Aurelia POV
I stayed frozen on the platform for what felt like an eternity, watching the rogue wolves below shift uneasily, their attention fixed on something beyond the treeline that I couldn't see from my elevated position.
The footsteps grew closer.
Then, without warning, all four wolves scattered.
They didn't retreat gradually or reluctantly. They fled, breaking in different directions through the forest with the kind of desperate urgency that suggested whatever approached was something they feared far more than an exhausted, cornered Omega they were already trapped.
Within seconds, the clearing beneath the tower stood empty.
I remained perfectly still, my heart still hammering, straining to identify whatever frightened away creatures who seemed so confident only moments before.
