Chapter 37
Alena POV
The first crack came quietly.
So quietly, in fact, that Alena thought she imagined it.
She had been staring at the sky for what felt like hours, lying still on the moss-laced forest floor, her breath visible in the cold night air. She was waiting for the pain to stop. The trees loomed like silent watchers, their branches arching overhead in a tangled canopy that swallowed most of the moonlight.
She felt someone talking to her. She couldn't see anyone. She only heard whispers of voices.
Something wasn’t right.
It had started as a dull ache low in her spine. Then it grew. She wanted to stand up. She wanted to move.
A thin line of pain crept upward.
Then—
Crack.
Alena screamed.
Her breath hitched in her throat.
“No…” she whispered, more confused and afraid
