Chloe
Summer had wrapped Crescent Hollow in gold.
The forest breathed differently this time of year—lush, alive, humming with life and promise. Sunlight filtered through the canopy in soft beams, warming my skin as I stood at the edge of the ceremonial clearing. Wildflowers bloomed between ancient stones, their colors vivid and defiant, as if the land itself knew today mattered.
A month had passed since the rescue.
A month of peace.
No sign of Darius.
No whispers of his mate slithering through the shadows.
Nothing but silence—and for once, it didn’t feel like the kind that came before a storm.
It felt like relief.
The pack moved around me in gentle currents. Wolves laughed softly, children darted between legs, elders watched from shaded seats carved from fallen logs and stone. Cre
