I stood by the window in my room, watching the fog roll across the hills of Thornridge. The mist clung to the trees like memories I couldn't shake. Below, the pack moved like shadows, training and patrolling. From this high window, they looked so small. Distant. Just like how Darius had become.
He hadn't spoken to me since the ritual. Not truly. His words were brief, clipped. Like I had somehow broken something we couldn't name, something sacred.
But I had done what was right… hadn't I?
Aira was safe now. Kiani too. They were part of us—no longer trapped in the human world, no longer prey to a cruel man's control. I should've felt peace. I should've been proud.
Instead, there was silence between me and Darius. Heavy silence. And I was afraid it was starting to echo inside me.
A soft knock tapped on my door.
I didn't move. "It's open," I said.
The door creaked open and Nefang stepped in. His face was drawn, eyes dark with worry.
"I came to check on you," he said.
