The forest edge trembles in the quiet night. Something isn’t right. My instincts flare before my eyes catch it—movement, too deliberate to be deer, too coordinated to be random.
“Lucien,” I say sharply, my voice controlled but taut. “Stay with her. Don’t let her out of your sight. Guard her with everything you’ve got.”
He inclines his head, silent acknowledgment, before moving to position a few guards around the house. I watch him, grateful and frustrated all at once. I can’t risk her being vulnerable—not again. Not now.
The attackers are faster than I anticipated, and already I notice something odd. Their approach isn’t typical. They move like wolves, yes, but there’s a cold calculation, a deliberate cruelty in their strikes that doesn’t match the usual patterns I know.
I take a deep
