Eliza woke up at eight o'clock sharp, not remembering how she had gotten to her bed, but she awoke still feeling the weight of the previous night on her shoulders. The cold dawn air seeped through the cracks in the window, but it wasn't enough to clear her mind. Her dreams had been plagued by shadows, words whispered with malice, and a presence she couldn't ignore. Lucian. His name echoed in her head like an endless echo, and with it, the threat he had dropped like a dagger into her heart.
She sighed deeply as she rose from bed. Caleb had told her the day before that her presence wouldn't be necessary for Sunday's activities. The hunt in the forest was a tradition for the wolves, but for her, who didn't possess an inner wolf, it was simply a reminder of her difference, of her fragility in a world full of predators. "A waste of time," Caleb had said with a kind smile that failed to ease the weight of her insecurities.
