The dawn bled slowly across the horizon, its pale light creeping between the trees like timid fingers. Aria stood in the doorway of her cabin, the wooden threshold beneath her feet rough and familiar, but it no longer felt like shelter. The forest, once her sanctuary, pressed in with a suffocating weight.
She hadn’t slept after the dream—after the phantom taste of Kaelen’s lips lingered so vividly she’d woken with her heart racing and her wolf thrashing in longing. The ache hadn’t faded with the morning light. It grew sharper, like a thorn lodged too deep to pull free.
Her wolf murmured within, relentless. He is ours. You know this.
Aria wrapped her arms around herself, shaking her head. “No. He can’t be. Not after everything.”
Images flickered unbidden—Kaelen’s golden eyes darkened wi
