POV: Nixie
The forest had never sounded this loud before.
Every snapped twig.
Every shifting leaf.
Every distant howl.
All of it vibrated through my bones, like a warning drum.
The smell of Selene clung to my palms, fading too fast. Too wrongly. She never bled this much-not even during harsh training-but the smear she had left on that rose petal was thick and dark, filled with something I couldn't name. It wasn't just blood. It felt… heavy. Tainted. Like whatever attacked her had done more than harm her body.
It had taken something from her.
I pressed my back against a tree, forcing my breath to steady. My wolf stirred restlessly beneath my skin—a faint awakening, not yet strong enough to shift, but present enough to make my senses sharper.
Selene lives.
I clung to that truth.
T
