merciless, immovable, inevitable.
My hands tighten around the fabric. “That wasn’t training.” My voice shakes. “That was.. slaughter.”
His gaze sharpens, cutting into me. For a moment, I expect laughter, cruelty.
