The forest stretched before us like an endless maze, tall dark trees rising like silent sentinels, their interwoven branches forming a canopy that swallowed what little light remained of the waning moon. I ran in my wolf form, silver fur gleaming faintly in the darkness, each stride echoing a fragile sense of freedom — fragile because at any moment, Ethan could emerge from the shadows to reclaim what he still believed was his.
My parents clung to my back, their trembling hands buried in my fur, their ragged breaths mingling with the howling wind. Caleb led the group, his wolf — black as midnight — carrying Serena’s lifeless body with a devotion that moved me and unsettled me in equal measure. Mara, her silver wolf darker than mine and her movements precise and commanding, ran alongside hi
