The forest exploded in gold.
Light tore through the red moonlight, sharp and blinding. The roots around my ankles recoiled as if burned, snapping back into the dirt with a hiss. The Redthorne Alpha stepped away from me, his smile vanishing for the first time.
Then Kael appeared.
One second I was alone beneath the red oak. The next, he stood between me and Redthorne, barefoot, wounded, and furious enough to make the entire dream tremble.
His eyes burned brighter than the moon.
“Move away from her,” Kael said.
Redthorne smiled again, but it was thinner now. “You followed faster than I expected.”
“You touched what is mine.”
I should have hated the words.
Instead, my body sagged with relief.
Kael was here.
The bond had worked.
Redthorne’s red eyes moved to me. “Is that what he call
