Nyra's POV
I followed the sound of hooves crunching through dry leaves, bow ready, targeting something for dinner. Finally, something bigger than a rabbit showed up.
Runa’s voice growled in my head, Take it down fast.
I aimed, but before I could release the arrow, the animal darted into a dark thicket. I went after it, silent and fast. The air became colder and heavier. Then the forest fell still.
Something wasn’t right.
Then a voice came from the shadows. “Looking for this?”
I turned sharply.
A woman stood there, holding the dead deer by its neck. Her skin was pale, her eyes almost silver and her movements too smooth and too deliberate. She didn’t seem to have a heartbeat and there was no wolf scent.
My grip on the bow tightened. “That was my kill.”
She tilted her head, lips curv
