Echoes of the wolf

pounding of her own heart. Every step she took further into the forest felt like a step away from everyth

something w

ressed down on her chest. The trees, normally a refuge, felt like looming giants, watching her every move. She had spe

h the only noise in the silence. Her breath came in shallow bursts, the cool

time since she had

it-the sound of f

thick, dark shadows of the trees. Mira's heart pounded harder in her chest, but she forced

than this, she r

ooth, reached her e

away agai

voice immediately. It was Ryder-the man who had appe

the shadows. His figure was tall and lean, his golden eyes gleami

isper that seemed to seep into her very bones.

never been one to show fear, especially not to someone like him. She cro

e said, her voice cold and ste

slow, predatory smile that made Mi

said, his voice full of kn

's heart hammered in her chest as Ryder took a slow step toward h

t she couldn't shake the feeling that something more

, her voice sharp, cutting through the t

. "What I want doesn't matter, Mira. What matters is

before. She had lived through it. But this... this was something different. She c

about?" she asked, h

ngs in this world that you don't understand. Things that are coming for

rds settled over her like a dark cloud, pressing down wi

t need him-she didn't need anyone. But before she could spe

awl. It wasn't just the howl

, who hadn't moved, hadn'

a demanded, her voic

first time since he appeared, something li

id quietly, "

ade it all the more real. The air felt thick with something that wasn't quite fear but someth

ep forward, his voice

ra. You might need me

ick with the promise of danger and the wei

here was no denying that the world was shifting around her, and if she didn't do somethin

e laced with warning as she turned awa

r didn't

ck. And though she walked deeper into the forest, s