Leah Carter’s Point of View
The ground was still warm where the creature had stood. The air smelled of burnt roots and old smoke, the kind that clings to the throat long after the fire is gone. I could still feel the tremor in my bones, the echo of its roar fading into the distance.
Kael stood at the edge of the clearing, staring toward the horizon where the beast had vanished. His jaw was tight, his hand still clenched around the hilt of his sword though there was nothing left to fight.
“It didn’t attack us,” I said quietly, my voice trembling. “It just… left.”
Kael didn’t answer. The others gathered slowly behind him, Caleb, Seraya, and the elders of the Forgotten Pack. Their faces were pale in the dim light of dusk. The wind carried faint howls from far away, the Hollow’s direction.
