DARIUS'S POV
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The moon was thin and sharp above the packhouse. I pushed open the side door, slow and quiet, my boots sinking into damp grass.
Two guards stood by the fence, but they didn’t look at me. Nobody wanted to ask where their Alpha went in the middle of the night.
I didn’t even shift. I wanted my hands free. My breath came out in small clouds as I stepped past the last torchlight and into the line of trees.
The Dark Forest swallowed me whole.
Branches clawed at my jacket. The path was uneven, covered in old roots like twisted snakes.
I heard things moving just out of sight—small feet scurrying, something wet dripping from above. A low growl rose in my chest, my wolf pacing inside me.
Turn back.
The voice was clear in my head. My wolf didn’t like this. Too many strange
