The cottage at the forest's edge had grown quieter in the months since the villagers last came with their torches. Mira and Kael lived in a fragile peace, but peace, like mist, never lingered for long.
Mira often woke at night to the sound of the pack howling, and more and more, her body trembled in answer. Her skin prickled as though the forest's breath ran beneath it. Her dreams grew stranger too—running on four legs, leaping over rivers, tasting blood and earth on her tongue.
One night she confessed to Kael, lying with her head against his chest as the firelight played on his skin.
"I feel it, Kael. Inside me. Like the forest is crawling into my bones. Like I'm… changing."
His hand stilled in her hair. She felt his heart quicken beneath her cheek.
"It's the bond," he whispered. "You chose me, and wolves mate for life. Sometimes… the human heart doesn't stay only human. Sometimes the forest answers back."
