The forest was too quiet.

Not the peaceful kind. The kind that draped itself over the land like a warning, holding its breath, waiting to strike.

It was nearing dusk, and I stood in the clearing behind the Blue Howl territory where the trees bent unnaturally. Where the wind whispered louder than footsteps.

I came here to think.

To breathe.

To forget the burning ache of Henry’s secret.

But what I found instead… was him.

A figure emerged from the shadows tall, cloaked in black, ...