The water rushed past me, loud and relentless, a savage contrast to the chaotic storm swirling in my mind. I stood on the riverbank, paws sinking into the cool snow, the scent of damp fur and fish rising in the air. Fishing seemed like a mundane pursuit, a trivial distraction to occupy my beast, but my mind was a cacophony, echoing the gravity of my situation. I clawed at the ground, a futile effort against the turmoil within—fate had maliciously thrust Winter into my life, and I was left grappling with the implications.
Twenty-three years. The gods had decided to mock me with a twenty-three-year gap—a canyon of maturity and experience that felt insurmountable. How could I even consider her, a bright-eyed girl just starting her journey, while I had seen shadows of darkness, the kind that
