*Hazel's POV*
An elderly couple emerged from between the trees, completely at odds with the tension crackling through our clearing. They looked straight out of a retirement brochure—matching khaki shorts, sensible hiking shoes, and cheerful smiles.
"Morning!" The man waved. "Hope we're not intruding. That storm last night was something, wasn't it?"
I felt Kael's grip on my wrist loosen slightly, though his body remained coiled with tension.
"Your power go out too?" the woman asked, gesturing to our camper. "Ours went completely dead around midnight."
The normality of their question caught me off guard. These weren't supernatural creatures stalking us. They were just... people. Regular humans on a camping trip.
"Yes," I answered before Kael could stop me. "It was quite a storm."
Kael shot me a warning glance, but I ignored it. If he wanted to maintain our cover as normal campers, we needed to act the part.
