The forest thickened as Eila stepped away from the last flickering light of the path. Her boots crunched quietly on moss and old leaves, the scent of pine and damp bark rising around her. The trees grew older here, taller—like watchful sentinels from a forgotten age.
She followed the directions on the note precisely: past the hollowed tree with roots like claws, then left at the crescent-shaped rock. The air was colder now, and despite her warm cloak, goosebumps pricked her arms.
Just ahead, barely visible through the weave of tangled branches, stood a crumbling stone structure. The Robber's Hut.
A half-rotted wooden sign still hung above the crooked doorway. Moss climbed the stones like ivy, and the broken roof let silver moonlight spill across the dusty interior. But it wasn't the ruin that took her breath away.
It was them.
Zois and Lukas stood waiting inside, leaning against opposite walls like mirrored shadows. A small lantern flickered between them, casting their tall forms in golden contrast. Both had discarded their ceremonial jackets and were dressed in dark shirts and slacks, their hair still tousled from the party, their eyes fixed solely on her.
Eila took one hesitant step forward, the leaves crunching beneath her. "What is this place?" she whispered.
"A place where no one listens," Lukas replied, his voice low and raw.
"A place where we can speak without restraint," Zois added, straightening.
We wanted a place where we can just be ourselves and not be Alpha heirs. So, Nina helped us set up our secret base here. Even our parents are not aware of it. Only Leonard recently came to know.
Eila asked, " what was this place? Its name sounds weird."
Zois answered, " many moons ago there was a human named "Rob hunter" who was separated from his group of travellers while crossing our lands. He was injured in a rogue attack and barely survived. Our pack ancestors saved him and Nina was there to help him settle down here. Alpha allowed him to stay in this jungle area so that he wouldn't cause trouble for werewolves. He was a merchant by profession so when he recovered from his injuries he decided to stay here.
Going back to his lands was not possible for him alone anyway. Nina fell in love with him which was a taboo in her witches community. She kept it a secret until the day he died. This hut is still here in his memory and that is why she let us revive this place and keep it just to keep him alive in her memories.
By the time Zois finished the story Eila had moved inside the house and was sitting on the couch near the fireplace folding her legs near her chest. She was so lost in Nina's story that she didn't even notice that the twins had come to sit near her.
They moved closer together, bracketing her like twin wolves around a flame. The door shut behind her with a soft thud, and suddenly the silence wrapped around the three of them like a shroud.
"I thought you asked me here to talk," she said softly, eyeing them with cautious curiosity. "Not… seduce me in a haunted ruin."
Zois chuckled. "We did come to talk. But we're also wolves, Eila. And you're ours."
Lukas stepped closer and gently tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "We needed you to hear us—without Leonard's shadow. Without the pack watching. Just us."
Eila swallowed. "I'm listening. Also tell me why they choose this peculiar name? "
Lukas laughed and said " It was a funny play of words. Hunter's first name was Rob so he named the shop Robber which means "Something like rogues in the human world.""
Eila smiled that the person Nina loved was truly a funny man.