tchen table, her coffee untouched, staring at the jagged hole in the window. The events of the previous night played on a l

-in or at least the wolf sighting, but the call never connected. The nearest functioning landline was in town, a twenty-minute drive t

rational part of her brain urged her to explain away what she saw. Maybe the wolf was just... different. B

dn't explai

flipping to the page she had been reading before the bang interrupted her. Her father's neat handwriting spill

ch who bound their souls centuries ago. They cannot escape h

xt line, the scrawl uneven and fr

inst the stillness of the house. She set the journal down and grabb

again, firm b

s broad frame casting a long shadow in the morning light. His face was partially obscured, but his pos

led, tightening her

ep, smooth, and edged with somet

ted. "Who'

horne. I need to speak wi

d. How did he know

hidden behind her leg. "I'm sorry, but I do

They were amber, the exact same shade

ave," he said, his voice low but s

what she was doing. She braced herself a

ood. "I'm not here to hurt you.

his man-this stranger-knew something. Something she didn't. Slowly, she u

ou know m

"Your family has a history in this town, whether you realize i

ened. "Start explaining, or

ried already, didn't you? No signal. No one in town will take yo

gh her. "You don't get to tell me what to do. Who the hel

e. "I was keeping watch. Last night, you caught the attent

. "You're sayin

her. "And it won't be the last one

way he spoke, calm but insistent, made her believe he

sharper than she intended. "Wh

o hers with an intensity that made her shive

not an a

ly one you'r

eing entirely honest, either. Her father's journal flickere

stop coming?" she ask

ed. "You're alr

churned. "

ell your blood, your connection to this place. Leaving

. She had spent years trying to forget Coldmoor Ridge, only t

hispered, though part of h

straightening. "On you. On

k with unspoken truths. Finally, she ste

ping over the dusty furniture and boarded wi

obvi

s don't like strangers poking around their territory. Your fami

d. "What do you kno

ression unreadable. "M

aring thin. "What is going on in this town? And why

lves. He was close to understanding the truth before he disappeared. Whatever he was searching for

ring within her. "So what? I'm supposed

sed to fight. But not yet. Not until yo

ns than answers. She wasn't ready to trust him, not fully. Still, the amber in his eyes remind

ng for the door. "Lock your doors and windows.

tomor

the doorway, "we'll see if you

nto the trees, leaving her alone with