Kael moved through the pre-dawn gloom of Stonehaven like a ghost, the obsidian pendant a cold, secret weight against his sternum. Ronan led him not through the main gates, but along a forgotten game trail that skirted the eastern wall, his silence a grim testament to the severance about to occur. The forest loomed ahead, a dark maw waiting to swallow him.
A shadow detached itself from the base of the wall. Elara.
She stood wrapped in a dark cloak, a small pack at her feet, her face pale but resolute in the faint moonlight. Ronan grunted, a sound of disapproval, but stopped. He had his orders from the Alpha: get Kael out. He hadn’t been told to prevent others from throwing their lives away.
“You can’t come,” Kael said, the words harsh with a protective fear he’d only just begun to unders
