The trees trembled under the weight of silence. Aria's breath hitched as Lucian's eyes narrowed, the glow in them deepening like a warning.
"Who is it?" she whispered.
Lucian didn't answer. Instead, he moved toward the door of the cabin, muscles taut like a coiled spring. His every step carried the fierce grace of a predator on alert.
"Stay close," he said low, voice threaded with steel. "And whatever you do, don't make a sound."
Aria swallowed her fear, nodding. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears as she followed him.
Outside, the wind carried a scent — sharp, cold, and unnatural. Something inhuman.
Lucian's nostrils flared. "A shadow wolf. One of the exiled. Dangerous and merciless."
Aria's skin prickled. "Exiled? From where?"
Lucian glanced at her, the depth of his gaze heavy with history and pain. "From the Forsaken Packs. Outcasts who embraced darkness over loyalty. They kill for pleasure and power."
A sudden crack of a branch made them both freeze.
Lucian's stance shifted. "They hunt alone or in small groups. This one is scouting."
He moved silently through the trees, Aria struggling to keep up, her senses screaming warnings she barely understood.
Then, a figure appeared — cloaked in black, eyes gleaming like embers in the fading light. The shadow wolf.
"Lucian," the figure's voice hissed, "you can't hide forever. The mountain remembers."
Lucian stepped forward, unflinching. "I'm not hiding. I'm protecting what's mine."
A flicker of a cruel smile curved the shadow wolf's lips. "The mate. The half-blood. She's the key, isn't she? The one who can shift the balance."
Aria felt a cold wave wash over her. The stranger's words were both a threat and a promise.
Lucian's voice dropped to a growl. "You'll find nothing here."
The shadow wolf laughed, a chilling sound that echoed through the forest. "We'll see."
Then, like smoke, the figure melted into the shadows.
Lucian turned back to Aria, his expression grave. "This is no longer just about Ronan. The Forsaken are coming. And they want you."
Aria's mind spun. Every step forward seemed to pull her deeper into a world she never asked for — but couldn't escape.