Ria
The moment it happened, I dropped the glass I was holding.
It hit the concrete patio and shattered, but I didn’t even flinch. My whole body went cold.
Tessa froze beside me, a forkful of cake halfway to her mouth.
“You felt it too,” I whispered.
She nodded slowly, face pale. “She’s gone again.”
It wasn’t just a feeling—it was like a light had been snuffed out.
Zara’s wolf had tried to rise, just as we hoped, just as we needed—and now…
Now it was caged again.
Worse than before.
Like it had been swallowed whole.
⸻
Tessa
I looked around the backyard in disbelief. Laughter. Music. Warm lights strung between trees. Nothing looked out of place. Zara was dancing near the firepit, her arms gently wrapped around her growing belly, face flushed with joy.
But I could feel the hollow
