Kora’s POV
The howl still echoed in my head long after the sound faded into the forest. It wasn’t a normal wolf’s cry — it was older, deeper, threaded with a power that didn’t belong to this world. Even Edward, always so composed, looked unsettled.
“It’s begun,” he said quietly.
I stared into the trees, my pulse quickening. “What’s begun?”
He didn’t answer right away. He just reached for my hand, fingers tightening around mine like he was anchoring me — or maybe himself. “The waking,” he said finally. “Whatever the gate stirred… it’s spreading.”
The mark on my hand burned again, pulsing in rhythm with my heartbeat. I could almost feel it responding to that distant howl. It wasn’t pain — it was more like a call.
Something wanted me to follow.
We gathered the council by noon. The tens
