JAY
We parked the car in front of the Crest Moon Pack mansion, the engine cutting off with a low growl. The night was quiet, but the weight of everything we had seen in the forest followed us, heavy and unshakable.
As Beta Lucas and I got out of the car, the chill in the air felt sharper, like it carried a warning we couldn’t yet decipher. We walked toward the mansion in silence, but just as we were nearing the front door, I noticed a figure lingering by a tree near the dark corner of the yard.
“Ayla?” I muttered, narrowing my eyes.
Lucas turned to look as well, his brows furrowing. “What’s she doing out there at this hour?”
Ayla was standing in the shadows, her back stiff, her head swiveling nervously as if she were waiting for someone. Before we could call out to her, the sound o
