el's

ainst the dark wood, a silent accusation. I'd read it so many times the words blurre

flection staring back at me from the mirror, the me I was starting to suspect I didn

seemed darker, and wider, reflecting the turmoil inside. Sleep had become a battleground of fragmented dreams – piercing golden eyes, a vast, shado

p was a distant country, and my thoughts were restless refugees, clamoring for answers. I felt a prickle of unease,

iam's snoring like a chainsaw massacre. Thinking of

t myself, to ground myself in the familiar comfort of friendship and mindless chatter. But tonight...tonigh

about the wolf again? Seriously, Hazel, you need to chill. Maybe you should try meditating. Or, y

t something more. A connection. A sense

just going for a walk, a breath of fresh air. But deep

transformed into a labyrinth of shadows, each rustle of leave

a that both repelled and attracted me. The distant hoot of an owl echoed throu

clammy palms. "Okay, Hazel, deep breaths," I coached myself, trying to sound braver than I felt. "Jus

hummed with an unseen energy, a palpable tension that made the hairs on my arms stand on end. I waited, my breat

n my chest, a primal vibration that made my bones hum. Goosebumps er

er than I remembered, his fur the color of midnight, his muscles rippling beneath his skin. He was

le. Fear, primal and instinctive, warred with a s

raising my hands in a futile attempt to defend myse

lted his head, studying me, his eyes flickering to th

. The birthmark burned like a brand against my skin. It's never done this before. The wolf r

scent of pine and something else...something musky, animalisti

ice trembling. Are you going to hurt me? He whined softly, a low, mournful so

eat, stronger this time. Images flashed through my mind – a dark forest, a howling wolf, a crescen

ed me, his eyes intense, then took one last step, and turned and vanish

d into my mind. "What...what is happening to me?" I whis

sed beneath my fingers, a

occurrence since I got here,

as gone, I still felt his eye