Alaric's POV
There was blood on my palm again.
Not because I hit something. Not because I was caught doing something I shouldn’t. No, It was the claw marks, shallow, raw, and irritated, but they were fresh. I had scratched at my own skin in my sleep again.
The dreams had returned. They are now even sharper and wilder.
White, blinding light. A howl that didn’t belong to me echoed through my skull like it was trying to rip something loose from the marrow of my bones. It's something ancient, something I wasn’t ready to name.
I sat at the edge of my bed, half-dressed, breath shallow, pulse thundering in my ears. I needed quiet.
But silence in this house wasn’t kind. It made the echoes louder, more unbearable.
I hadn’t seen Elaria since yesterday, after she chased me out of the room she
