Elara
The storm arrived before midnight.
Rain lashed against the tiny window of my attic room while thunder rolled across the mountains.
Sleep refused to come.
Too much had happened.
The accusations.
The whispers.
The way Kael had stood beside me in front of the entire pack.
I wrapped my arms around my knees and rested my forehead against the cold glass.
“Why?” I whispered to the darkness.
“Why do you keep helping me?”
No answer came.
Only the steady rhythm of the rain.
Almost without thinking, I reached for the silver ring.
The moment my fingers touched it, warmth spread through my hand.
The ring began to glow.
Not brightly.
Just enough to illuminate the small room.
Then something strange happened.
A faint silver mark appeared on the inside of my wrist.
I gasped.
It l
