The morning broke cold.
Not the gentle kind of cold that made the forest beautiful, but the kind that slipped beneath my clothes and settled against my skin until even my bones seemed to ache.
I stood beside the stream behind the healer's hut, my hands submerged in freezing water as I scrubbed the stains from a stack of used bandages.
My fingers had gone numb several minutes ago.
I kept washing anyway.
There was something comforting about the simplicity of it.
Wash.
Rinse.
Squeeze.
Repeat.
No questions.
No expectations.
No one asking me what happened at the Blood Moon Gathering.
No one asking me why I ran.
And most importantly, no one asking me what I thought Keiran had been about to say.
I didn't want to think about it.
Unfortunately, my wolf had other ideas.
He was watching us yesterday.
I squeezed the bandage harder.
"I know."
He wanted to speak.
"I don't know that."
You felt him.
I stared down at the water.
The stream carried the soap away in pale ripples.
"I felt my wolf wanting him."
My voice was quiet.
"That's different."
She didn't answer.
I knew she didn't agree.
My wolf had become increasingly restless over the past few days.
She still carried the wounds from the bond, but something about Keiran remained.
A pull.
A longing.
A recognition that my mind couldn't reason away.
And I hated it.
Because every time I saw him, I remembered that I didn't actually know what had happened.
He hadn't rejected me.
Not technically.
But everyone believed he had.
And after hearing the whispers that night, I couldn't imagine any other outcome.
He was Keiran Vale.
Soon-to-be Beta.
Strong.
Respected.
Everything Silvercrest admired.
I was...
Me.
Elara.
Unmarked.
Unranked.
Forgotten.
I had no idea why the Moon Goddess would put someone like him beside someone like me.
Maybe she hadn't.
Maybe I had simply been too afraid to stay long enough to find out.
I shook the thought away.
Behind me, the packhouse had already begun to wake.
Voices carried through the open courtyard.
Laughter.
Low conversations.
Boots crunching over frost.
The normal sounds of morning.
But beneath all of it was another layer.
The one they thought I couldn't hear.
"Poor thing. She's still hanging around like nothing happened."
"Kieran had no choice."
"The Moon doesn't make mistakes."
"She's lucky the Alpha didn't exile her."
"Rejected wolves bring bad luck."
My hands stopped moving.
The words slipped through the air like knives wrapped in sympathy.
I stared at the bandage between my fingers.
My first instinct was to pretend I hadn't heard.
That was what I had always done.
But my wolf bristled.
They don't understand.
I swallowed.
"They don't."
We didn't break.
Her voice was quieter this time.
We were freed.
I closed my eyes.
"Then why does it feel like I lost everything?"
Silence.
Only the rushing water answered me.
I lowered the bandage into the basket.
Maybe my wolf was right.
Maybe being rejected—or almost rejected—had freed me from something I hadn't realized was holding me down.
But freedom wasn't supposed to hurt this much.
I gathered the clean bandages and carried them back toward the infirmary.
Mira was already inside, sorting dried herbs into small wooden containers.
She glanced up.
"You're early."
"Couldn't sleep."
She studied me.
Too long.
I forced a smile.
"I'm fine."
"You always say that."
"Lysandra says the same thing."
"Because she's usually right."
I laughed quietly.
Mira returned to her herbs.
"The Alpha called for a meeting."
My smile disappeared.
"What kind of meeting?"
"Everyone's expected in the main hall by midday."
"Why?"
"Boundary disputes."
She lowered her voice.
"Shadowfen."
The moment she said the name, something strange moved through me.
My wolf lifted her head.
Shadowfen.
I frowned.
There was something about the name.
A vibration.
A strange pull beneath my ribs.
I couldn't explain it.
"What's happening?" I asked.
"Apparently they've crossed the river again."
"Again?"
Mira nodded.
"They claim we've taken territory from them."
"Have we?"
She gave me a look.
"That's probably something the Alpha would prefer you not ask in the middle of the meeting."
I smiled faintly.
"Right."
She hesitated.
"Elara."
"Yes?"
"You should be careful."
I frowned.
"About what?"
"Everything."
That wasn't particularly helpful.
But I understood what she meant.
Since the Gathering, everything felt different.
The Alpha's patience with me had become thinner.
People watched me more closely.
And now there was trouble at the borders.
I nodded.
"I'll be careful."
By midday, the entire pack had gathered in the main hall.
The room felt different from the Blood Moon Gathering.
There was no music.
No laughter.
No celebration.
Only tension.
Warriors stood near the walls.
Ranked wolves gathered closer to the front.
The rest of us remained behind.
I chose a place near the back.
I wanted to be invisible.
Alpha Roran stood at the front of the hall.
His presence silenced the room almost immediately.
"Reports came in this morning," he began. "Shadowfen wolves have crossed the river again."
A murmur moved through the crowd.
"They claim we've taken what belongs to them."
One of the guards stepped forward.
"They're testing us."
Another growled.
"We should strike first."
The Alpha raised a hand.
Silence returned.
I listened carefully.
Shadowfen.
That strange feeling returned.
A faint pressure beneath my skin.
My wolf stirred.
Something is there.
"What?" I whispered.
I don't know.
I frowned.
The name itself seemed to pull at something deep inside me.
Then Alpha Roran's gaze moved across the room.
And stopped on me.
My stomach dropped.
"Elara."
The room went silent.
I straightened.
"Yes, Alpha?"
"You've spent considerable time around the river paths."
I nodded.
"Yes."
"You're familiar with the old crossing?"
"Very."
"Good."
His expression remained unreadable.
"Tomorrow, you'll accompany the scouts."
A few heads turned.
My heart tightened.
"I want you to inspect the old crossing and report back."
Whispers immediately began.
"Her?"
"She's not even ranked."
"That's too close to Shadowfen territory."
I kept my expression neutral.
I didn't understand why he'd chosen me.
Maybe he wanted to test me.
Maybe he wanted me gone.
Maybe this was punishment.
Maybe he simply needed someone who knew the area.
I wasn't sure which possibility was worse.
I lowered my head.
"Yes, Alpha."
The meeting continued for several minutes before finally being dismissed.
Wolves began filtering out of the hall.
I waited.
I didn't want to be caught in the crowd.
When most of them had left, I finally turned toward the doors.
And walked directly into someone.
My basket slipped from my hands.
"Sorry."
I looked up.
Keiran.
My heart stopped.
For one terrible second, neither of us moved.
He was close.
Too close.
I could smell him.
Cedar.
Warm smoke.
That familiar scent that my wolf had been desperately trying to forget.
She surged toward him.
Mate.
My chest tightened.
I stepped backward immediately.
"I'm sorry."
Keiran opened his mouth.
"Elara—"
I shook my head.
"Sorry."
I bent down, grabbed the basket, and stood again.
He looked confused.
Almost frustrated.
"Wait."
I couldn't.
Not again.
I couldn't stand there and let him speak.
Because if he told me he had rejected me, I'd finally have the answer I'd been terrified of.
And if he told me he hadn't...
That might be even worse.
I stepped around him.
"I have to go."
"Elara, I—"
I walked faster.
I didn't stop.
I didn't look back.
Behind me, Keiran remained in the doorway, his words unfinished.
Again.
I had done it again.
I had run.
But this time, I didn't feel brave.
I felt terrified.
My wolf whined.
Why did you leave?
"Because I can't."
He was trying to talk.
"I know."
Then why?
I swallowed hard.
"Because I don't want to hear him say it."
She went silent.
That was the truth.
I didn't want to hear Keiran tell me he didn't want me.
I didn't want to see pity in his eyes.
I didn't want to become the rejected mate everyone whispered about.
It was easier to believe the rejection had already happened.
Easier to live with something I had imagined than something I had to hear.
I reached my cabin before I allowed myself to stop.
I leaned against the door.
My breathing was uneven.
I closed my eyes.
"What am I doing?"
My wolf didn't answer.
I slid down against the wall and sat on the floor.
For a few minutes, I stayed there.
Then I laughed quietly.
"This is ridiculous."
I covered my face.
"I'm running from someone who hasn't even rejected me."
The realization hurt.
But it was true.
I was fighting a rejection that existed mostly inside my head.
And somehow, that made me feel even more foolish.
That evening, I went outside.
The moon had risen high above the trees.
The forest stretched before me, dark and endless.
The same strange pulse moved beneath the earth.
This time, it felt stronger.
I closed my eyes.
The wind curled around my face.
My wolf lifted her head.
Something is calling.
I opened my eyes.
"From where?"
She didn't know.
But I did.
The river.
Shadowfen.
Something beyond Silvercrest's borders was pulling at me.
And I didn't understand why.
Far beyond those trees, on the other side of the river, something moved through the darkness.
A wolf lifted his head.
He stopped.
His senses caught something carried on the wind.
Not a threat.
Not an enemy.
Something else.
Something familiar.
Something that made his wolf stir.
His gaze turned toward Silvercrest.
Toward the distant forest.
Toward the girl whose existence had been ignored for twenty-three years.
The pull strengthened.
Back in Silvercrest, I pressed a hand against my chest.
My heart beat once.
Twice.
Then the strange sensation disappeared.
I looked toward the river.
Tomorrow, I would go there.
I didn't know what waited beyond the old crossing.
I didn't know why the name Shadowfen made something inside me awaken.
And I certainly didn't know that the path I'd been avoiding was slowly leading me somewhere fate had already prepared.
All I knew was that tomorrow, I would cross the river.
And for the first time in my life...
I had the strange feeling that someone—or something—was waiting for me on the other side.