wn life unfolded like a wound,

lack car, stolen silence heavy between her a

w every curve before it came. The woods outside blurred, m

n, damp with sweat and forest mist. The mark beneath it still

finally asked, her voice rough,

ce at her. "A te

hoed. "They tr

nce. "And t

answering anything. Why were t

ed than annoyed. "I'm a Lycan.

d. "Like...

the movies. We are older than that. Stronger. T

of you. I'm just... me. I get bullied, I have zero f

own fire when they touched you. That mark on your skin? It's your

an arch of trees. It led to a cabin, remote and dark, nest

w. But you need answers. And yo

ached from the run, the fall, the fear. But c

ire already crackled in the hearth. Kael to

. The mark wil

. "You've see

nly once. On

orld

ther i

not before she swore an oath t

into the bathroom. She locked the d

oon, split by a line like a scar. It wasn't just

ouche

ng. Fire raining from the sky. A throne made of b

d to her kne

sto

the mirror, h

she whispered to

broke th

ed, "It's starting.

door slowly. "W

very creature in the hidden world knows who you are, E

gain. This time, it didn't burn. I

remember," she s

mly. "Then the