Chapter 40
**Evangeline's POV**
The cut on my palm burns as I press it against the oak tree. Blood drips between my fingers, mixing with the rough bark. I'm supposed to be practicing grounding techniques, but something else is happening. Something Maeve didn't teach me.
Green light flows from my hand into the tree. The dying leaves above my head suddenly burst with color, autumn brown shifting to summer green. The bark under my palm feels warm, alive, grateful.
I yank my hand back like I've been burned. The light fades, but the tree remains changed. Young. Renewed.
Blood drips from my nose, warm and metallic. The ground beneath my feet trembles for just a moment, like the earth itself is responding to what I've done.
"What did I just do?" I whisper to the empty forest.
My wolf stirs
