ELLIE‘S POV
The forest was restless that night, wind whispering through the branches like a chorus of unseen voices. Leaves rattled like bones in the canopy, carrying secrets I couldn’t quite catch. The earth smelled of damp moss and rain, the kind of scent that clung to memory long after the moment had passed.
I stood at the edge of the Crimson Fang stronghold, cloak wrapped tight around me, the cold nipping at my cheeks. My chest heaved as though the very air resisted me, pressing back with invisible hands.
Go, my wolf whispered inside me, sharp and insistent, her voice reverberating in my bones. The time will not wait. You were born for this, for the truth, for reckoning. You cannot stay hidden forever.
Her voice was fire beneath my skin, burning away hesitation, scorching the excus
