mp earth, but it did nothing to soothe the storm raging inside her chest. She sat curled against the thick ro

ht Kael would

ace beside him as Luna, she had clung to a thread of hope-that the

had cru

cruel chant. "I cannot accept you. Y

e

tasted

her voice broke, to claw the mark on her neck that proved she belonged to him, but even t

despite his rejection, he

he night. "Why did you give me thi

ollowed was heavie

-

d her mother's voice, soft and reassuring, telling her that pain was only the beginning of strength. Bu

stay here. If the rogues that haunted the forest caught

y, too, bore the weight of her rejection. She turned back in the direc

ached the edge of the

stood

in the dark. For a heartbeat she thought-hoped-that he had

aw tighten, his fists

id, his voice d

d before he could

claws. But she could not stop. The pain inside her

hispered, though her voice cracked. "

t I cannot-" He broke off, frustration flashing across his features.

re against her al

ry battling with grief. "Then perha

olf paced inside him, visible in the flicker of

couldn't bear the sight of her tears. "Go home,

him, her shoulder grazing his arm. He d

frayed rope, and for the first time

-

g, when power shifted. The guards lowered their eyes, but she caught the flicker of curiosity, of pity. Wor

curling once more into herself. Sleep came in broken fragments, full of K

She dressed quickly, avoiding her reflection in the mirror. She c

eded t

ond, she couldn't linger where ever

The guards at the gate hesitated but let her pass, per

sound felt like mockery. She walked deeper, farther than she had the night befo

rest seldom traveled. Shadows stretched long beneath the

e, her wolf whisper

rmured aloud. But s

ss, but recklessness

red farther than intended. The water shimmered, cold and inviting, and she knelt to cup it

n of herself. Weak. P

she saw another face ripple across th

She glanced around, but the forest remained sti

'm imagining things," she told herself.

clung to her as she moved, ea

-

. Selene's exhaustion pulled at her limbs, but she forced herself onward. She did

had risen, casting everything in silver glow. Selene s

flutter

as when sh

heavy enough to pie

n her body suddenly alert. Selene's breath

ween the trunks seemed to thicken, as though

e him. But she

n any rogue. It carried an energy that curled

loud, but through the bond wolves sometimes

lost. Yet des

chest. "Who's there?" she d

of a branch, as though something

inst her consciousne

y of the unseen gaze, the certainty that whoever lurked

ill realization settled in

as an

hadows, unse

He had been waiting for this moment, watching her fall apart, watc

d as the night

o longer fel

t like