A storm rolled across the horizon by the time Ava stepped outside the cabin.
The trees swayed like they were whispering secrets, but the mark beneath her skin pulsed louder than the wind.
She shouldn't have come out alone.
Rhett had warned her not to open the door.
But he was gone again—like he always disappeared when she had questions that mattered.
The sky above was slate gray. Heavy. The kind of sky that made you wonder what it looked like when the world ended.
And maybe… what it felt like to survive it.
Ava didn't walk far—just to the tree line. But it was enough.
Enough to hear the snap of a branch that wasn't broken by her.
Enough to see the flicker of movement that wasn't hers.
Her breath caught.
She wasn't alone.
"You shouldn't be here," a new voice said—low, cold, and close.
A figure stepped out from behind the trees.
A man. Tall, lean, and watching her like a predator who enjoyed the chase.
He wore black. His hair was darker. His eyes—silver, not gold—glittered with something Ava couldn't name, but her instincts screamed against.
"Who are you?" she asked, backing up.
The man smiled.
"You're the marked one, aren't you?"
She froze.
He tilted his head. "So it's true. He kept you. Brave of him."
A rustle behind her made her whip around—too slow.
He was already there.
Faster than human.
He stepped close—too close—and raised a hand toward the side of her neck, where the mark burned hotter now.
"Don't touch me," Ava hissed.
But he didn't listen.
That's when Rhett appeared.
No warning. No sound.
Just a flash of rage and teeth, slamming the stranger to the ground.
"Get away from her," Rhett growled—voice edged with something not entirely human.
The other man snarled, then vanished like smoke into the trees.
Ava stumbled back, breath shaking.
Rhett's chest heaved as he turned to her, fury still burning in his golden eyes.
"You opened the door," he said.
"You were gone."
"I told you not to—"
"You don't get to disappear and expect me to obey like some helpless little girl," she snapped.
Rhett stepped closer. Too close.
"You're not helpless," he said, voice low and raw. "That's the problem."
Lightning flashed above them. The sky cracked.
Neither of them moved.
"Who was he?" she asked.
"Someone who wants what I have," Rhett muttered.
She blinked. "What do you mean?"
But he didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at the sky, now bleeding lightning across the clouds.
And then at her.
"The storm's coming early," he said. "And you… you were never supposed to be in the middle of it."