Aria’s POV
I’m running through these woods again, so fast my bare feet are practically flying over the pine needles and twisted tree roots that litter the earth. Branches and brambles scratch at my legs, but the pain just pushes me forward, the faceless howls and full moon my North Star.l. My heart is pounding at my ribs, but instead of sinking in my stomach, there are butterflies. For once, I’m not running away from anything, there are no grabbing hands. Breathless, I push through the last of the overhang from the trees eager to enter the clearing, my feet never faltering, never straying from the path to the place where I already know he waits for me.
And there he is, stepping off the boat like an Adonis of the forest. A heavy mist hangs over the lake and settles around him. He beckons
