Ruby's POV

The forest changed the moment we reached the entrance.

It wasn’t the quiet kind that smelled of damp earth and pine. This darkness pressed in from all sides, thick and hostile, like it was holding its breath.

The air was heavy with the scent of wolves, too many of them. My steps slowed without me meaning to. My skin prickled, every instinct screaming that we were no longer running toward safety.

We stopped.

Before us, shapes began to move.

One by one, they stepped out from behind ...