Zane
The night was too quiet. Not the peaceful, deep forest quiet you learn to recognize over years, but the strained, twisted calm where even the air holds its breath, as if it knows blood will spill soon. My wolf stirred inside me long before the first sound reached my ears. A deep, restless rumble rolled through my chest, and the instinct you cannot teach or silence sent one clear message into my mind.
Danger.
I sat up, my hand reaching for my weapon on its own, and in the same moment I felt what turned my stomach to ice. Elariana’s breathing changed on the other side of the tent. She did not wake fully, but her body already knew. Her past heard the coming violence before her mind did.
Outside, a branch snapped. Then another. Then from the trees came the first rough, throaty growl.
